Chapter 03: Describing Data Visually

True / False Questions

1. It is easier to read the data values on a 3D column chart than on a 2D column

chart.

True False
(3D has visual appeal; however, we should avoid it)

2 The column chart should be avoided if you are plotting time series data.
. (Column chart does not work for time series data?)
True False

3. The line chart is appropriate for categorical (qualitative)

data.

True False
(line chart is never used for categorical data)

4 The Pareto chart is used to display the "vital few" causes of problems.
.
True False

5 Excel's pyramid chart is generally preferred to a plain 2D column

. chart.

True False

6 Excel's pyramid charts make it easier to read the data values.

.
True False

7 Dot plots are similar to histograms with many bins (classes).

.
True False

8 Compared to a dot plot, we lose some detail when we present data in a frequency
. distribution.

True False

9 Stacked dot plots are useful in understanding the association between two paired quantitative variables (X,
. Y).

True False

10 Log scales are common because most people are familiar with
. them.

True False

11. Sturges' Rule should override judgment about the "right" number of histogram bins.

True False

12. Sturges' Rule is merely a suggestion, not an ironclad

requirement.

True False
13 Excel's 3D pie charts are usually clearer than 2D pie charts.
.
True False

14 A common error with pie charts is using too few "slices."

.
True False

15 A pie chart can generally be used instead of a bar chart.

.
True False

16. A column chart can sometimes be used instead of a line chart for time series
data.

True False

17 Pie charts are attractive to statisticians, but are rarely used in business or general
. media.

True False

18. Pie charts are useful in displaying frequencies that sum to a

total.

True False

19. Dot plots may not reveal the shape of a distribution when the sample is
small.

True False

20 Scatter plots are used to visualize association in samples of paired data (X,
. Y).

True False

21 The zero origin rule may be waived for column or line charts if the objective is merely to visualize relative change over
. time.

True False

22. In a bimodal histogram, the two highest bars will have the same height.

True False

23. A frequency distribution is a tabulation of n data values into classes called

bins.

True False

24. A dot plot would be useful in visualizing scores on an exam in a class of 30

students.

True False

25. A frequency distribution usually has equal bin

widths.

True False

26. Line charts are not used for cross-sectional

data.

True False

27. A scatter plot is useful in visualizing trends over

 time.

True False

28 A scatter plot requires two quantitative variables (i.e., not categorical data).
.
True False

29. The number of bins in this histogram (caffeine content in mg/oz for 65 soft drinks) is consistent with Sturges'
Rule.

True False

30 Because most data values are on the left, we would say that this dot plot (burglary rates per 100,000 persons in 350 U.S. cities)
. shows a distribution that is skewed to the left (negatively skewed).

True False

31 It is possible to construct a histogram or frequency polygon with open-ended

. classes.

True False

32 Except for the Y-axis scaling, a histogram will look the same if we use relative frequencies instead of raw frequencies (with the
. same bin limits).

True False

Multiple Choice Questions

33 The ______________ can be used to differentiate the "vital few" causes of quality problems from the "trivial many" causes of
. quality problems.
 A. histogram

B. scatter plot

C. Pareto chart

D. box plot

34 Which is not a characteristic of a dot

. plot?

A. Simplicity

B. Legibility

C. Wide bins

D. Dot stacking

35 Which display is most likely to reveal association between X and

. Y?

A. Dot plot

B. Scatter plot

C. Histogram

D. Pareto chart

36. Which criterion is least likely to be used in choosing bins (classes) in a frequency
distribution?

A. Following Sturges' Rule

B. Selecting "nice" class (bin) limits

C. Using aesthetic judgment

D. Always starting at zero

37. Which of the following is true?

A. Line charts are not used for cross-sectional data.

B. Line charts are useful for visualizing categorical data.

C. Pyramid charts are generally preferred instead of column

charts.
 D. Pie charts can generally be used instead of bar charts.

38. Histograms generally do not reveal

the:

A. exact data range.

B. modal classes (bins).

C. degree of skewness.

D. relative
frequencies.

39. A column chart would be least suitable to display which data?

A. Annual compensation of 500 company CEOs

B. U.S. exports to its six largest trading partners

C. Exxon-Mobil's quarterly sales for the last four years

D. One-year CD interest rates paid by the eight largest U.S.

banks

40. A line chart would not be suitable to display which data?

A. U.S. oil imports from OPEC nations for the last 20 years

B. Annual compensation of the top 50 CEOs

C. Exxon-Mobil's quarterly sales data for the last five years

D. Daily stock market closing prices of Microsoft for the past month

41. Which is not a tip for effective column charts?

A. Time usually goes on the horizontal axis.

B. Column height should be proportional to the quantity displayed.

C. Label data values at the top of each column unless graphing lots of
data.

D. The nonzero origin rule may be waived for financial reports.

42. Which is not a tip for effective line charts?

 A. Line charts are better than bar charts to display cross-sectional
data.

B. Numerical labels are omitted on a line chart if there are many data
values.

C. Omit data markers (e.g., squares, triangles) when there are many data
values.

D. Thick lines make it harder to see exact data values.

43 Which is a reason for using a log scale for time series data?
.

A. It helps compare growth in time series of dissimilar magnitude.

B. General business audiences find it easier to interpret a log scale.

C. On a log scale, equal distances represent equal dollar amounts.

D. The axis labels are usually easier to read in log units.

44 Which is a not a characteristic of pie charts?

.

A. Pie charts can only convey a general idea of the data

values.

B. Pie charts are ineffective when they have too many

slices.

C. Exploded and 3-D pie charts will allow more "slices."

D. Pie chart data always represent parts of a whole (e.g., market

share).

45. Excel's pyramid charts:

A. are generally preferred to pie charts.

B. should be avoided despite their visual appeal.

C. are generally preferred to line

charts.

D. show trends more clearly than column charts.

46. Which is not a reason why pie charts are popular in business?

A. They can convey a general idea of the data to a nontechnical

audience.
 B. They can display major changes in parts of a whole (e.g., market share).

C. They are more precise than line charts, despite their low visual impact.

D. They can be labeled with data values to facilitate

interpretation.

47. Which data would be suitable for a pie chart?

A. Whirlpool Corporation's sales revenue for the last five years

B. Oxnard University student category (undergraduate, masters,

doctoral)

C. Average SAT scores for entering freshmen at 10 major U.S.

universities

D. U.S. toy imports from China over the past decade

48. Which data would be suitable for a pie chart?

A. Percent vote in the last election by party (Democrat, Republican, Other)

B. Retail prices of six major brands of color laser printers

C. Labor cost per vehicle for 10 major world automakers

D. Prices paid by 10 students for their accounting textbooks

49. Which data would be suitable for a pie chart?

A. Average starting salary of MBA graduates from six ivy-league universities

B. APR interest rates charged by the top five U.S. credit cards

C. Last semester's average GPA for students in seven majors in a business school

D. The number of U.S. primary care clinics by type (urban, suburban, rural)

50. Scatter plots are:

A. useful in visualizing trends over time.

B. useful in identifying causal relationships.

C. often fitted with a linear equation in Excel.

D. applicable mainly to discrete data.

51. Which is not a characteristic of an effective summary table?

A. The main point should be clear within 10

seconds.

B. Data to be compared should be displayed in rows, not columns.

C. Data should be rounded to three or four significant digits.

D. Use space instead of lines to separate

columns.

52 Effective summary tables generally:

.

A. have very detailed column headings and footnotes.

B. round their data to three or four significant digits.

C. use plenty of heavy vertical lines to separate the columns.

D. have the raw data listed in a footnote for

clarity.

53 Pivot tables:
.

A. are similar in purpose to simple 2D pie charts.

B. show how the data "pivot" around a point.

C. show cross-tabulations of data.

D. are not really tables at all.

54. Which of the following is least useful in visualizing categorical data?

A. Bar chart

B. Pie chart

C. Line chart

D. Pareto chart

55 Which is considered a novelty chart in Excel?

.

A. Pie chart
 B. Column chart

C. Pyramid
chart

D. Line chart

56 We would use a pivot table to:

.

A. cross-tabulate frequencies of occurrence of two

variables.

B. rotate the data around a central

point.

C. establish cause-and-effect between X and

Y.

D. display the data in a 3D scatter

plot.

57. Which is not considered a deceptive graphical

technique?

A. Nonzero origin

B. Elastic graph proportions

C. Dramatic title

D. Axis demarcations

58. Which is not considered a deceptive graphical

technique?

A. Undefined units

B. 2D graphs

C. Authority figures

D. Distracting pictures

59. Which is the most serious deceptive graphical

technique?

A. Vague source

B. Using bold colors

 C. Nonzero origin

D. Unlabeled data points

60. Which is not a poor graphing

technique?

A. Gratuitous pictures

B. Labeled axis scales

C. 3D bar charts

D. Rotated axis

61 Which of these deficiencies would be considered a major graphical deception?

.

A. Vague or unclear source

B. Using more than one color or

font

C. Bar widths proportional to bar height

D. Using a dramatic graph title

62. Which is not a characteristic of a log scale for time series data?

A. Log scales are useful when data change by an order of magnitude.

B. The distance from 5 to 50 is the same as the distance from 50 to

500.

C. On a log scale, equal distances represent equal ratios.

D. Log scales are generally familiar to the average reader.

63. Which is not a characteristic of using a log scale to display time series data?

A. A log scale helps if we are comparing changes in two time series of dissimilar magnitude.

B. General business audiences find it easier to interpret a log scale.

C. If you display data on a log scale, equal distances represent equal ratios.

64 This histogram shows Chris's golf scores in his last 77 rounds at Devil's Ridge. Which is not a correct
. statement?
 A. The number of bins is consistent with Sturges'
Rule.

B. The histogram has a noticeable bimodal shape.

C. The modal class is 78 < 80.

(bin = class)
(modal class has the highest height)
D. About 15 percent of his scores are in the interval 74 < 76.

65 Which is not revealed on a scatter plot?

.

A. Pairs of observed (x , y ) data values

i i

B. Nonlinear relationships between X and

Y

C. Missing data values due to nonresponses

D. Unusual data values (outliers)

66. The distribution pictured below is:

A. bimodal and skewed

right.

B. bimodal and skewed left.

 C. skewed right.

D. skewed left.

67. The distribution pictured below is:

A. bimodal and skewed

right.

B. bimodal and skewed left.

C. skewed right.

D. skewed left.

68. The graph below illustrates which deceptive technique?

A. Poor Y axis scale

B. Area trick

C. Unclear grid lines

D. Dramatic title

69. Which is a characteristic of a histogram's bars?

A. The bar widths reveal the cumulative frequencies of data

values.
 B. The bar widths indicate class intervals and their areas indicate frequencies.

C. The bar widths show class intervals and their heights indicate frequencies.

D. The bar widths are an exact multiple of the sample size.

70. Below is a frequency distribution of earnings of 50 contractors in a

country.

Regarding this distribution, which of the following is correct?

A. The frequency distribution contains too many class intervals.

B. The class interval limits are ambiguous.

C. Too few classes were chosen.

D. The class intervals are too wide.

71. Bob found an error in the following frequency distribution. What is

it?

CLASS FREQUENCY
1 - 10 2
11 - 20 6
25 - 30 8
31 - 40 12
44 - 50 6

A. The class limits are overlapping too much.

B. The classes are not collectively exhaustive.

C. There are too many classes by Sturges' Rule.

D. The first class must start at

0.
72 The point halfway between the bin limits in a frequency distribution is known as the:
.

A. bin midpoint.

B. bin limit.

C. bin frequency.

D. bin width.

73. When using a dot plot with a small sample, which is least apparent?

A. Dispersion of data values within the array

B. The overall shape of the distribution

C. Central tendency of data in the data set

D. Location of data values within the array

74 If you have 256 data points, how many classes (bins) would Sturges' Rule
. suggest?

A. 6

B. 7

C. 8

D. 9

75. If you have 32 data points, how many classes (bins) would Sturges' Rule
suggest?

A. 5

B. 6

C. 7

D. 8

76. Which statement is not true concerning Sturges' Rule?

A. It proposes adding one class (bin) to the histogram for each extra
observation.
 B. If you double the sample size, you should add one
class.

C. Its purpose is to tell how many classes (bins) to use in a frequency

distribution.

D. It is only a guideline and may be overruled by other considerations.

77 To classify prices from 62 recent home sales, Sturges' Rule would recommend:
.

A. 7 classes.

B. 8 classes.

C. 9 classes.

D. 10 classes.

78. A histogram can be defined as:

A. a chart whose bar widths show the cumulative frequencies of data

values.

B. a chart whose bar widths indicate class intervals and whose areas indicate
frequencies.

C. a chart whose bar widths show class intervals and whose heights indicate
frequencies.

D. a chart whose bar heights represent the value of each data point.

79 An open-ended bin (e.g., "50 and over") might be seen in a frequency distribution
. when:

A. some data values are not

integers.

B. data values are nonnumerical.

C. extremely large data values exist.

D. some data are missing.

80. The width of a class in a frequency distribution is known as

the:

A. midpoint.

B. class limit.
 C. bin frequency.

D. class interval.

81 A population is of size 5,500 observations. When the data are represented in a relative frequency distribution, the relative
. frequency of a given interval is 0.15. The frequency in this interval is equal to:

A. 4,675.

B. 800.

C. 675.

D. 825.

82 A population has 75 observations. One class interval has a frequency of 15 observations. The relative frequency in this category
. is:

A. 0.20.

B. 0.10.

C. 0.15.

D. 0.75.

83 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. How many vehicles were traveling exactly the speed limit (70 mph)?

Stem unit = 10
Leaf unit = 1
Frequenc
y Stem Leaf
1 4 9
1 5 5
17 6 01222455556688999
19 7 0111233345666778999
7 8 0133557
4 9 0122
49

A. 0

B. 1
 C. 19

D. Impossible to tell

84 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. What is the highest observed speed?

A. 92

B. 90

C. 87

D. Impossible to tell

85 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. What is the mode?

Stem unit = 10
Leaf unit = 1
Frequenc
y Stem Leaf
1 4 9
1 5 5
17 6 01222455556688999
19 7 0111233345666778999
7 8 0133557
4 9 0122
49
 A. 62

B. 79

C. 65

D. Impossible to tell

86 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. What is the fourth slowest speed in the sorted data array?

Stem unit = 10
Leaf unit = 1
Frequenc
y Stem Leaf
1 4 9
1 5 5
17 6 01222455556688999
19 7 0111233345666778999
7 8 0133557
4 9 0122
49

A. 61

B. 60

C. 55

D. Impossible to tell

87 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. The modal class is:

Stem unit = 10
Leaf unit = 1
Frequenc
y Stem Leaf
1 4 9
1 5 5
17 6 01222455556688999
19 7 0111233345666778999
7 8 0133557
 4 9 0122
49

A. 60 but less than 70.

B. 70 but less than 80.

C. 80 but less than 90.

D. impossible to determine.

88 A statistician prepared a bar chart showing, in descending order, the frequency of six underlying causes of general aviation
. accidents (pilot error, mechanical problems, disorientation, miscommunication, controller error, other). What would we call this
type of chart?

A. Pivot table

B. Pareto chart

C. Log scale chart

D. Frequency polygon

Short Answer Questions

89 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.
90 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.

91 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.
92 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.
93 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.

94 A study found the following parts per billion of nitrosamines in a sample of domestic beers. (a) Construct a frequency distribution
. of four classes with equal class sizes. (b) Construct another frequency distribution of four classes using unequal class intervals
or an open-ended interval for the highest class. (c) Which frequency distribution is preferable? Why?
95 Students were given a take-home statistics assignment and were asked to write down how long it took them (in minutes). Their
. answers are shown below. (a) Make a dot plot. (b) Use your judgment to construct a frequency distribution using whatever
classes (bins) you wish. (c) Make a histogram. (d) Describe the distribution. (e) Did your bin choices agree with Sturges' Rule? If
not, why not?

96 Students were asked to record how many hours they worked at an outside job last week. Their answers are shown below. (a)
. Make a dot plot. (b) Use your judgment to construct a frequency distribution using whatever classes (bins) you wish. (c) Make a
histogram. (d) Describe the distribution. (e) Did your bin choices agree with Sturges' Rule? If not, why not?

97 Ten part-time servers at a high-end restaurant were asked how many hours they worked last week and how much they earned.
. The results are shown below. (a) Make a scatter plot. (b) Describe it. (c) What is your best guess of the average hourly pay?
98 Craig operates a part-time snow-plowing business using a 2002 GMC 2500 HD extended cab short box truck. Describe Craig's
. gasoline mileage based on this histogram of 195 tanks of gas.

99 Here are advertised prices of 23 used Chevy Impalas. Describe the distribution's shape. Is the number of histogram classes
. correct?

100 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
101 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.

102 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
103 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.

104 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
105 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.

106 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
107 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
108 Briefly comment on strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your
. own general interpretation.

Answer Key

True / False Questions

1. It is easier to read the data values on a 3D column chart than on a 2D column

chart.

FALSE

Height is harder to judge on a 3D chart.

(3D chart has visual appeal, yet it is hard to read the data from 3D

2D is always the best)

(3D is preferable to 2D: FALSE)

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

 Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

2. The column chart should be avoided if you are plotting time series data.

FALSE

Line charts are more common, but column charts also work for a time
series.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

3. The line chart is appropriate for categorical (qualitative)

data.

FALSE

Only numerical data can be plotted on a line chart.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

4. The Pareto chart is used to display the "vital few" causes of problems.

TRUE

Causes are displayed in a column or bar chart sorted in order of

frequency.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

5 Excel's pyramid chart is generally preferred to a plain 2D column

. chart.

FALSE
 Avoid novelty charts when a plain 2D bar chart will do.

(2D is always the best)

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

6 Excel's pyramid charts make it easier to read the data values.

.
FALSE

Avoid novelty charts when a plain 2D column chart will do.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

7 Dot plots are similar to histograms with many bins (classes).

.
TRUE

Height of the dot stack is analogous to bar height.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

8 Compared to a dot plot, we lose some detail when we present data in a frequency
. distribution.

TRUE

Individual data values are easier to see on a dot plot.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms
9 Stacked dot plots are useful in understanding the association between two paired quantitative variables (X,
. Y).

FALSE

You would prefer a scatter plot for X-Y data.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

10 Log scales are common because most people are familiar with them.
.
FALSE

Log scales seem to be harder for the average businessperson to interpret.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

11. Sturges' Rule should override judgment about the "right" number of histogram bins.

FALSE

Sturges' Rule is only a starting point or guideline.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
bins.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

12. Sturges' Rule is merely a suggestion, not an ironclad

requirement.

TRUE

Sturges' Rule is only a starting point or guideline.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
 bins.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

13 Excel's 3D pie charts are usually clearer than 2D pie charts.

.
FALSE

Many people like 3D better, but it is harder to judge slice size.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

14 A common error with pie charts is using too few "slices."

.
FALSE

The opposite is true (too many slices are often seen).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

15 A pie chart can generally be used instead of a bar chart.

.
FALSE

No, a pie chart is specialized (only for parts of a whole).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

16. A column chart can sometimes be used instead of a line chart for time series
data.

TRUE

Line charts and column charts may be used to display time series data.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
 Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

17 Pie charts are attractive to statisticians, but are rarely used in business or general
. media.

FALSE

Pie charts make it hard to judge data values precisely, but often are colorful.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

18. Pie charts are useful in displaying frequencies that sum to a total.

TRUE

That is exactly what pie charts are for (e.g., industry market
shares).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

19. Dot plots may not reveal the shape of a distribution when the sample is
small.

TRUE

You need a fairly large sample size to assess shape on a dot plot.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

20 Scatter plots are used to visualize association in samples of paired data (X,
. Y).

TRUE
 That is exactly what a scatter plot is for.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-08 Make and interpret a scatter
plot.
Topic: Scatter Plots

21 The zero origin rule may be waived for column or line charts if the objective is merely to visualize relative change over
. time.

FALSE

Nonzero origin is always potentially deceptive if we want to know relative size.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

22. In a bimodal histogram, the two highest bars will have the same height.

FALSE

Not necessarily, though they might be the same.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-04 Identify skewness, modal classes, and outliers in a
histogram.
 Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

23. A frequency distribution is a tabulation of n data values into classes called

bins.

TRUE

This is the definition of a frequency distribution.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

24. A dot plot would be useful in visualizing scores on an exam in a class of 30

students.

TRUE

Because the sample is small and data values are discrete, a dot plot would be good.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

25. A frequency distribution usually has equal bin widths.

TRUE

Unequal bins are possible, but rare (software default is equal

bins).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

26. Line charts are not used for cross-sectional

data.

TRUE

Line charts are for time series data.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

 Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

27. A scatter plot is useful in visualizing trends over

time.

FALSE

Use a line chart to visualize trends.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-08 Make and interpret a scatter
plot.
Topic: Scatter Plots

28 A scatter plot requires two quantitative variables (i.e., not categorical data).
.
TRUE

An X-Y plot makes no sense for nonnumerical data.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-08 Make and interpret a scatter
plot.
Topic: Scatter Plots

29. The number of bins in this histogram (caffeine content in mg/oz for 65 soft drinks) is consistent with Sturges’
Rule.

FALSE

Sturges’ Rule suggests k = 1 + 3.3 log(65) = 6.98, or about 7 bins.

 However, the number of bins in this histogram is just 4.

 Not consistent

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
bins.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

30 Because most data values are on the left, we would say that this dot plot (burglary rates per 100,000 persons in 350 U.S. cities)
. shows a distribution that is skewed to the left (negatively skewed).

FALSE

Long right tail suggests positive skewness.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-04 Identify skewness, modal classes, and outliers in a
histogram.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

31 It is possible to construct a histogram or frequency polygon with open-ended

. classes.

FALSE

Without limits, we can’t mark bin limits on a graph.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

32 Except for the Y-axis scaling, a histogram will look the same if we use relative frequencies instead of raw frequencies (with the
. same bin limits).

TRUE
 Relative frequencies are just raw frequencies divided by the sample size.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

Multiple Choice Questions

33 The ______________ can be used to differentiate the “vital few” causes of quality problems from the “trivial many” causes of
. quality problems.

A. histogram

B. scatter plot

C. Pareto chart

D. box plot

A Pareto chart shows the causes in descending order of frequency.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

34. Which is not a characteristic of a dot plot?

A. Simplicity

B. Legibility

C. Wide bins
(histogram)
D. Dot stacking

In a dot plot, "bins" are really individual data values (not a

range).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

 Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

35 Which display is most likely to reveal association between X and

. Y?

A. Dot plot

B. Scatter plot

C. Histogram

D. Pareto chart

Scatter plots reveal covariance between X and Y.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-08 Make and interpret a scatter
plot.
Topic: Scatter Plots

36. Which criterion is least likely to be used in choosing bins (classes) in a frequency
distribution?

A. Following Sturges' Rule

B. Selecting "nice" class (bin) limits

C. Using aesthetic judgment

D. Always starting at zero

Bins can start at any value.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

37. Which of the following is true?

 A. Line charts are not used for cross-sectional
data.

B. Line charts are useful for visualizing categorical data.

C. Pyramid charts are generally preferred instead of column

charts.

D. Pie charts can generally be used instead of bar charts.

Line charts require numerical data over time.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

38. Histograms generally do not reveal

the:

A. exact data range.

B. modal classes (bins).

C. degree of skewness.

D. relative
frequencies.

"Nice" bin limits may be at x and x .

min max

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-04 Identify skewness, modal classes, and outliers in a
histogram.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

39 A column chart would be least suitable to display which data?

.

A. Annual compensation of 500 company

CEOs
(cross-sectional data with 500 obs)
B. U.S. exports to its six largest trading
partners
(6 bars)
 C. Exxon-Mobil's quarterly sales for the last four years
(16 bars)
D. One-year CD interest rates paid by the eight largest U.S.
banks

(8 bars)

With 500 data values, a column chart would reveal little. Make a histogram instead.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

40. A line chart would not be suitable to display which data?

A. U.S. oil imports from OPEC nations for the last 20 years
.
B. Annual compensation of the top 50 CEOs

C. Exxon-Mobil's quarterly sales data for the last five years

D. Daily stock market closing prices of Microsoft for the past month

Line charts are for time series data (not cross-sectional data).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

41. Which is not a tip for effective column charts?

A. Time usually goes on the horizontal axis.

B. Column height should be proportional to the quantity displayed.

C. Label data values at the top of each column unless graphing lots of
data.

D. The nonzero origin rule may be waived for financial reports.

Especially in financial reports, the zero origin rule is vital.

 AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

42. Which is not a tip for effective line charts?

A. Line charts are better than bar charts to display cross-sectional

data.

B. Numerical labels are omitted on a line chart if there are many data
values.

C. Omit data markers (e.g., squares, triangles) when there are many data
values.

D. Thick lines make it harder to see exact data values.

Line charts are for numerical time series data.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

43. Which is a reason for using a log scale for time series data?

A. It helps compare growth in time series of dissimilar

magnitude.

B. General business audiences find it easier to interpret a log scale.

C. On a log scale, equal distances represent equal dollar amounts.

D. The axis labels are usually easier to read in log units.

Changing magnitude may become a problem unless you use a log scale.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Effective Excel Charts
44 Which is a not a characteristic of pie charts?
.

A. Pie charts can only convey a general idea of the data

values.

B. Pie charts are ineffective when they have too many

slices.

C. Exploded and 3-D pie charts will allow more "slices."

D. Pie chart data always represent parts of a whole (e.g., market

share).

Pie charts with too many slices are hard to read whether 2D or 3D.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

45. Excel's pyramid charts:

A. are generally preferred to pie charts.

B. should be avoided despite their visual

appeal.

C. are generally preferred to line

charts.

D. show trends more clearly than column charts.

Avoid novelty charts in business presentations. They are fun but

unclear.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

46. Which is not a reason why pie charts are popular in business?

A. They can convey a general idea of the data to a nontechnical

 audience.

B. They can display major changes in parts of a whole (e.g., market share).

C. They are more precise than line charts, despite their low visual impact.

D. They can be labeled with data values to facilitate

interpretation.

Pie charts are attractive, but can be hard to read precisely.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

47. Which data would be suitable for a pie chart?

A. Whirlpool Corporation's sales revenue for the last five years

B. Oxnard University student category (undergraduate, masters,

doctoral)

C. Average SAT scores for entering freshmen at 10 major U.S.

universities

D. U.S. toy imports from China over the past decade

Pie charts are only for parts of a whole.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

48 Which data would be suitable for a pie chart?

.

A. Percent vote in the last election by party (Democrat, Republican, Other)

B. Retail prices of six major brands of color laser printers

C. Labor cost per vehicle for 10 major world automakers

D. Prices paid by 10 students for their accounting textbooks

 Pie charts are only for parts of a whole.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

49. Which data would be suitable for a pie chart?

A. Average starting salary of MBA graduates from six ivy-league universities

B. APR interest rates charged by the top five U.S. credit cards

C. Last semester's average GPA for students in seven majors in a business school

D. The number of U.S. primary care clinics by type (urban, suburban, rural)

Pie charts are only for parts of a whole.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

50. Scatter plots are:

A. useful in visualizing trends over time.

B. useful in identifying causal relationships.

C. often fitted with a linear equation in Excel.

D. applicable mainly to discrete data.

Excel makes it easy to fit a trend.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-08 Make and interpret a scatter
plot.
Topic: Scatter Plots
51 Which is not a characteristic of an effective summary table?
.

A. The main point should be clear within 10

seconds.

B. Data to be compared should be displayed in rows, not columns.

C. Data should be rounded to three or four significant digits.

D. Use space instead of lines to separate

columns.

Research suggests that side-by-side comparisons are easier.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-08 Make and interpret a scatter
plot.
Topic: Tables

52 Effective summary tables generally:

.

A. have very detailed column headings and footnotes.

B. round their data to three or four significant digits.

C. use plenty of heavy vertical lines to separate the columns.

D. have the raw data listed in a footnote for

clarity.

Too much accuracy may make it harder to assess magnitudes (e.g., 5.01873 mm and 5.02016 mm both round to 5.02
mm).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-09 Make simple tables and pivot
tables.
Topic: Tables

53. Pivot tables:

A. are similar in purpose to simple 2D pie charts.

 B. show how the data "pivot" around a point.

C. show cross-tabulations of data.

D. are not really tables at all.

A pivot table shows frequency counts (or sums or averages) in a row-column

format.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-09 Make simple tables and pivot
tables.
Topic: Tables

54. Which of the following is least useful in visualizing categorical

data?

A. Bar chart

B. Pie chart

C. Line chart

D. Pareto chart

Line charts are used to display numerical data over time.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

55. Which is considered a novelty chart in Excel?

A. Pie chart

B. Column chart

C. Pyramid
chart

D. Line chart

Pyramid charts utilize the area trick and are hard to

 read.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

56. We would use a pivot table to:

A. cross-tabulate frequencies of occurrence of two variables.

B. rotate the data around a central

point.

C. establish cause-and-effect between X and

Y.

D. display the data in a 3D scatter

plot.

A pivot table shows frequency counts (or sums or averages) in a row-column

format.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-09 Make simple tables and pivot
tables.
Topic: Tables

57. Which is not considered a deceptive graphical technique?

A. Nonzero origin

B. Elastic graph proportions

C. Dramatic title

D. Axis demarcations

Axis demarcations are helpful on graphs with numerical

scales.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
 Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

58. Which is not considered a deceptive graphical

technique?

A. Undefined units

B. 2D graphs

C. Authority figures

D. Distracting pictures

2D graphs are generally acceptable.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

59. Which is the most serious deceptive graphical

technique?

A. Vague source

B. Using bold colors

C. Nonzero origin

D. Unlabeled data points

A nonzero origin can distort relative size.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

60. Which is not a poor graphing technique?

 A. Gratuitous pictures

B. Labeled axis scales

C. 3D bar charts

D. Rotated axis

Labeled axis scales are desirable for numerical data.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

61 Which of these deficiencies would be considered a major graphical deception?

.

A. Vague or unclear source

B. Using more than one color or

font

C. Bar widths proportional to bar height

D. Using a dramatic graph title

The area trick occurs when bar width increases along with bar height.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

62. Which is not a characteristic of a log scale for time series data?

A. Log scales are useful when data change by an order of magnitude.

B. The distance from 5 to 50 is the same as the distance from 50 to

500.

C. On a log scale, equal distances represent equal ratios.

D. Log scales are generally familiar to the average reader.

 Some readers lack training to understand a simple log scale.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

63. Which is not a characteristic of using a log scale to display time series data?

A. A log scale helps if we are comparing changes in two time series of dissimilar magnitude.

B. General business audiences find it easier to interpret a log scale.

C. If you display data on a log scale, equal distances represent equal ratios.

Some business audiences lack training to understand a simple log scale.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-05 Make an effective line
chart.
Topic: Line Charts

64 This histogram shows Chris's golf scores in his last 77 rounds at Devil's Ridge. Which is not a correct
. statement?

A. The number of bins is consistent with Sturges' Rule.

B. The histogram has a noticeable bimodal shape.

 C. The modal class is 78 < 80.

D. About 15 percent of his scores are in the interval 74 < 76.

Sturges' Rule suggests k = 1 + 3.3 log(77) = 7.22 or about 7 bins.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
bins.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

65. Which is not revealed on a scatter plot?

A. Pairs of observed (x , y ) data values

i i

B. Nonlinear relationships between X and

Y

C. Missing data values due to nonresponses

D. Unusual data values (outliers)

Excel simply omits missing data for a scatter

plot.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Scatter Plots

66. The distribution pictured below is:

A. bimodal and skewed right.

B. bimodal and skewed left.

C. skewed right.
 D. skewed left.

You can see two modes and a longer right

tail.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-04 Identify skewness, modal classes, and outliers in a
histogram.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

67 The distribution pictured below is:

.

A. bimodal and skewed

right.

B. bimodal and skewed left.

C. skewed right.

D. skewed left.

You can see one mode and a long left tail.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-04 Identify skewness, modal classes, and outliers in a
histogram.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

68. The graph below illustrates which deceptive technique?

 A. Poor Y axis scale

B. Area trick

C. Unclear grid lines

D. Dramatic title

Area trick, because area increases along with height.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

69. Which is a characteristic of a histogram's bars?

A. The bar widths reveal the cumulative frequencies of data

values.

B. The bar widths indicate class intervals and their areas indicate frequencies.

C. The bar widths show class intervals and their heights indicate frequencies.

D. The bar widths are an exact multiple of the sample size.

Histogram bar height shows frequencies within each interval.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
bins.
 Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

70. Below is a frequency distribution of earnings of 50 contractors in a

country.

Regarding this distribution, which of the following is correct?

A. The frequency distribution contains too many class intervals.

B. The class interval limits are ambiguous.

C. Too few classes were chosen.

D. The class intervals are too wide.

Overlapping bin limits.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

71. Bob found an error in the following frequency distribution. What is it?
 A. The class limits are overlapping too much.

B. The classes are not collectively exhaustive.

C. There are too many classes by Sturges' Rule.

D. The first class must start at

0.

Where would you put a data value of 23?

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

72 The point halfway between the bin limits in a frequency distribution is known as the:
.

A. bin midpoint.

B. bin limit.

C. bin frequency.

D. bin width.

Bin midpoint is the average of the bin limits.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms
73. When using a dot plot with a small sample, which is least apparent?

A. Dispersion of data values within the array

B. The overall shape of the distribution

C. Central tendency of data in the data set

D. Location of data values within the array

Shape cannot be judged very well in small samples.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

74 If you have 256 data points, how many classes (bins) would Sturges' Rule
. suggest?

A. 6

B. 7

C. 8

D. 9

Sturges' Rule suggests k = 1 + 3.3 log(256) = 9 bins.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

75. If you have 32 data points, how many classes (bins) would Sturges' Rule
suggest?

A. 5

B. 6
 C. 7

D. 8

Sturges' Rule suggests k = 1 + 3.3 log(32) = 6 bins.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

76. Which statement is not true concerning Sturges' Rule?

A. It proposes adding one class (bin) to the histogram for each extra
observation.

B. If you double the sample size, you should add one

class.

C. Its purpose is to tell how many classes (bins) to use in a frequency

distribution.

D. It is only a guideline and may be overruled by other considerations.

Sturges' Rule suggests about k = 1 + 3.3 log(n) bins.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

77 To classify prices from 62 recent home sales, Sturges' Rule would recommend:
.

A. 7 classes.

B. 8 classes.

C. 9 classes.

D. 10 classes.

Sturges' Rule suggests k = 1 + 3.3 log(62) = 7 bins.

 AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

78. A histogram can be defined as:

A. a chart whose bar widths show the cumulative frequencies of data

values.

B. a chart whose bar widths indicate class intervals and whose areas indicate
frequencies.

C. a chart whose bar widths show class intervals and whose heights indicate
frequencies.

D. a chart whose bar heights represent the value of each data point.

Check textbook definition of histogram.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
bins.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

79 An open-ended bin (e.g., "50 and over") might be seen in a frequency distribution when:
.

A. some data values are not

integers.

B. data values are nonnumerical.

C. extremely large data values exist.

D. some data are missing.

For example, General Electric's CEO earned $15.2 million in 2010, which would not fit the bins of a histogram of incomes for
ordinary taxpayers.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
bins.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms
80. The width of a class in a frequency distribution is known as
the:

A. midpoint.

B. class limit.

C. bin frequency.

D. class interval.

Bin width and class interval mean the same.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-03 Make a histogram with appropriate
bins.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

81 A population is of size 5,500 observations. When the data are represented in a relative frequency distribution, the relative
. frequency of a given interval is 0.15. The frequency in this interval is equal to:

A. 4,675.

B. 800.

C. 675.

D. 825.

15 percent of 5,500 is 825.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

82 A population has 75 observations. One class interval has a frequency of 15 observations. The relative frequency in this category
. is:

A. 0.20.

B. 0.10.
 C. 0.15.

D. 0.75.

15/75 = 0.20, or 20 percent.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

83 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. How many vehicles were traveling exactly the speed limit (70 mph)?
A. 0

B. 1

C. 19

D. Impossible to tell

Fourth stem has only one value of 70.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

 Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

84 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. What is the highest observed speed?

A. 92

B. 90

C. 87

D. Impossible to tell

Last stem top data value is 92.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

85 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. What is the mode?
 A. 62

B. 79

C. 65

D. Impossible to tell

The value 65 occurs 4 times. Some other data values occur 3 times.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

86 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. What is the fourth slowest speed in the sorted data array?
 A. 61

B. 60

C. 55

D. Impossible to tell

Third stem second data value is 61.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots

87 Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway
. I-80 in Nebraska. The modal class is:

A. 60 but less than 70.

B. 70 but less than 80.

C. 80 but less than 90.

D. impossible to determine.

All the raw data are available, so we can calculate any statistic.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 03-01 Make a stem-and-leaf or dot
plot.
Topic: Stem-and-Leaf Displays and Dot Plots
88 A statistician prepared a bar chart showing, in descending order, the frequency of six underlying causes of general aviation
. accidents (pilot error, mechanical problems, disorientation, miscommunication, controller error, other). What would we call this
type of chart?

A. Pivot table

B. Pareto chart

C. Log scale chart

D. Frequency polygon

A Pareto chart displays the causes in descending order of frequency.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

Short Answer Questions

89 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.
 Colorful, cute subtitle adds nothing; 3D slices hard to read; too many pie slices; too much information; distracting pictures; no
source; no time period; no units of measurement.

Feedback: Colorful, but cute subtitle adds nothing; 3D slices are hard to read; too many pie slices; too much information
displayed; distracting pictures; no source; no time period stated; units of measurement not given (e.g., surgeries performed?).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

90 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.
 Attractive, attention-getting, but area trick is used (bars get wider as well as taller), no source, definition is unclear.

Feedback: Attractive, attention-getting, but area trick is used (bars get wider as well as taller), no source, definition is unclear
(whose fire losses—homes? businesses? all?).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

91 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.
 Clear graph, clear title, but no source, no definition of calls, no time period, and, worst of all, a nonzero origin.

Feedback: Sober, clear, attractive graph with clear title, but no source, no definition of calls (whose?), no time period stated,
and, worst of all, the graph has a nonzero origin, which exaggerates changes.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

92 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.

Unhelpful title, units not given, no source, no definitions, cluttered. Probably a table would work better.

Feedback: Unhelpful title, units not given, no source, no definition of what is shown, too cluttered. Probably a table would work
better.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

93 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own general
. interpretation.
 As pie charts go, not too bad, labeled clearly, 2D is easy to read, colors provide good contrast, but no year of source is given.

Feedback: As pie charts go, not too bad (not too many slices, labeled clearly, 2D is easy to read, colors provide good contrast).
Basis for the data is not shown (what year), but source is given.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

94 A study found the following parts per billion of nitrosamines in a sample of domestic beers.
. (a) Construct a frequency distribution of four classes with equal class sizes.
(b) Construct another frequency distribution of four classes using unequal class intervals or an open-ended interval for the
highest class.
(c) Which frequency distribution is preferable? Why?

Answers will vary. Sturges' Rule suggests 5 to 6 bins, but the outlier (15.75) poses a problem that might require unequal bins
(e.g., 1.00 < 2.00, 2.00 < 4.00, 4.00 < 8.00, 8.00 < 16.00) instead of four equal-width bins (e.g., 0.00 < 4.00, 4.00 < 8.00, 8.00 <
12.00, 12.00 < 16.00). Equal width bins are usually preferred to avoid visual distortion, but in this case there would be an empty
bin (8.00 < 12.00). An alternative might be an open-ended top interval.
 Feedback: Answers will vary. Sturges' Rule suggests 5 to 6 bins, but the outlier (15.75) poses a problem that might require
unequal bins (e.g., 1.00 < 2.00, 2.00 < 4.00, 4.00 < 8.00, 8.00 < 16.00) instead of four equal-width bins (e.g., 0.00 < 4.00, 4.00 <
8.00, 8.00 < 12.00, 12.00 < 16.00). Equal width bins are usually preferred to avoid visual distortion, but in this case there would
be an empty bin (8.00 < 12.00). An alternative might be an open-ended top interval.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

95 Students were given a take-home statistics assignment and were asked to write down how long it took them (in minutes). Their
. answers are shown below.
(a) Make a dot plot.
(b) Use your judgment to construct a frequency distribution using whatever classes (bins) you wish.
(c) Make a histogram.
(d) Describe the distribution.
(e) Did your bin choices agree with Sturges' Rule? If not, why not?

Dot plot suggests right-skewness. Sturges' Rule suggests 6 classes, but 7 bins of size 5 might be needed to show enough
detail, while four classes of size 10 might not show enough detail.

Feedback: The dot plot suggests right-skewness:

 Histogram answers will vary depending on the number of classes and the size of the intervals selected. The histogram will be
skewed to the right. Sturges' Rule suggests 6 classes, but 7 classes of size 5 will be needed to show enough detail (see below).
Four classes of size 10 are OK but may not show enough detail.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

96 Students were asked to record how many hours they worked at an outside job last week. Their answers are shown below. (a)
. Make a dot plot.
(b) Use your judgment to construct a frequency distribution using whatever classes (bins) you wish.
(c) Make a histogram. (d) Describe the distribution.
(e) Did your bin choices agree with Sturges' Rule? If not, why not?
 Dot plot suggests right-skewness. Sturges' Rule suggests 5 or 6 classes. Six classes of size 10 would work, though the two 50s
are on the end of the top class.

Feedback: The dot plot suggests right-skewness:

Histogram answers will vary depending on the number of classes and the size of the intervals selected. The histogram will be
slightly skewed to the right. Sturges' Rule suggests 5 or 6 classes. Six classes of size 10 would work, though the two 50s are on
the end of the top class.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-02 Create a frequency distribution for a data
set.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

97 Ten part-time servers at a high-end restaurant were asked how many hours they worked last week and how much they earned.
. The results are shown below.
(a) Make a scatter plot.
(b) Describe it.
(c) What is your best guess of the average hourly pay?
 Positive relationship on a scatter plot, somewhat linear, with slope about $10.

Feedback: Clearly a positive relationship, somewhat linear. Most students will guess that the average rate of pay is about $10
(rise over run).

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Scatter Plots

98 Craig operates a part-time snow-plowing business using a 2002 GMC 2500 HD extended cab short box truck. Describe Craig's
. gasoline mileage based on this histogram of 195 tanks of gas.
 Strong clustering near 13 MPG, a few possible outliers, only one mode.

Feedback: Strong clustering near 13 MPG but a few possible outliers. Only one mode.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-04 Identify skewness, modal classes, and outliers in a
histogram.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

99 Here are advertised prices of 23 used Chevy Impalas. Describe the distribution's shape. Is the number of histogram classes
. correct?
 Correct, since Sturges' Rule suggests 5 or 6 classes; shape is somewhat skewed right.

Feedback: OK since Sturges' Rule suggests 5 or 6 classes. Shape is somewhat skewed right.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-04 Identify skewness, modal classes, and outliers in a
histogram.
Topic: Frequency Distributions and Histograms

100 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.

Source given, axes are clearly labeled, title is not dramatic. However, does not start at zero, and the distracting pictures
obscure the data and create a feeling of emotional distress.

Feedback: Data appear to be from a reliable source, axes are clearly labeled, and title is not dramatic. But the graph does not
start at zero, which exaggerates the increase in bankruptcies, and the distracting pictures obscure the data and create a
feeling of emotional distress.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

101 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
 No source, no units given, area trick distorts the data, and no definitions. Graphic is appealing, but it adds nothing to the data.
Title is not dramatic, data labels are good, Y-axis starts at zero, years are clearly labeled, and gridlines are not too prominent.

Feedback: No source, no units given (dollars? number of players sold?), area trick distorts the data, and no indication of what
the data represent (sales in one store? One city?). Graphic is appealing, but it adds nothing to the data. Title is not dramatic,
data labels are good, Y-axis starts at zero, years are clearly labeled, gridlines are not too prominent.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

102 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
 Proportions are good, title is clear. Units are not defined, no source, a bit cluttered.

Feedback: Proportions are good, and title is clear, but units are not defined (dollars? units sold?). No source. A bit cluttered,
but only alternative would be a table.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-06 Make an effective column chart or bar
chart.
Topic: Column and Bar Charts

103 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.

Eye-catching and colorful. Title is vague, units are not given, too many pie slices, 3D makes it hard to assess size of slices, no
source, no year.

Feedback: Eye-catching and colorful, but title is vague, units are not given, too many pie slices, 3D makes it hard to assess
size of slices, no source, and no year.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-07 Make an effective pie
chart.
Topic: Pie Charts

104 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
 Amusing and colorful, but too much information shown, pictures are distracting, no time period or dates given, no source, and
nonzero origin exaggerates changes.

Feedback: Amusing and colorful, but too much information shown, pictures are distracting, no time period or dates given, no
source, whose stocks are they? Nonzero origin exaggerates changes.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

105 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.

Colorful and amusing, but no clue what is being shown; deceptive area trick; no dates given; no source; useless title.

Feedback: Colorful and amusing, but no clue what is being shown. Whose retirement? What kind of investment is this?
 Deceptive area trick (dollar signs grow in width as well as height), no dates given, no source, useless title.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

106 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.

Amusing and colorful but dramatic, leading title, no dates, distracting pictures, area trick, no source, what institution(s) does the
graph refer to?

Feedback: Amusing and colorful but dramatic, leading title, no dates, distracting pictures, area trick (bars grow wider as well as
taller), no source, what institution(s) does the graph refer to?

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

107 Briefly list strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your own
. general interpretation.
 Funny pictures, attention-getting, but a simple line chart would do. Dramatic title belies the data (no obvious "progress").
Whose scores? When? No source given.

Feedback: Funny pictures, attention-getting, but a simple line chart would do. Leading, dramatic title belies the data (no
obvious "progress"). Whose scores? When? No source given.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs

108 Briefly comment on strengths and weaknesses of this display. Cite specific principles of good graphs, as well as offering your
. own general interpretation.

Attractive, but area trick is deceptive (bars get wider as well as taller); distracting pictures; how many physicians; no source.
Feedback: Attractive, but area trick is deceptive (bars get wider as well as taller); distracting pictures; how many physicians
(otherwise total tells us little—maybe they just hired more docs).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Evaluate
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 03-10 Recognize deceptive graphing
techniques.
Topic: Deceptive Graphs