SIG731 : Task 2P

Working with numpy Vectors (Unidimensional Data)

1 Introduction
This task is related to Module 2 (Sections 2.1-2.4;see the Learning Resources on the unit site or,even
better, Chapters 2–3 of Minimalist Data Wrangling with Python).
This task is due on Week 3 (19th Jan, Sunday). Start tackling it as early as possible. If we find your first
solution incomplete or otherwise incorrect, you will still be able to amend it based on the generous
feedback we will give you (allow 3–5 working days). In case of any problems/questions, do not hesitate
to attend our on-campus/online classes or use the Discussion Board on the unit site.
Submitting after the aforementioned due date might incur a late penalty. The cut-off date is Week 4
(Friday). There will be no extensions (this is a Week 2 task, after all) and no solutions will be accepted
thereafter. At that time, if your submission is not 100% complete, it will be marked as FAIL, without the
possibility of correcting and resubmitting. This task is part of the hurdle requirements in this unit. Not
submitting the correct version on time results in failing the unit.
All submissions will be checked for plagiarism. You are expected to work independently on your task
solutions. Never share/show parts of solutions with/to anyone.

2 Questions
Create a single Jupyter/IPython notebook (see the Artefacts section below for all the requirements – read
the whole task specification first!), where you perform what follows.
The use of pandas is forbidden. You can use scipy, though.
Do not use for loops or list comprehensions – this is an exercise on numpy.
Q1. Download the daily close BTC-to-USD data, from 2023-01-01 up to 2023-12-31, available at https:
//finance.yahoo.com/quote/BTC-USD (the Historical Data tab).
Q2. Use numpy.genfromtxt or numpy.loadtxt to read the above BTC-to-USD data as a numpy
vector named rates.
Option: You can use a spreadsheet application such as LibreOffice Calc or MS Excel to manually
remove everything except the numeric values in the Close column. The column labels should also
be manually deleted. Export these observations to a CSV file (which should only contain numbers,
one per line). You can also use features in numpy.genfromtxt or numpy.loadtxt to remove
them.
Q3. For the fourth quarter of the year only (Q4 2023; days 274–365 inclusive),determine and display(in
a readable manner) the following aggregates:
• arithmetic mean,
• minimum,
• the first quartile,
• median,
• the third quartile,
• maximum,
• standard deviation,
• interquartile range.
 Reference result from Q3 2024 (yours can be prettier):
## arithmetic mean: 28091.33

## minimum: 25162.65

## Q1: 26225.56

## median: 28871.82

## Q3: 29767.07

## maximum: 31476.05

## standard deviation: 1827.04

## IQR: 3541.51

Q4. Call matplotlib.pyplot.plot(days, rates, <...further_arguments...>) to

draw the Q4 2023 data (with 274 denoting 1 October), using red solid line segments. Call
matplotlib.pyplot.title to add the plot title. Discuss what you see.

Q5. Determine the day numbers (with 274 denoting 1 October) with the lowest and highest observed
prices in Q4 2023. Below is an example of the lowest and highest price days in Q3 2023.
## Lowest price was on day 254 (25162.65).

## Highest price was on day 194 (31476.05).

All packages must be imported and data must be loaded at the beginning of the file (only once!).

Q6. Using matplotlib.pyplot.boxplot, draw a horizontal box-and-whisker plot for the Q4 2023
daily price increases/decreases as obtained by a call to numpy.diff.

Using an additional call to matplotlib.pyplot.plot, mark the arithmetic mean on the box
plot with a green “x”.
In your own words, explain what we can read from the plot. Below is a reference plot from Q3 2024.
Distribution of BTC-to-USD daily price increases in Q3 2023
 2000 1500 1000 500 0 500 1000 1500

Q7. Count (programmatically,using the vectorised relational operators from numpy) how many outliers
the boxplot contains (for the definition of an outlier, consult Section 2.3 of our learning materials
on the unit site or Section 5.1 in the Book). In your own words, explain what such outliers might
mean in the current context.
## There are 16 outliers.

3 Artefacts
The solution to the task must be included in a single Jupyter/IPython notebook (an .ipynb file) running
against a Python 3 kernel. The use of G**gle Colab is discouraged. Nothing beats a locally-installed
version where you have full control over the environment. Do not become dependent on third-party
middlemen/distributors. Choose freedom instead.
Make sure that your notebook has a readable structure;in particular,that it is divided into sections.Use
rich Markdown formatting (text in dedicated Markdown chunks – not just Python comments).
Do not include the questions/tasks from the task specification. Your notebook should read nicely and
smoothly – like a report from data analysis that you designed yourself. Make the flow read natural (e.g.,
First, let us load the data on… Then, let us determine… etc.). Imagine it is a piece of work that you
would like to show to your manager or clients — you certainly want to make a good impression. Check
your spelling and grammar. Also, use formal language.
At the start of the notebook, you need to provide: the title of the report (e.g., Task42:How Much I Love
This Unit), your name, student number and email address.
Then, add 1–2 introductory paragraphs (an introduction/abstract – what the task is about).
Before each nontrivial code chunk, briefly explain what its purpose is. After each code chunk,
summarise and discuss the obtained results (in a few sentences).
Conclude the report with 1–2 paragraphs (summary/discussion/possible extensions of the analysis etc.).
Limitations of the ipynb-to-pdfrenderer:
Ensure that your report as seen in Olympus is aesthetic. The ipynb-to-pdf renderer is imperfect. We work
with what we have. Here are the most common Markdown-related errors.

• Do not include any externally loaded images (via the  Markdown command),
for they lead to upload errors.
• Do not input HTML code in Markdown.
• Make sure you leave one blank line before and after each paragraph and bullet list. Do not use
backslashes at the end of the line.
• Currently, also LaTeX formulae and Markdown tables are not recognised. However, they do not

lead to any errors.

Checklist:
 1. Header, introduction, conclusion (Markdown chunks).
2. Text divided into sections, all major code chunks commented and discussed in your own words
(Markdown chunks).
3. Every subtask addressed/solved. In particular, all reference results that are part of the task
specification have been reproduced (plots, computed aggregates, etc.).
4. The report is readable and neat. In particular:
• all code lines are visible in their entirety (they are not too long),
• code chunks use consecutive numbering (select Kernel - Restart and Run All from the Jupyter
menu),
• rich Markdown formatting is used (# Section Title, * bullet list, 1. enumerated
list, | table |, *italic*, etc.),
• the printing of unnecessary/intermediate objects is minimised (focus on reporting the results
specifically requested in the task specification).
Submissions which do not fully (100%)conform to the task specification on the cut-off date will be
marked as FAIL.
Good luck!

4 Intended Learning Outcomes

ULO Is
Related?
ULO1 (Data Processing/Wrangling) YES
ULO2 (Data Discovery/Extraction) YES
ULO3 (Requirement Analysis/Data Sources) YES
ULO4 (Exploratory Data Analysis) YES
ULO5 (Data Privacy and Ethics) YES