1. You will need a data set to proceed. Once
you click on the data set name which follows, a
box appears. It asks
whether to open or save the file, I suggest you save it (probably on
your 3.5 floppy).
You must give it a name also. Remember the name and location where
you save it, so you can
open it in Excel and proceed with the worksheet.
Click on Permanent Residence Data. After you save the data, open it in Excel and proceed.
PRD is the approximate distance
(in miles) between campus and a student's permanent
residence.
2. Use bins (upper class limits) for classes of size
50 miles in any column except A to
construct a frequency distribution
on another worksheet in the same workbook. Click
Tools, then DATA ANALYSIS,
then
Histogram. (If DATA ANALYSIS does not appear,
click Add-Ins... and check
Analysis Tool-Pak. Click
OK. Then DATA ANALYSIS
should
appear on the TOOL menu.)
Indicate the position of thedata set you wish to describe in
the box beside Input Range.
For instance, if the data is in cells A2 to A38, then
type
A2:A38 in the box.
Indicate the range of cells that contain the bins in the opening beside
Bin Range. If there
is a label in A2 rather than a value, be sure to check the box beside
Labels. (Note:
you must include a label for the bins as well if you include a label for
the
data.) Under Output Options
check NEW WORKSHEET PLY. You do not need to enter
a name at this point. Be
sure to check CHART OUTPUT in the histogram window to
obtain the corresponding histogram
of the data.
3. Describe the pattern of the data in the results from Question 2.
4. Use bins of size 100 miles to construct another
frequency distribution. Include the
histogram that results from thisfrequency
distribution. Is the pattern of the data different
now that in Questions 3?
Explain.
5. Suppose the University decides to have a midweek
one-day vacation. The Housing
Director would like to be efficient
and save money by closing one or more residence
halls and consolidating
the students who remain on campus. (Let's assume
that it's
relatively simple and costless
to close dorms and consolidate residents in different
locations.) He assumes
that students who live within 100 miles will go home and return
in time for classes the next
day. Suppose the PRD data from your class is "representative"
(replicates the features,
such as distribution, center, and spread of the population) of
the entire WCU
student body. Make a recommendation to the housing director. Explain
your recommendation and base
it on your earlier work for this worksheet or create a
new histogram to backup your
recommendation. Make and state any other
information
that would help you make the
recommendation and any necessary assumptions
you
must make. Would you argue
with the Director's assumption about distances for
single-day return trips?
6. Again assume the PRD data is representative of
the population of PRD values for all
WCU students. Suppose also
that a local business wants to communicate with as many
students as possible during the
week before classes start. The business has a budget that
will afford radio and television
commercials for an audience within 200 miles. What is the
maximum percent of the students
the business can expect to reach?
7. Use Excel to determine the mean, median, and mode
of the PRD data. For
instance, in separate cells type=average(A2:a38),
=median(A2:a38),
and
=mode(A2:a38). These
examples assume the data set is in the range
of cells from
A2 to A38. Do the relative magnitudes
of these three values seem reasonable for
the pattern
you described in Questions 3 and 4?
8. Try different bin sizes to see if you can change
the pattern of the data. You will not
always be able to accomplish
this. Is it better that it is difficult to change the pattern
or would we want the pattern
to be very sensitive to bin sizes? If you were
able to
change the pattern, describe
the new pattern.
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