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Mod2Lab1 Unpacking The Walkthrough

This document provides instructions for analyzing a dataset containing information about various car models. It includes the following: - The dataset contains information about car models in different columns like model name, gas mileage, cylinders, horsepower, weight, and transmission. - Each row represents the specifications of an individual car model. The exercises demonstrate how to look up details about specific models and sort the data by variables like gas mileage. - Sorting the data by gas mileage arranges it from the model with the lowest mileage at the top to the highest at the bottom, making it easy to see which models are most and least efficient. The car getting the worst gas mileage is identified as well as the most efficient model.

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DwiAryanti
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160 views4 pages

Mod2Lab1 Unpacking The Walkthrough

This document provides instructions for analyzing a dataset containing information about various car models. It includes the following: - The dataset contains information about car models in different columns like model name, gas mileage, cylinders, horsepower, weight, and transmission. - Each row represents the specifications of an individual car model. The exercises demonstrate how to look up details about specific models and sort the data by variables like gas mileage. - Sorting the data by gas mileage arranges it from the model with the lowest mileage at the top to the highest at the bottom, making it easy to see which models are most and least efficient. The car getting the worst gas mileage is identified as well as the most efficient model.

Uploaded by

DwiAryanti
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Data Analysis: A Practical Introduction

for Absolute Beginners


Module 2, Lab 1: Real-World Data
Learning Objectives
● Look at the basic anatomy of a data set with several variables.
● Sort that data according to one particular variable in Excel.

Data Set
Mod2Labs.csv

What You’ll Need


To complete the lab, you will need the online version of Microsoft Excel.

Overview
In this lab, we’ll take a closer look at the car data we looked at in the videos. We’ll also see how to sort
the data based on a specific variable/criteria, such as gas mileage.

Exercise 1: Car Data


1. Open the data set in Excel. You should see several different variable columns for a group of car
models. Here’s a snapshot of the data:

2. Identify the variables. In this case, there are 12 different vertical ​columns​​. Here’s what they each
represent:
model​​ = name of car model
mpg​​ = gas mileage, in miles per (US) gallon
cyl​​ = number of cylinders
disp​​ = displacement, in cubic inches
hp​​ = gross horsepower
drat​​ = rear axle ratio
wt​​ = weight, in thousands of pounds (1000 lb)
qsec​​ = 1/4 mile time
vs​​ = engine (0 = V-shaped, 1 = straight)
am​​ = transmission (0 = automatic, 1 = manual)
gear​​ = number of forward gears
carb​​ = number of carburetors

Those are your variables, since they vary from car to car.

3. Identify the observations. Since each horizontal ​row​​ corresponds to a single entry from each of
the variable columns, each row must represent an individual car model. For example, take a look
at the first car on the list: the Knight X gets 21 miles per gallon, has 6 cylinders, 110 horsepower,
etc.

4. You can also answer simple questions about the data. For instance, how much does the
Clydesdale Turbo weigh? To find out, track down “Clydesdale Turbo” in the model column, then
look over at column G, the weight column.

Remember, the weight variable (“wt”) is given in ​thousands​ of pounds, so multiply 5.25 by 1,000
to find the car’s weight.

5.25 × 1,000 = 5,250

The Clydesdale Turbo weighs in at 5,250 pounds.


5. What kind of horsepower does the Apocalypse 100 get? To find out, find that car model in the
column on the far left, then look at column E to see the horsepower (“hp”).

Nice. That particular model gets 66 horsepower. Actually… that’s not so nice.

Exercise 2: Sorting by MPG


Now we’ll rearrange the data so we can easily see which car models get the best and worst gas mileage.

1. With the data set open, click anywhere in the spreadsheet, go to the Data tab in the ribbon, and
click Filter (in the Sort & Filter tab).

2. You should now see a little dropdown arrow show up next to each column title, like so:

3. That arrow allows you to sort all the data by any single variable. We want to arrange the data
based on gas mileage, so click the arrow next to “mpg” and select Sort Ascending.
4. Now the entire spreadsheet should rearrange itself, showing the car with the lowest gas mileage
at the top and ascending downward. The great thing about this feature is that it shuffles ​all​ the
data based on one particular column/variable.

5. With the data sorted like this, you can more easily see, for example, that the Clydesdale Turbo
gets the lowest gas mileage out of any car on the list (10.4 miles per gallon). At the bottom of
the list, you can see that the Empire Baroness gets the best gas mileage (33.9 miles per gallon).

We’ll go with the Baroness when we buy a new car.

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