Question

If 87 data observations from a process were to be plotted on a histogram, the rule of thumb would suggest using which number of intervals across the range of the data?

1) 12
2) 4
3) 19
4) 7

Answer 1

The rule of thumb for determining the number of intervals in a histogram is to take the square root of the number of data observations and round to the nearest whole number.

Step-by-step explanation:

The rule of thumb for determining the number of intervals across the range of data in a histogram is to take the square root of the number of data observations and round to the nearest whole number. In this case, there are 87 data observations, so the square root of 87 is approximately 9.33. When rounded to the nearest whole number, we get 9. Therefore, the correct number of intervals to use would be 9.