CHAPTER 2, SECTION 1, DAY 1 (Reiner)

Date: ___________________________

Introduction: When you receive a set of data, the first think you should do it look at the
data through a graphical representation of your data. You can analyze a graph through
CUSS. You will want to describe the data as a whole with a numerical summary:

 For a skewed set of data: the five number summary

 For a symmetrical set of data: mean and standard deviation
Today we will add one step to this analysis…we will look at the overall pattern of a large
number of observations through a curve.

Density Curve:
The figure to the right is a histogram of the scores of all
947 seventh-grade students in Gary, Indiana, on the
vocabulary part of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Scores of
many students on this national test have a quite regular
distribution. The histogram is symmetric, and both tails
fall off quite smoothly from a single center peak. There
are no large gaps or obvious outliers. The smooth curve
drawn through the tops of the histogram bars is a good
description of the overall pattern of data. It is called a
________________________________ for the distribution. This
curve is great because…

Example 2.1:
The shaded region in the figures below represents the proportion of students who scored a
6.0 or below. There are 287 such students, who make up a proportion of 287/947 = 0.303
of all Gary seventh graders. When you look at the area underneath the curve in the
second graph for a score of 6.0 and below, the area is 0.293. Compare these numbers.

Properties of a density curve:

 

Note: A density curve that is symmetric is called the

_________________________________
Example 2.2:
Below is a distribution that is ____________________________________________. What does the
shaded area mean?

The mean and median of a density

curve:

Assignment:
p. 83-84 #2.1 – 2.4