ASSESSING NORMALITY GIVEN A SAMPLE

GOAL: To determine if a given sample comes from a that is

.

Things to look for:

1.

2.

3.

4.

NOTE: We will be able to determine .

Often, the actual goal is to .


Today, you will be sent 6 data lists to examine. The lists are labeled with titles, instead or our usual L1, L2
designations, so you will have to use the LIST features of your calculator to access them. For each data set, your job
is to compile evidence for or against the data coming from an approximately normal population. Take a few
minutes with your group to summarize your evidence. Also, examine the data, and attempt to conjecture where the
data might have come from. You can be creative in your attempts, but make your stories reasonable.

In our next class meeting, your group will present one of the lists in front of the class and summarize your findings.

1. List PRICE

Evidence for/against normality:





What do you think this data represents?



2. List TEMP

Evidence for/against normality:





What do you think this data represents?






3. List MYST

Evidence for/against normality:





What do you think this data represents?





4. List WT

Evidence for/against normality:





What do you think this data represents?



5. List AGE

Evidence for/against normality:





What do you think this data represents?



6. List BRAIN

Evidence for/against normality:





What do you think this data represents?
1. List PRICE Prices (in thousands) of 117 homes sold in Albequerque in 1993.
2. List TEMP - This list includes the high temperatures in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the months July and
August 2007
3. List MYST The mystery list, this list was created using the TI 84 RandInt feature. It is a list of 100
entries of random integers from 50 to 100, inclusive
4. List WT The weights of men ages 22-30, from a study of body fat indexes.
5. List AGE The ages of CEOs from Forbes Magazines Americas Best Small Companies
6. List BRAIN IQ scores for 40 research subjects, psychology students at a large southwestern
university