Question

kemala is a marine biologist studying the breeding habits of an exotic species of sea turtle. last year she observed the number of pregnant mother turtles at each beach on an isolated island in the pacific. the histogram below summarizes the data. use the histogram to answer each of the questions.
frequency
(number of beaches)
histogram with x-axis: number of pregnant turtles (2 to 4, 5 to 7, 8 to 10, 11 to 13, 14 to 16) and y-axis: frequency (0 to 10)
(a) one class is the least frequent. how many beaches are in this class?
blank for answer
(b) how many beaches had 11 or more pregnant turtles?
blank for answer
(c) what is the class width?

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze part (a)

The classes are 2 to 4, 5 to 7, 8 to 10, 11 to 13, 14 to 16. The frequencies (from the histogram) for these classes: 2 - 4 has frequency ~6, 5 - 7 has frequency ~2, 8 - 10 has frequency ~9, 11 - 13 has frequency ~4, 14 - 16 has frequency ~7. The least frequent is 5 - 7 with frequency 2. So the number of beaches in this class is 2.

Step2: Analyze part (b)

Classes with 11 or more pregnant turtles are 11 - 13 and 14 - 16. Frequency of 11 - 13 is 4, frequency of 14 - 16 is 7. Sum them: \(4 + 7 = 11\).

Step3: Analyze part (c)

Class width is the difference between upper and lower class limits. For class 2 - 4, width is \(4 - 2 = 2\)? Wait, no, wait: 5 - 2 = 3? Wait, 2 to 4: 4 - 2 = 2? No, wait, 5 - 2 = 3? Wait, 2 to 4: lower 2, upper 4. Next class 5 to 7: lower 5. So 5 - 2 = 3? Wait, 4 to 5 is the gap? Wait, no, in histograms, class width is upper - lower. Wait 2 to 4: 4 - 2 = 2? No, 5 - 2 = 3? Wait, 2,3,4 (2 to 4: 3 values? No, class width is the difference between consecutive lower limits. Lower limits: 2,5,8,11,14. So 5 - 2 = 3, 8 - 5 = 3, etc. So class width is 3.

Answer:

s:
(a) \(\boxed{2}\)
(b) \(\boxed{11}\)
(c) \(\boxed{3}\)