Question

the monterey bay aquarium, founded in 1984, is situated on the beautiful coast of monterey bay in the historic cannery row district. in 1985, the aquarium began a survey program that involved randomly sampling visitors as they exit for the day. the survey included visitor demographic information, use of social media, and opinions on their aquarium visit. for each visitor sampled during 2013–2015, the distribution of the number of children in their group is given.

to access the complete data set, click the link for your preferred software format:
csv excel jmp mac-text minitab14-18 minitab18+ pc-text r spss ti crunchit!
in this exercise, we will answer the question of whether there a significant difference in the distribution of the number of children in the group over this three-year period, and if so, how the distribution has changed.

solve: create a graph of the data using software. describe specific patterns in the graph.

• the number of children in each group of visitors has been steading decreasing from 2013 to 2015.
• there is not much change in the number of children in each group by year.
• the number of visitors has been steadily decreasing from 2013 to 2015.
• in 2015, the number of visitors with no children is a bit higher and the number with three or more children is a bit lower than in previous years.
• most visitors do not have children in their group.

Explanation:

To determine the correct statement, we analyze the data:

• For "The number of children in each group...": 2013 (1855, 585, 599, 515), 2014 (1751, 636, 601, 506), 2015 (1998, 591, 483, 289). There are changes (e.g., 0 - children: 1855→1751→1998; 3+ children: 515→506→289), so this is false.
• "The number of visitors... steadily decreasing 2013–2015": 2013 total: 1855 + 585 + 599 + 515 = 3554; 2014: 1751 + 636 + 601 + 506 = 3494; 2015: 1998 + 591 + 483 + 289 = 3361. But 0 - children increases from 2014 to 2015 (1751→1998), so not steadily decreasing. False.
• "In 2015, number with 0 children... higher, 3+... lower": 0 - children: 2013=1855, 2014=1751, 2015=1998 (higher than 2014, a bit higher than 2013? 1998 vs 1855: yes, ~143 more). 3+ children: 2013=515, 2014=506, 2015=289 (lower than both). 1 - children: 2013=585, 2014=636, 2015=591 (2015 lower than 2014, a bit higher than 2013? 591 vs 585: yes, +6). 2 - children: 2013=599, 2014=601, 2015=483 (lower). This matches the description.
• "Most visitors do not have children...": 2013: 1855 / 3554 ≈ 52.2%, 2014: 1751 / 3494 ≈ 50.1%, 2015: 1998 / 3361 ≈ 59.4%. So "most" (over 50%) in 2013, 2014, 2015? 2014 is ~50.1%, close but 2013/2015 are over 50%, but the option's "do not have children" (0 - children) – but the statement's "in their group" (maybe "most groups have no children"? The data shows 0 - children is a large group, but the option's wording is "Most visitors do not have children in their group" – but the key is the "In 2015..." option fits better.
• "Lower than in previous years" (for 2015 total? No, 2015 total is lower than 2013/2014, but the option is vague. The "In 2015..." option has specific, accurate comparisons.

Answer:

In 2015, the number of visitors with no children is a bit higher and the number with three or more children is a bit lower than in previous years.