Question

Scientists measured how many days had rain each month for three different cities. For example, in Miami, the first month had 6 days of rain, the next month had 5 days of rain, and so on. These box plots show the results:Fill in the blanks to compare the centers of the three box plots. Better measure of center to use:_____Center for Miami: 7.5 days Center for Seattle: _____ days Center for Las Vegas: _____ days Which city had the largest typical number of days of rain each month?———————————————-:-Find and compare the spreads of the three box plots.Better measure of spread to use:_____Spread for Miami: 8.5 days Spread for Seattle: _____ days Spread for Las Vegas: 2 days Which city had the lowest variation in the days of rain each month?

Answer 1

The typical number of days of rain for each city is given by the center of the measurements, that is the median.

Half the months had a number of rainy days below the median, and the other half above the median. That's why the median is a good measure for a typical number of rainy days for each city.

Therefore, the city with the largest median (center) is the one with the largest typical number of days of rain: Seattle.

Now, the better measure of spread to use in this case is the interquartile range. This range is the difference between the beginning and the end of the box in the boxplot. It shows how the 50% closest to the center measurements spread (25% below the center, and 25% above the center).

So, for Seattle, this is spread is:

17-7.5 = 9.5

Therefore:

Spread for Seattle: _9.5____ days

Then, the city with the lowest variation in the days of rain each month is the one with the lowest spread: Las Vegas.