Ch4 Comparing Distributions Reading Quiz

Which of the following was not one of the variables measured in the Hopkins Memorial Forest by the Williams College Center for Environmental Studies in 2017?

• Average daily wind speed (mph)

• Average barometric pressure (mb)

• Average daily temperature (deg Celsius)

• Average annual temperature (deg Fahrenheit)

Look at Figure 4.1 on page 91. Which is higher, the median or the mean?

• They are equal.

• The median is higher.

• The mean is higher.

• It cannot be determined.

When comparing the average wind speed in mph for the summer months and the winter months in Hopkins Memorial Forest, in which season are the wind speeds more variable?

• Winter

• Spring

• Summer

• Fall

What was the IQR for the winter wind speeds in the Hopkins Memorial Forest example?

• 1.91

• 0.79

• 0.96

• 0.20

In the For Example on page 92, describe the shape of the Northeast and Midwest distribution of Nest Egg Indices.

• skewed left

• skewed right

• skewed down

• skewed up

• nearly symmetric

Answer explanation

Even though the orientation of this plot is vertical, we still say "skewed left" or sometimes "negatively skewed," if you want to be fancy. But we never say "skewed up" or "skewed down."

Refer to the Just Checking on page 92. Which of the following is most similar between the histograms showing the average annual temperatures recorded in the Hopkins Memorial Forest for the years before and the years after 1960?

• the center

• the range

• the shape

• the height of the tallest bar

Which of the following is not something we can easily see by examining side-by-side boxplots?

• medians

• IQRs

• overall range

• outliers

• clusters and/or gaps in the distributions

On page 94, click on the yellow cone symbol at the top of the Step-by-Step Example to bring up a "You Try It!" example. Which group generally scored lower than the other groups on all measures of the 5-number summary?

• No caffeine

• Low Caffeine

• High Caffeine

• Extra High Caffeine

Read through the Step-by-Step Example on pages 94 - 95. Which of the four mugs tested would you want to buy as a gift for someone who likes their coffee to stay hot?

• Nissan

• SIGG

• CUPPS

• Starbucks

• Contigo

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation collects and publishes statistics on airline travel. You can see three displays of the monthly percentages of flights arriving on time between January 1994 and June 2016 on page 95. What does the boxplot of on-time arrivals show that you cannot see in the histogram?