Exercise: Arm circumference of students

The following graph shows the distribution of the mid upper arm circumferences of 120 female biomedical sciences, medical, nursing, physiotherapy, and radiography students:

Questions

1. What kind of variable is arm circumference?

Check suggested answer 1.

2. What kind of graph is this?

Check suggested answer 2.

3. Where are the mode, the lower tail and the upper tail of this distribution?

Check suggested answer 3.

4. How would you describe the shape of the distribution and why?

Check suggested answer 4.

5. From the graph, approximately what would you estimate the median and the first and third quartiles to be? Where would they appear along the horizontal axis?

Check suggested answer 5.

6. From the graph, approximately what would you estimate the mean and the standard deviation to be? Where would they appear along the horizontal axis?

Check suggested answer 6.

The following table shows eye colour, as recorded by another student, for male and female students:

Eye colour Sex Total
female male
black 6 4 10
brown 47 32 79
blue 27 17 44
grey 10 1 11
hazel 9 5 14
green 16 4 20
other 4 1 5
missing 1 0 1
Total 120 64 184

Eye colour	Sex	Total
female	male
black	6	4	10
brown	47	32	79
blue	27	17	44
grey	10	1	11
hazel	9	5	14
green	16	4	20
other	4	1	5
missing	1	0	1
Total	120	64	184

7. What kind of variable is eye colour? What kind of variable is sex?

Check suggested answer 7.

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Last updated: 23 July, 2006.