Question

Suppose that a data set has a minimum value of 24 and a maximum of 79 and that you want 5 classes. Explain how to find the class width for this frequency table. What happens if you use a class width of 11 instead of 12? Write out all the classes correctly.

Answer 1

To find the class width for a frequency table, subtract the minimum value from the maximum value and divide by the number of classes. Using a class width of 11 instead of 12 would result in overlapping classes or gaps. The correct classes for this frequency table with a class width of 12 are 24-35, 36-47, 48-59, 60-71, and 72-79.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the class width for a frequency table, you need to subtract the minimum value from the maximum value and then divide by the number of classes. In this case, the minimum value is 24 and the maximum value is 79, and you want 5 classes. So the class width would be (79 - 24) / 5 = 11.8. Since you're dividing the range by 5, an 11-width class would not evenly divide the range, resulting in overlapping classes or gaps between classes. It's important to use a class width that evenly divides the range to create accurate and non-overlapping classes.

The correct classes for this frequency table with a class width of 12 would be:

• 24-35
• 36-47
• 48-59
• 60-71
• 72-79