Project 1 – Maths:Based on Larson & Farber: section 2.1

Project 1 – Maths:Based on Larson & Farber: section 2.1

Project 1 Instructions
Based on Larson & Farber: section 2.1

Use the Project 1 Data Set to create the graphs and tables in Questions 1–4 and to answer both parts of Question 5. If you cannot figure out how to make the graphs and
tables in Excel, you are welcome to draw them by hand and then submit them as a scanned document or photo.

1. Open a blank Excel file and create a grouped frequency distribution of the maximum daily temperatures for the 50 states for a 30 day period. Use 8 classes. (8
points)
2. Add midpoint, relative frequency, and cumulative frequency columns to your frequency distribution. (8 points)
3. Create a frequency histogram using Excel. You will probably need to load the Data Analysis add-in within Excel. If you do not know how to create a histogram in
Excel, view the video located at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gQUcRwDiik. A simple bar graph will also work.
If you cannot get the histogram or bar graph features to work, you may draw a histogram by hand and then scan or take a photo (your phone can probably do this) of your
drawing and email it to your instructor. (8 points)
4. Create a frequency polygon in Excel (or by hand). For help, view http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q-KdmDJirg(8 points)
5. A. Do any of the temperatures appear to be unrealistic or in error? If yes, which ones and why? (4 points)
B. Explain how this affects your confidence in the validity of this data set. (4 points)
Data Set for Project 1

Maximum Temperatures by State
in the United States
for the month of August, 2013

State Name Max Temps in August 2013
AL 97
AK 97
AZ 45
AR 100
CA 49
CO 109
CT 93
DE 91
FL 102
GA 99
HI 90
ID 97
IL 97
IN 93
IA 100
KS 111
KY 93
LA 97
ME 93
MD 97
MA 97
MI 91
MN 109
MS 97
MO 97
MT 90
NE 108
NV 111
NH 93
NJ 108
NM 106
NY 93
NC 100
ND 88
OH 91
OK 108
OR 97
PA 93
RI 104
SC 97
SD 93
TN 99
TX 104
UT 106
VT 91
VA 102
WA 93
WV 91
WI 90
WY 99