56.5k views
1 vote
Would you expect distributions of these variables to be uniform, unimodal, or bimodal? Symmetric or skewed? Explain why.

(a) The number of songs that each student in your class has downloaded online
(b) Cost of each order from a mail-order catalogue for clothing
(c) Weights of bags of M&Ms that are labelled to contain 6 ounces
(d) Heights of students in your class
(e) Ages of shoppers in a convenience store near a university late Saturday night
(f) Number of children of shoppers in a toy store
(g) Amount of cash taken in by retail cashiers during a two-hour shift
(h) Number of packages processed each day by Federal Express in their hub location in Memphis, Tennessee, during August and the four weeks before Christmas

1 Answer

3 votes

Final answer:

The distribution of the variables described can be uniform, unimodal, or bimodal, depending on the data. Factors like the nature of transactions or the controlled range of weights can influence the shape of the distribution

Step-by-step explanation:

a) The number of songs that each student in your class has downloaded online:

The distribution of this variable is likely to be skewed right because there may be a few students who have downloaded a large number of songs, while most students may have downloaded fewer songs. It would also be unimodal because there would be one prominent peak in the distribution.

b) Cost of each order from a mail-order catalogue for clothing:

The distribution of this variable could be either uniform or skewed depending on the pricing strategy of the mail-order catalogue. If the catalogue offers a wide range of prices, the distribution may be skewed with a few high-priced orders. If the catalogue offers a limited range of prices, the distribution may be more uniform.

c) Weights of bags of M&Ms that are labelled to contain 6 ounces:

The distribution of this variable is likely to be normally distributed because the weights of the bags are controlled within a certain range. It would be unimodal and symmetric.

d) Heights of students in your class:

The distribution of this variable is likely to be normally distributed with a bell-shaped curve. It would be unimodal and symmetric.

e) Ages of shoppers in a convenience store near a university late Saturday night:

The distribution of this variable could be skewed right because there may be a higher number of younger shoppers compared to older shoppers during that time. It would be unimodal and skewed to the right.

f) Number of children of shoppers in a toy store:

The distribution of this variable is likely to be skewed right because there may be a few shoppers with a large number of children, while most shoppers may have fewer children. It would be unimodal and skewed to the right.

g) Amount of cash taken in by retail cashiers during a two-hour shift:

The distribution of this variable could be either uniform or skewed depending on the nature of customer transactions. If customer transactions are mostly small, the distribution may be uniform. If there are a few large transactions, the distribution may be skewed. It would be unimodal and either symmetric or skewed.

h) Number of packages processed each day by Federal Express in their hub location in Memphis, Tennessee, during August and the four weeks before Christmas:

The distribution of this variable is likely to be unimodal and skewed right because there may be higher package volumes during the peak holiday season compared to August. It would be unimodal and skewed to the right.

User Tom Hennen
by
8.8k points