Question

practice statistical questions and data distributions
study how the example shows describing a data distribution. then solve problems 1 - 3.
example
students in mr. lincolns class measure the distance they walk with one step. describe the shape and variability of the distribution of their data set.
you can display the data in a dot plot.
shape: there is one large group of data points with its highest point at 25 in. there is a single point at 28 in. to the right of the large group.
variability: the distribution is spread from 21 in. to 28 in. since 28 - 21 = 7, the range is 7 in.
a. how many students measured their step length in the example? use the dot plot to explain how you know.
b. what statistical question do you think the students in mr. lincolns class are trying to answer?
c. how do you know that the question you wrote is statistical?

Explanation:

Step1: Count the number of data points in the dot - plot

Each dot represents a student. By counting the dots in the dot - plot, we can find the number of students.

Step2: Analyze the statistical question

A statistical question is one that anticipates variability in the data. Looking at the context of measuring step lengths, we can form a relevant statistical question.

Step3: Justify the statistical nature of the question

A statistical question has answers that vary. We check if the formed question meets this criterion.

Answer:

a. There are 18 students. We know this because when we count all the dots in the dot - plot, there are 18 dots (by carefully counting each dot in the plot for step lengths).
b. A possible statistical question: “What is the typical step length of students in Mr. Lincoln's class?”
c. The question “What is the typical step length of students in Mr. Lincoln's class?” is statistical because different students will have different step lengths (there is variability in the data as shown by the different values in the step - length data set).