Chapter 2

Descriptive Statistics

2.1 Descriptive Statistics1

2.1.1 Student Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, the student should be able to:

• Display data graphically and interpret graphs: stemplots, histograms and boxplots.
• Recognize, describe, and calculate the measures of location of data: quartiles and percentiles.
• Recognize, describe, and calculate the measures of the center of data: mean, median, and mode.
• Recognize, describe, and calculate the measures of the spread of data: variance, standard deviation,
and range.

2.1.2 Introduction
Once you have collected data, what will you do with it? Data can be described and presented in many
different formats. For example, suppose you are interested in buying a house in a particular area. You may
have no clue about the house prices, so you might ask your real estate agent to give you a sample data set
of prices. Looking at all the prices in the sample often is overwhelming. A better way might be to look
at the median price and the variation of prices. The median and variation are just two ways that you will
learn to describe data. Your agent might also provide you with a graph of the data.

In this chapter, you will study numerical and graphical ways to describe and display your data. This area
of statistics is called "Descriptive Statistics". You will learn to calculate, and even more importantly, to
interpret these measurements and graphs.

2.2 Displaying Data2

A statistical graph is a tool that helps you learn about the shape or distribution of a sample. The graph can
be a more effective way of presenting data than a mass of numbers because we can see where data clusters
and where there are only a few data values. Newspapers and the Internet use graphs to show trends and
to enable readers to compare facts and figures quickly.

Statisticians often graph data first in order to get a picture of the data. Then, more formal tools may be
applied.
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50 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Some of the types of graphs that are used to summarize and organize data are the dot plot, the bar chart,
the histogram, the stem-and-leaf plot, the frequency polygon (a type of broken line graph), pie charts, and
the boxplot. In this chapter, we will briefly look at stem-and-leaf plots. Our emphasis will be on histograms
and boxplots.

2.3 Stem and Leaf Graphs (Stemplots)3

One simple graph, the stem-and-leaf graph or stemplot, comes from the field of exploratory data analysis.It
is a good choice when the data sets are small. To create the plot, divide each observation of data into a stem
and a leaf. The leaf consists of one digit. For example, 23 has stem 2 and leaf 3. Four hundred thirty-two
(432) has stem 43 and leaf 2. Five thousand four hundred thirty-two (5,432) has stem 543 and leaf 2. The
decimal 9.3 has stem 9 and leaf 3. Write the stems in a vertical line from smallest the largest. Draw a vertical
line to the right of the stems. Then write the leaves in increasing order next to their corresponding stem.
Example 2.1
For Susan Dean’s spring pre-calculus class, scores for the first exam were as follows (smallest to
largest):
33; 42; 49; 49; 53; 55; 55; 61; 63; 67; 68; 68; 69; 69; 72; 73; 74; 78; 80; 83; 88; 88; 88; 90; 92; 94; 94; 94; 94;
96; 100

Stem-and-Leaf Diagram

3 3
4 299
5 355
6 1378899
7 2348
8 03888
9 0244446
10 0

Table 2.1

The stemplot shows that most scores fell in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Eight out of the 31 scores or
approximately 26% of the scores were in the 90’s or 100, a fairly high number of As.
The stemplot is a quick way to graph and gives an exact picture of the data. You want to look for an overall
pattern and any outliers. An outlier is an observation of data that does not fit the rest of the data. It is
sometimes called an extreme value. When you graph an outlier, it will appear not to fit the pattern of the
graph. Some outliers are due to mistakes (for example, writing down 50 instead of 500) while others may
indicate that something unusual is happening. It takes some background information to explain outliers.
In the example above, there were no outliers.
Example 2.2
Create a stem plot using the data:

1.1; 1.5; 2.3; 2.5; 2.7; 3.2; 3.3; 3.3; 3.5; 3.8; 4.0; 4.2; 4.5; 4.5; 4.7; 4.8; 5.5; 5.6; 6.5; 6.7; 12.3

The data are the distance (in kilometers) from a home to the nearest supermarket.
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Problem (Solution on p. 92.)

1. Are there any outliers?

2. Do the data seem to have any concentration of values?

H INT: The leaves are to the right of the decimal.

NOTE : This book contains instructions for constructing a histogram and a box plot for the TI-83+
and TI-84 calculators. You can find additional instructions for using these calculators on the Texas
Instruments (TI) website4 .

2.4 Histograms5
For most of the work you do in this book, you will use a histogram to display the data. One advantage of a
histogram is that it can readily display large data sets. A rule of thumb is to use a histogram when the data
set consists of 100 values or more.

A histogram consists of contiguous boxes. It has both a horizontal axis and a vertical axis. The horizontal
axis is labeled with what the data represents (for instance, distance from your home to school). The vertical
axis is labeled either "frequency" or "relative frequency". The graph will have the same shape with either
label. Frequency is commonly used when the data set is small and relative frequency is used when the
data set is large or when we want to compare several distributions. The histogram (like the stemplot) can
give you the shape of the data, the center, and the spread of the data. (The next section tells you how to
calculate the center and the spread.)

The relative frequency is equal to the frequency for an observed value of the data divided by the total
number of data values in the sample. (In the chapter on Sampling and Data (Section 1.1), we defined
frequency as the number of times an answer occurs.) If:

• f = frequency
• n = total number of data values (or the sum of the individual frequencies), and
• RF = relative frequency,

then:

f
RF = (2.1)
n
For example, if 3 students in Mr. Ahab’s English class of 40 students received an A, then,
f 3
f = 3 , n = 40 , and RF = n = 40 = 0.075

Seven and a half percent of the students received an A.

To construct a histogram, first decide how many bars or intervals, also called classes, represent the data.
Many histograms consist of from 5 to 15 bars or classes for clarity. Choose a starting point for the first
interval to be less than the smallest data value. A convenient starting point is a lower value carried out
to one more decimal place than the value with the most decimal places. For example, if the value with the
most decimal places is 6.1 and this is the smallest value, a convenient starting point is 6.05 (6.1 - 0.05 = 6.05).
We say that 6.05 has more precision. If the value with the most decimal places is 2.23 and the lowest value
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52 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

is 1.5, a convenient starting point is 1.495 (1.5 - 0.005 = 1.495). If the value with the most decimal places is
3.234 and the lowest value is 1.0, a convenient starting point is 0.9995 (1.0 - .0005 = 0.9995). If all the data
happen to be integers and the smallest value is 2, then a convenient starting point is 1.5 (2 - 0.5 = 1.5). Also,
when the starting point and other boundaries are carried to one additional decimal place, no data value
will fall on a boundary.
Example 2.3
The following data are the heights (in inches to the nearest half inch) of 100 male semiprofessional
soccer players. The heights are continuous data since height is measured.

60; 60.5; 61; 61; 61.5

63.5; 63.5; 63.5

64; 64; 64; 64; 64; 64; 64; 64.5; 64.5; 64.5; 64.5; 64.5; 64.5; 64.5; 64.5

66; 66; 66; 66; 66; 66; 66; 66; 66; 66; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 66.5; 67; 67;
67; 67; 67; 67; 67; 67; 67; 67; 67; 67; 67.5; 67.5; 67.5; 67.5; 67.5; 67.5; 67.5

68; 68; 69; 69; 69; 69; 69; 69; 69; 69; 69; 69; 69.5; 69.5; 69.5; 69.5; 69.5

70; 70; 70; 70; 70; 70; 70.5; 70.5; 70.5; 71; 71; 71

72; 72; 72; 72.5; 72.5; 73; 73.5

74

The smallest data value is 60. Since the data with the most decimal places has one decimal (for
instance, 61.5), we want our starting point to have two decimal places. Since the numbers 0.5,
0.05, 0.005, etc. are convenient numbers, use 0.05 and subtract it from 60, the smallest value, for
the convenient starting point.

60 - 0.05 = 59.95 which is more precise than, say, 61.5 by one decimal place. The starting point is,
then, 59.95.

The largest value is 74. 74+ 0.05 = 74.05 is the ending value.

Next, calculate the width of each bar or class interval. To calculate this width, subtract the starting
point from the ending value and divide by the number of bars (you must choose the number of
bars you desire). Suppose you choose 8 bars.
74.05 − 59.95
= 1.76 (2.2)
8

NOTE : We will round up to 2 and make each bar or class interval 2 units wide. Rounding up to 2 is
one way to prevent a value from falling on a boundary. For this example, using 1.76 as the width
would also work.

The boundaries are:

• 59.95
• 59.95 + 2 = 61.95
• 61.95 + 2 = 63.95
• 63.95 + 2 = 65.95
• 65.95 + 2 = 67.95
 53

• 67.95 + 2 = 69.95
• 69.95 + 2 = 71.95
• 71.95 + 2 = 73.95
• 73.95 + 2 = 75.95

The heights 60 through 61.5 inches are in the interval 59.95 - 61.95. The heights that are 63.5 are
in the interval 61.95 - 63.95. The heights that are 64 through 64.5 are in the interval 63.95 - 65.95.
The heights 66 through 67.5 are in the interval 65.95 - 67.95. The heights 68 through 69.5 are in the
interval 67.95 - 69.95. The heights 70 through 71 are in the interval 69.95 - 71.95. The heights 72
through 73.5 are in the interval 71.95 - 73.95. The height 74 is in the interval 73.95 - 75.95.

The following histogram displays the heights on the x-axis and relative frequency on the y-axis.

Example 2.4
The following data are the number of books bought by 50 part-time college students at ABC
College. The number of books is discrete data since books are counted.

1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1

2; 2; 2; 2; 2; 2; 2; 2; 2; 2

3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3; 3

4; 4; 4; 4; 4; 4

5; 5; 5; 5; 5

6; 6

Eleven students buy 1 book. Ten students buy 2 books. Sixteen students buy 3 books. Six students
buy 4 books. Five students buy 5 books. Two students buy 6 books.
54 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Because the data are integers, subtract 0.5 from 1, the smallest data value and add 0.5 to 6, the
largest data value. Then the starting point is 0.5 and the ending value is 6.5.
Problem (Solution on p. 92.)
Next, calculate the width of each bar or class interval. If the data are discrete and there are not too
many different values, a width that places the data values in the middle of the bar or class interval
is the most convenient. Since the data consist of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and the starting point is
0.5, a width of one places the 1 in the middle of the interval from 0.5 to 1.5, the 2 in the middle of
the interval from 1.5 to 2.5, the 3 in the middle of the interval from 2.5 to 3.5, the 4 in the middle of
the interval from _______ to _______, the 5 in the middle of the interval from _______ to _______,
and the _______ in the middle of the interval from _______ to _______ .
Calculate the number of bars as follows:
6.5 − 0.5
=1 (2.3)
bars
where 1 is the width of a bar. Therefore, bars = 6.

The following histogram displays the number of books on the x-axis and the frequency on the
y-axis.

2.4.1 Optional Collaborative Exercise

Count the money (bills and change) in your pocket or purse. Your instructor will record the amounts. As a
class, construct a histogram displaying the data. Discuss how many intervals you think is appropriate. You
may want to experiment with the number of intervals. Discuss, also, the shape of the histogram.

Record the data, in dollars (for example, 1.25 dollars).

Construct a histogram.
 55

2.5 Box Plots6

Box plots or box-whisker plots give a good graphical image of the concentration of the data. They also
show how far from most of the data the extreme values are. The box plot is constructed from five values:
the smallest value, the first quartile, the median, the third quartile, and the largest value. The median, the
first quartile, and the third quartile will be discussed here, and then again in the section on measuring data
in this chapter. We use these values to compare how close other data values are to them.

The median, a number, is a way of measuring the "center" of the data. You can think of the median as the
"middle value," although it does not actually have to be one of the observed values. It is a number that
separates ordered data into halves. Half the values are the same number or smaller than the median and
half the values are the same number or larger. For example, consider the following data:

1; 11.5; 6; 7.2; 4; 8; 9; 10; 6.8; 8.3; 2; 2; 10; 1

Ordered from smallest to largest:

1; 1; 2; 2; 4; 6; 6.8; 7.2; 8; 8.3; 9; 10; 10; 11.5

The median is between the 7th value, 6.8, and the 8th value 7.2. To find the median, add the two values
together and divide by 2.
6.8 + 7.2
=7 (2.4)
2
The median is 7. Half of the values are smaller than 7 and half of the values are larger than 7.

Quartiles are numbers that separate the data into quarters. Quartiles may or may not be part of the data.
To find the quartiles, first find the median or second quartile. The first quartile is the middle value of the
lower half of the data and the third quartile is the middle value of the upper half of the data. To get the
idea, consider the same data set shown above:

1; 1; 2; 2; 4; 6; 6.8; 7.2; 8; 8.3; 9; 10; 10; 11.5

The median or second quartile is 7. The lower half of the data is 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 6, 6.8. The middle value of the
lower half is 2.

1; 1; 2; 2; 4; 6; 6.8

The number 2, which is part of the data, is the first quartile. One-fourth of the values are the same or less
than 2 and three-fourths of the values are more than 2.

The upper half of the data is 7.2, 8, 8.3, 9, 10, 10, 11.5. The middle value of the upper half is 9.

7.2; 8; 8.3; 9; 10; 10; 11.5

The number 9, which is part of the data, is the third quartile. Three-fourths of the values are less than 9
and one-fourth of the values are more than 9.

To construct a box plot, use a horizontal number line and a rectangular box. The smallest and largest data
values label the endpoints of the axis. The first quartile marks one end of the box and the third quartile
marks the other end of the box. The middle fifty percent of the data fall inside the box. The "whiskers"
extend from the ends of the box to the smallest and largest data values. The box plot gives a good quick
picture of the data.
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56 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Consider the following data:

1; 1; 2; 2; 4; 6; 6.8 ; 7.2; 8; 8.3; 9; 10; 10; 11.5

The first quartile is 2, the median is 7, and the third quartile is 9. The smallest value is 1 and the largest
value is 11.5. The box plot is constructed as follows (see calculator instructions in the back of this book or
on the TI web site7 ):

The two whiskers extend from the first quartile to the smallest value and from the third quartile to the
largest value. The median is shown with a dashed line.
Example 2.5
The following data are the heights of 40 students in a statistics class.

59; 60; 61; 62; 62; 63; 63; 64; 64; 64; 65; 65; 65; 65; 65; 65; 65; 65; 65; 66; 66; 67; 67; 68; 68; 69; 70; 70; 70;
70; 70; 71; 71; 72; 72; 73; 74; 74; 75; 77

Construct a box plot with the following properties:

• Smallest value = 59
• Largest value = 77
• Q1: First quartile = 64.5
• Q2: Second quartile or median= 66
• Q3: Third quartile = 70

a. Each quarter has 25% of the data.

b. The spreads of the four quarters are 64.5 - 59 = 5.5 (first quarter), 66 - 64.5 = 1.5 (second
quarter), 70 - 66 = 4 (3rd quarter), and 77 - 70 = 7 (fourth quarter). So, the second quarter
has the smallest spread and the fourth quarter has the largest spread.
c. Interquartile Range: IQR = Q3 − Q1 = 70 − 64.5 = 5.5.
d. The interval 59 through 65 has more than 25% of the data so it has more data in it than the
interval 66 through 70 which has 25% of the data.
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 57

For some sets of data, some of the largest value, smallest value, first quartile, median, and third
quartile may be the same. For instance, you might have a data set in which the median and the
third quartile are the same. In this case, the diagram would not have a dotted line inside the box
displaying the median. The right side of the box would display both the third quartile and the
median. For example, if the smallest value and the first quartile were both 1, the median and the
third quartile were both 5, and the largest value was 7, the box plot would look as follows:

Example 2.6
Test scores for a college statistics class held during the day are:

99; 56; 78; 55.5; 32; 90; 80; 81; 56; 59; 45; 77; 84.5; 84; 70; 72; 68; 32; 79; 90

Test scores for a college statistics class held during the evening are:

98; 78; 68; 83; 81; 89; 88; 76; 65; 45; 98; 90; 80; 84.5; 85; 79; 78; 98; 90; 79; 81; 25.5
Problem (Solution on p. 92.)

• What are the smallest and largest data values for each data set?
• What is the median, the first quartile, and the third quartile for each data set?
• Create a boxplot for each set of data.
• Which boxplot has the widest spread for the middle 50% of the data (the data between the
first and third quartiles)? What does this mean for that set of data in comparison to the other
set of data?
• For each data set, what percent of the data is between the smallest value and the first quar-
tile? (Answer: 25%) the first quartile and the median? (Answer: 25%) the median and the
third quartile? the third quartile and the largest value? What percent of the data is between
the first quartile and the largest value? (Answer: 75%)

The first data set (the top box plot) has the widest spread for the middle 50% of the data. IQR =
Q3 − Q1 is 82.5 − 56 = 26.5 for the first data set and 89 − 78 = 11 for the second data set.
So, the first set of data has its middle 50% of scores more spread out.

25% of the data is between M and Q3 and 25% is between Q3 and Xmax.

2.6 Measures of the Location of the Data8

The common measures of location are quartiles and percentiles (%iles). Quartiles are special percentiles.
The first quartile, Q1 is the same as the 25th percentile (25th %ile) and the third quartile, Q3 , is the same as
the 75th percentile (75th %ile). The median, M, is called both the second quartile and the 50th percentile
(50th %ile).

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58 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

To calculate quartiles and percentiles, the data must be ordered from smallest to largest. Recall that quartiles
divide ordered data into quarters. Percentiles divide ordered data into hundredths. To score in the 90th
percentile of an exam does not mean, necessarily, that you received 90% on a test. It means that your score
was higher than 90% of the people who took the test and lower than the scores of the remaining 10% of
the people who took the test. Percentiles are useful for comparing values. For this reason, universities and
colleges use percentiles extensively.

The interquartile range is a number that indicates the spread of the middle half or the middle 50% of the
data. It is the difference between the third quartile (Q3 ) and the first quartile (Q1 ).

IQR = Q3 − Q1 (2.5)

The IQR can help to determine potential outliers. A value is suspected to be a potential outlier if it is
more than (1.5)(IQR) below the first quartile or more than (1.5)(IQR) above the third quartile. Potential
outliers always need further investigation.
Example 2.7
For the following 13 real estate prices, calculate the IQR and determine if any prices are outliers.
Prices are in dollars. (Source: San Jose Mercury News)

389,950; 230,500; 158,000; 479,000; 639,000; 114,950; 5,500,000; 387,000; 659,000; 529,000; 575,000;
488,800; 1,095,000
Solution
Order the data from smallest to largest.

114,950; 158,000; 230,500; 387,000; 389,950; 479,000; 488,800; 529,000; 575,000; 639,000; 659,000;
1,095,000; 5,500,000

M = 488, 800
230500+387000
Q1 = 2 = 308750
639000+659000
Q3 = 2 = 649000

IQR = 649000 − 308750 = 340250

(1.5) ( IQR) = (1.5) (340250) = 510375

Q1 − (1.5) ( IQR) = 308750 − 510375 = −201625

Q3 + (1.5) ( IQR) = 649000 + 510375 = 1159375

No house price is less than -201625. However, 5,500,000 is more than 1,159,375. Therefore,
5,500,000 is a potential outlier.

Example 2.8
For the two data sets in the test scores example (p. 57), find the following:

a. The interquartile range. Compare the two interquartile ranges.

b. Any outliers in either set.
c. The 30th percentile and the 80th percentile for each set. How much data falls below the
30th percentile? Above the 80th percentile?
 59

Example 2.9: Finding Quartiles and Percentiles Using a Table

Fifty statistics students were asked how much sleep they get per school night (rounded to the
nearest hour). The results were (student data):

AMOUNT OF SLEEP- FREQUENCY RELATIVE FRE- CUMULATIVE RELA-

PER SCHOOL NIGHT QUENCY TIVE FREQUENCY
(HOURS)
4 2 0.04 0.04
5 5 0.10 0.14
6 7 0.14 0.28
7 12 0.24 0.52
8 14 0.28 0.80
9 7 0.14 0.94
10 3 0.06 1.00

Table 2.2

Find the 28th percentile: Notice the 0.28 in the "cumulative relative frequency" column. 28% of 50
data values = 14. There are 14 values less than the 28th %ile. They include the two 4s, the five 5s,
and the seven 6s. The 28th %ile is between the last 6 and the first 7. The 28th %ile is 6.5.

Find the median: Look again at the "cumulative relative frequency " column and find 0.52. The
median is the 50th %ile or the second quartile. 50% of 50 = 25. There are 25 values less than the
median. They include the two 4s, the five 5s, the seven 6s, and eleven of the 7s. The median or
50th %ile is between the 25th (7) and 26th (7) values. The median is 7.

Find the third quartile: The third quartile is the same as the 75th percentile. You can "eyeball" this
answer. If you look at the "cumulative relative frequency" column, you find 0.52 and 0.80. When
you have all the 4s, 5s, 6s and 7s, you have 52% of the data. When you include all the 8s, you have
80% of the data. The 75th %ile, then, must be an 8 . Another way to look at the problem is to find
75% of 50 (= 37.5) and round up to 38. The third quartile, Q3 , is the 38th value which is an 8. You
can check this answer by counting the values. (There are 37 values below the third quartile and 12
values above.)
Example 2.10
Using the table:

1. Find the 80th percentile.

2. Find the 90th percentile.
3. Find the first quartile. What is another name for the first quartile?
4. Construct a box plot of the data.

Collaborative Classroom Exercise: Your instructor or a member of the class will ask everyone in class how
many sweaters they own. Answer the following questions.
1. How many students were surveyed?
2. What kind of sampling did you do?
60 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

3. Find the mean and standard deviation.

4. Find the mode.
5. Construct 2 different histograms. For each, starting value = _____ ending value = ____.
6. Find the median, first quartile, and third quartile.
7. Construct a box plot.
8. Construct a table of the data to find the following:
• The 10th percentile
• The 70th percentile
• The percent of students who own less than 4 sweaters

2.7 Measures of the Center of the Data9

The "center" of a data set is also a way of describing location. The two most widely used measures of the
"center" of the data are the mean (average) and the median. To calculate the mean weight of 50 people,
add the 50 weights together and divide by 50. To find the median weight of the 50 people, order the data
and find the number that splits the data into two equal parts (previously discussed under box plots in this
chapter). The median is generally a better measure of the center when there are extreme values or outliers
because it is not affected by the precise numerical values of the outliers. The mean is the most common
measure of the center.

The mean can also be calculated by multiplying each distinct value by its frequency and then dividing the
sum by the total number of data values. The letter used to represent the sample mean is an x with a bar
over it (pronounced "x bar"): x.

The Greek letter µ (pronounced "mew") represents the population mean. If you take a truly random sample,
the sample mean is a good estimate of the population mean.

To see that both ways of calculating the mean are the same, consider the sample:

1; 1; 1; 2; 2; 3; 4; 4; 4; 4; 4
1+1+1+2+2+3+4+4+4+4+4
x= = 2.7 (2.6)
11
3×1+2×2+1×3+5×4
x= = 2.7 (2.7)
11
In the second example, the frequencies are 3, 2, 1, and 5.
n +1
You can quickly find the location of the median by using the expression 2 .

The letter n is the total number of data values in the sample. If n is an odd number, the median is the middle
value of the ordered data (ordered smallest to largest). If n is an even number, the median is equal to the
two middle values added together and divided by 2 after the data has been ordered. For example, if the
total number of data values is 97, then n+ 1 97+1
2 = 2 = 49. The median is the 49th value in the ordered data.
If the total number of data values is 100, then n+ 1 100+1
2 = 2 = 50.5. The median occurs midway between the
50th and 51st values. The location of the median and the median itself are not the same. The upper case
letter M is often used to represent the median. The next example illustrates the location of the median and
the median itself.
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Example 2.11
AIDS data indicating the number of months an AIDS patient lives after taking a new antibody
drug are as follows (smallest to largest):

3; 4; 8; 8; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 15; 16; 16; 17; 17; 18; 21; 22; 22; 24; 24; 25; 26; 26; 27; 27; 29; 29; 31; 32;
33; 33; 34; 34; 35; 37; 40; 44; 44; 47

Calculate the mean and the median.

Solution
The calculation for the mean is:
[3+4+(8)(2)+10+11+12+13+14+(15)(2)+(16)(2)+...+35+37+40+(44)(2)+47]
x= 40 = 23.6

To find the median, M, first use the formula for the location. The location is:
n +1 40+1
2 = 2 = 20.5

Starting at the smallest value, the median is located between the 20th and 21st values (the two
24s):

3; 4; 8; 8; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 15; 16; 16; 17; 17; 18; 21; 22; 22; 24; 24; 25; 26; 26; 27; 27; 29; 29; 31; 32;
33; 33; 34; 34; 35; 37; 40; 44; 44; 47
24+24
M= 2 = 24

The median is 24.

Example 2.12
Suppose that, in a small town of 50 people, one person earns $5,000,000 per year and the other 49
each earn $30,000. Which is the better measure of the "center," the mean or the median?
Solution
x = 5000000+5049×30000 = 129400

M = 30000

(There are 49 people who earn $30,000 and one person who earns $5,000,000.)

The median is a better measure of the "center" than the mean because 49 of the values are 30,000
and one is 5,000,000. The 5,000,000 is an outlier. The 30,000 gives us a better sense of the middle of
the data.

Another measure of the center is the mode. The mode is the most frequent value. If a data set has two
values that occur the same number of times, then the set is bimodal.
Example 2.13: Statistics exam scores for 20 students are as follows
Statistics exam scores for 20 students are as follows:

50 ; 53 ; 59 ; 59 ; 63 ; 63 ; 72 ; 72 ; 72 ; 72 ; 72 ; 76 ; 78 ; 81 ; 83 ; 84 ; 84 ; 84 ; 90 ; 93
Problem
Find the mode.
62 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Solution
The most frequent score is 72, which occurs five times. Mode = 72.

Example 2.14
Five real estate exam scores are 430, 430, 480, 480, 495. The data set is bimodal because the scores
430 and 480 each occur twice.

When is the mode the best measure of the "center"? Consider a weight loss program that advertises
an average weight loss of six pounds the first week of the program. The mode might indicate that
most people lose two pounds the first week, making the program less appealing.

Statistical software will easily calculate the mean, the median, and the mode. Some graphing
calculators can also make these calculations. In the real world, people make these calculations
using software.

2.7.1 The Law of Large Numbers and the Mean

The Law of Large Numbers says that if you take samples of larger and larger size from any population,
then the mean x of the sample gets closer and closer to µ. This is discussed in more detail in the section The
Central Limit Theorem of this course.

NOTE : The formula for the mean is located in the Summary of Formulas (Section 2.10) section
course.

2.8 Skewness and the Mean, Median, and Mode10

Consider the following data set:

4 ; 5 ; 6 ; 6 ; 6 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 8 ; 8 ; 8 ; 9 ; 10

This data produces the histogram shown below. Each interval has width one and each value is located in
the middle of an interval.

The histogram displays a symmetrical distribution of data. A distribution is symmetrical if a vertical line
can be drawn at some point in the histogram such that the shape to the left and the right of the vertical
10 This content is available online at <http://cnx.org/content/m17104/1.5/>.
 63

line are mirror images of each other. The mean, the median, and the mode are each 7 for these data. In a
perfectly symmetrical distribution, the mean, the median, and the mode are the same.

The histogram for the data:

4;5;6;6;6;7;7;7;7;7;7;8

is not symmetrical. The right-hand side seems "chopped off" compared to the left side. The shape distribu-
tion is called skewed to the left because it is pulled out to the left.

The mean is 6.3, the median is 6.5, and the mode is 7. Notice that the mean is less than the median and
they are both less than the mode. The mean and the median both reflect the skewing but the mean more
so.

The histogram for the data:

6 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 7 ; 8 ; 8 ; 8 ; 9 ; 10

is also not symmetrical. It is skewed to the right.

The mean is 7.7, the median is 7.5, and the mode is 7. Notice that the mean is the largest statistic, while
the mode is the smallest. Again, the mean reflects the skewing the most.

To summarize, generally if the distribution of data is skewed to the left, the mean is less than the median,
which is less than the mode. If the distribution of data is skewed to the right, the mode is less than the
median, which is less than the mean.
64 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Skewness and symmetry become important when we discuss probability distributions in later chapters.

2.9 Measures of the Spread of the Data11

The most common measure of spread is the standard deviation. The standard deviation is a number that
measures how far data values are from their mean. For example, if the mean of a set of data containing 7 is
5 and the standard deviation is 2, then the value 7 is one (1) standard deviation from its mean because 5 +
(1)(2) = 7.

The number line may help you understand standard deviation. If we were to put 5 and 7 on a number line,
7 is to the right of 5. We say, then, that 7 is one standard deviation to the right of 5. If 1 were also part of the
data set, then 1 is two standard deviations to the left of 5 because 5 +(-2)(2) = 1.

1=5+(-2)(2) ; 7=5+(1)(2)

Formula: value = x + (#ofSTDEVs)(s)

Generally, a value = mean + (#ofSTDEVs)(standard deviation), where #ofSTDEVs = the number of standard
deviations.

If x is a value and x is the sample mean, then x − x is called a deviation. In a data set, there are as many
deviations as there are data values. Deviations are used to calculate the sample standard deviation.

Calculation of the Sample Standard Deviation

To calculate the standard deviation, calculate the variance first. The variance is the average of the squares
of the deviations. The standard deviation is the square root of the variance. You can think of the standard
deviation as a special average of the deviations (the x − x values). The lower case letter s represents the
sample standard deviation and the Greek letter σ (sigma) represents the population standard deviation.
We use s2 to represent the sample variance and σ2 to represent the population variance. If the sample has
the same characteristics as the population, then s should be a good estimate of σ.

NOTE : In practice, use either a calculator or computer software to calculate the standard deviation.
However, please study the following step-by-step example.

Example 2.15
In a fifth grade class, the teacher was interested in the average age and the standard deviation of
the ages of her students. What follows are the ages of her students to the nearest half year:

9 ; 9.5 ; 9.5 ; 10 ; 10 ; 10 ; 10 ; 10.5 ; 10.5 ; 10.5 ; 10.5 ; 11 ; 11 ; 11 ; 11 ; 11 ; 11 ; 11.5 ; 11.5 ; 11.5

9 + 9.5 × 2 + 10 × 4 + 10.5 × 4 + 11 × 6 + 11.5 × 3
x= = 10.525 (2.8)
20
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 65

The average age is 10.53 years, rounded to 2 places.

The variance may be calculated by using a table. Then the standard deviation is calculated by
taking the square root of the variance. We will explain the parts of the table after calculating s.

Data Freq. Deviations Deviations2 (Freq.)(Deviations2 )

x f (x − x) ( x − x )2 ( f ) ( x − x )2
9 1 9 − 10.525 = −1.525 (−1.525)2 = 2.325625 1 × 2.325625 = 2.325625
2
9.5 2 9.5 − 10.525 = −1.025 (−1.025) = 1.050625 2 × 1.050625 = 2.101250
2
10 4 10 − 10.525 = −0.525 (−0.525) = 0.275625 4 × .275625 = 1.1025
2
10.5 4 10.5 − 10.525 = −0.025 (−0.025) = 0.000625 4 × .000625 = .0025
2
11 6 11 − 10.525 = 0.475 (0.475) = 0.225625 6 × .225625 = 1.35375
2
11.5 3 11.5 − 10.525 = 0.975 (0.975) = 0.950625 3 × .950625 = 2.851875

Table 2.3

The sample variance, s2 , is equal to the sum of the last column (9.7375) divided by the total number
of data values minus one (20 - 1):
9.7375
s2 = 20−1 = 0.5125

The sample standard deviation, s, is equal to the square root of the sample variance:
√
s = 0.5125 = .0715891 Rounded to two decimal places, s = 0.72

Typically, you do the calculation for the standard deviation on your calculator or computer. The
intermediate results are not rounded. This is done for accuracy.
Problem 1
Verify the mean and standard deviation calculated above on your calculator or computer. Find
the median and mode.
Solution
• Median = 10.5
• Mode = 11

Problem 2
Find the value that is 1 standard deviation above the mean. Find ( x + 1s).
Solution
( x + 1s) = 10.53 + (1) (0.72) = 11.25

Problem 3
Find the value that is two standard deviations below the mean. Find ( x − 2s).
Solution
( x − 2s) = 10.53 − (2) (0.72) = 9.09
66 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Problem 4
Find the values that are 1.5 standard deviations from (below and above) the mean.
Solution

• ( x − 1.5s) = 10.53 − (1.5) (0.72) = 9.45

• ( x + 1.5s) = 10.53 + (1.5) (0.72) = 11.61

Explanation of the table: The deviations show how spread out the data are about the mean. The value 11.5
is farther from the mean than 11. The deviations 0.975 and 0.475 indicate that. If you add the deviations, the
sum is always zero. (For this example, there are 20 deviations.) So you cannot simply add the deviations
to get the spread of the data. By squaring the deviations, you make them positive numbers. The variance,
then, is the average squared deviation. It is small if the values are close to the mean and large if the values
are far from the mean.

The variance is a squared measure and does not have the same units as the data. Taking the square root
solves the problem. The standard deviation measures the spread in the same units as the data.

For the sample variance, we divide by the total number of data values minus one (n − 1). Why not divide
by n? The answer has to do with the population variance. The sample variance is an estimate of the
population variance. By dividing by (n − 1), we get a better estimate of the population variance.

Your concentration should be on what the standard deviation does, not on the arithmetic. The standard
deviation is a number which measures how far the data are spread from the mean. Let a calculator or
computer do the arithmetic.

The sample standard deviation, s , is either zero or larger than zero. When s = 0, there is no spread. When
s is a lot larger than zero, the data values are very spread out about the mean. Outliers can make s very
large.

The standard deviation, when first presented, can seem unclear. By graphing your data, you can get a
better "feel" for the deviations and the standard deviation. You will find that in symmetrical distributions,
the standard deviation can be very helpful but in skewed distributions, the standard deviation may not be
much help. The reason is that the two sides of a skewed distribution have different spreads. In a skewed
distribution, it is better to look at the first quartile, the median, the third quartile, the smallest value, and
the largest value. Because numbers can be confusing, always graph your data.

NOTE : The formula for the standard deviation is at the end of the chapter.

Example 2.16
Use the following data (first exam scores) from Susan Dean’s spring pre-calculus class:

33; 42; 49; 49; 53; 55; 55; 61; 63; 67; 68; 68; 69; 69; 72; 73; 74; 78; 80; 83; 88; 88; 88; 90; 92; 94; 94; 94; 94;
96; 100

a. Create a chart containing the data, frequencies, relative frequencies, and cumulative rela-
tive frequencies to three decimal places.
b. Calculate the following to one decimal place using a TI-83+ or TI-84 calculator:
i. The sample mean
ii. The sample standard deviation
iii. The median
iv. The first quartile
 67

v. The third quartile

vi. IQR
c. Construct a box plot and a histogram on the same set of axes. Make comments about the
box plot, the histogram, and the chart.

Solution

a.
Data Frequency Relative Frequency Cumulative Relative Frequency
33 1 0.032 0.032
42 1 0.032 0.064
49 2 0.065 0.129
53 1 0.032 0.161
55 2 0.065 0.226
61 1 0.032 0.258
63 1 0.032 0.29
67 1 0.032 0.322
68 2 0.065 0.387
69 2 0.065 0.452
72 1 0.032 0.484
73 1 0.032 0.516
74 1 0.032 0.548
78 1 0.032 0.580
80 1 0.032 0.612
83 1 0.032 0.644
88 3 0.097 0.741
90 1 0.032 0.773
92 1 0.032 0.805
94 4 0.129 0.934
96 1 0.032 0.966
100 1 0.032 0.998 (Why isn’t this value 1?)

Table 2.4

b. i. The sample mean = 73.5

ii. The sample standard deviation = 17.9
iii. The median = 73
iv. The first quartile = 61
v. The third quartile = 90
vi. IQR = 90 - 61 = 29
c. The x-axis goes from 32.5 to 100.5; y-axis goes from -2.4 to 15 for the histogram; number
of intervals is 5 for the histogram so the width of an interval is (100.5 - 32.5) divided by
5 which is equal to 13.6. Endpoints of the intervals: starting point is 32.5, 32.5+13.6 =
68 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

46.1, 46.1+13.6 = 59.7, 59.7+13.6 = 73.3, 73.3+13.6 = 86.9, 86.9+13.6 = 100.5 = the ending
value; No data values fall on an interval boundary.

Figure 2.1

The long left whisker in the box plot is reflected in the left side of the histogram. The spread of
the exam scores in the lower 50% is greater (73 - 33 = 40) than the spread in the upper 50% (100 -
73 = 27). The histogram, box plot, and chart all reflect this. There are a substantial number of A
and B grades (80s, 90s, and 100). The histogram clearly shows this. The box plot shows us that the
middle 50% of the exam scores (IQR = 29) are Ds, Cs, and Bs. The box plot also shows us that the
lower 25% of the exam scores are Ds and Fs.
Example 2.17
Two students, John and Ali, from different high schools, wanted to find out who had the highest
G.P.A. when compared to his school. Which student had the highest G.P.A. when compared to his
school?

Student GPA School Mean GPA School Standard Deviation

John 2.85 3.0 0.7
Ali 77 80 10
Table 2.5

Solution
Use the formula value = mean + (#ofSTDEVs)(stdev) and solve for #ofSTDEVs for each student
(stdev = standard deviation):
 69

value−mean
#o f STDEVs = stdev :
2.85−3.0
For John, #o f STDEVs = 0.7 = −0.21
77−80
For Ali, #ofSTDEVs = 10 = −0.3

John has the better G.P.A. when compared to his school because his G.P.A. is 0.21 standard devia-
tions below his mean while Ali’s G.P.A. is 0.3 standard deviations below his mean.
70 CHAPTER 2. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

2.10 Summary of Formulas12

Commonly Used Symbols
• The symbol Σ means to add or to find the sum.
• n = the number of data values in a sample
• N = the number of people, things, etc. in the population
• x = the sample mean
• s = the sample standard deviation
• µ = the population mean
• σ = the population standard deviation
• f = frequency
• x = numerical value

Commonly Used Expressions

• x ∗ f = A value multiplied by its respective frequency
• ∑ x = The sum of the values
• ∑ x ∗ f = The sum of values multiplied by their respective frequencies
• ( x − x ) or ( x − µ) = Deviations from the mean (how far a value is from the mean)
• ( x − x )2 or ( x − µ)2 = Deviations squared
• f ( x − x )2 or f ( x − µ)2 = The deviations squared and multiplied by their frequencies
Mean Formulas:
• x = ∑nx or x = ∑ nf · x
• µ = ∑Nx or µ= ∑Nf · x
Standard Deviation Formulas:
q q
− x )2 Σ f ·( x − x )2
• s = Σ(nx− or s =
q 1 q n −1 2
Σ ( x − µ )2 Σ f ·( x −µ)
• σ= N or σ = N

Formulas Relating a Value, the Mean, and the Standard Deviation:

• value = mean + (#ofSTDEVs)(standard deviation), where #ofSTDEVs = the number of standard devi-
ations
• x = x+ (#ofSTDEVs)(s)
• x = µ + (#ofSTDEVs)(σ)

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