Meier Et Al. - 2010 - Applied Statistics, Ch. 4 PDF

CHAPT E R
Frequency
Distributions
4
D
escriptive statistics is nothing more than a fancy term for numbers that
summarize a group of data. These data may be the number of arrests each
police officer makes, the amount of garbage collected by city work crews,
the number of fund-raising events held by a nonprofit organization in a year, the
number of volunteers assisting a government agency, the number of high school
students participating in community service projects, or the size of various gov-
ernment agencies (measured by personnel or budget). In their unsummarized or
nontabulated form, data (affectionately known as raw data) are difficult to com-
prehend. For example, the list below gives the number of tons of trash collected
by the Normal, Oklahoma, sanitary engineer teams for the week of June 8, 2011.
Each entry is the number of tons of trash collected by a team during the week.
57 70 62 66 68 62 76 71 79 87
82 63 71 51 65 78 61 78 55 64
83 75 50 70 61 69 80 51 52 94
89 63 82 75 58 68 84 83 71 79
77 89 59 88 97 86 75 95 64 65
53 74 75 61 86 65 95 77 73 86
81 66 73 51 75 64 67 54 54 78
57 81 65 72 59 72 84 85 79 67
62 76 52 92 66 74 72 83 56 93
96 64 95 94 86 75 73 72 85 94
Clearly, presenting these data in their raw form would tell the administrator lit-
tle or nothing about trash collection in Normal. For example, how many tons
of trash do most teams collect? Do the teams seem to collect about the same
amount, or does their performance vary?
The most basic restructuring of raw data to facilitate understanding is the
frequency distribution. A frequency distribution is a table that pairs data
valuesor ranges of data valueswith their frequency of occurrence. For exam-
ple, Table 4.1 is a frequency distribution of the number of arrests each Morgan
City police officer made in March 2011. Note that the entire table is labeled, as is
each column. Here, the data values are the number of arrests, and the frequencies
61
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62 Chapter 4 Frequency Distributions
Table 4.1 Arrests per Police Ofcer: Morgan City, March 2011
Number of Arrests Number of Police Ocers
15 6
610 17
1115 47
1620 132
2125 35
251 7
244
are the number of police officers. This procedure makes it easy to see that most
Morgan City police officers made between 16 and 20 arrests in March 2011.
Some definitions are in order. A variable is the trait or characteristic on
which the classification is based; in the preceding example, the variable is the
number of arrests per police officer. A class is one of the grouped categories of
the variable. The first class, for example, is from 1 to 5 arrests. Classes have class
boundaries (the lowest and highest values that fall within the class) and class
midpoints (the point halfway between the upper and lower class boundaries).
The class midpoint of the third class, for example, is 13which is 11, the lower
class boundary, plus 15, the upper class boundary, divided in half (by 2), or
(11 1 15) 4 2. The class interval is the distance between the upper limit of one
class and the upper limit of the next higher class. In our example, the class inter-
val is 5. The class frequency is the number of observations or occurrences of the
variable within a given class; for example, the class frequency of the fourth class
(1620) is 132. The total frequency is the total number of observations or cases
in the tablein this case, 244. In the remainder of this chapter, we will discuss
some important characteristics of frequency distributions and the procedures for
constructing them.
Constructing a Frequency Distribution

Constructing a frequency distribution is a relatively straightforward task. To il-
lustrate this process, we will use the Normal, Oklahoma, garbage collection data
listed previously. You may prefer to use Excel or another computer program to
create the frequency distribution. Our goal is that you understand the technique
and its use and can answer the proverbial question, Where/how did you get
those numbers?
Step 1: Scan the data to find the lowest and highest values of the variable. The
lowest value in these data is 50 (column 3, the third value), and the
highest value is 97 (column 5, the fifth value).
Constructing a Frequency Distribution 63
Step 2: List all the values from the lowest to the highest and then mark the
number of times each value appears. This process is illustrated below.
50 / 60 70 // 80 / 90
51 /// 61 /// 71 /// 81 // 91
52 // 62 /// 72 //// 82 // 92 /
53 / 63 // 73 /// 83 /// 93 /
54 // 64 //// 74 // 84 // 94 ///
55 / 65 //// 75 ///// 85 // 95 ///
56 / 66 /// 76 // 86 //// 96 /
57 // 67 // 77 // 87 / 97 /
58 / 68 // 78 /// 88 / 98
59 // 69 / 79 /// 89 //
Step 3: The tabulations in Step 2 could actually be called a frequency distribu-

tion, because each data value (tons of trash) is paired with its frequency
of occurrence. For a better visual presentation, however, the data should
be grouped into classes. The rule of thumb is to collapse data into no
fewer than 4 and no more than 20 classes. Fewer than 4 classes obscures
the variation in the data; more than 20 presents too complex a picture
to grasp quickly. The analyst chooses the actual number of classes in a
table so that the table reflects the data as closely as possible. Other tips
for constructing frequency distribution classes are as follows:
1. Avoid classes so narrow that some intervals have zero observations.
2. Make all the class intervals equal unless the top or bottom class is
open-ended. An open-ended class has only one boundary. In the
Morgan City arrest table, for example, the last category (251) is an
open-ended category.
3. Use open-ended intervals only when closed-ended intervals would
result in class frequencies of zero. This result usually occurs when
some values are extremely high or extremely low.
4. Try to construct the intervals so that the midpoints are whole numbers.
For the present example, let us collapse the data into five catego-
ries. Constructing the remainder of the table results in the frequency
distribution shown in Table 4.2.
Note in the table that the upper limit of every class is also the lower limit of
the next class; that is, the upper limit of the first class is 60, the same value as
the lower limit of the second class. This format is typically used when the data
are continuous. A continuous variable can take on values that are not whole
numbers (the whole numbers are 1, 2, 3, . . .); some examples are tempera-
ture (for instance, 98.6 degrees), miles per gallon (for instance, 18.1 mpg), and
time spent at work (for instance, 9.25 hours per day). In the situation given in
Table 4.2, statisticians interpret the first interval as running from 50 tons up to
Table 4.2 Tons of Garbage Collected by Sanitary Engineer Teams in Normal,

Oklahoma, Week of June 8, 2011
Tons of Garbage Number of Crews

5060 16
6070 24
7080 30
8090 20
90100 10
100
but not including 60 tons (that is, 59.999 tons). In this way, no data value can
fall into more than one class. When you see tables like this one, in which interval
limits appear to overlap, remember that the upper limit means up to but not in-
cluding the value, and that the lower limit begins with this value. Tables 4.3 and
4.4 are constructed in the same manner.
The Percentage Distribution

Suppose the Normal city manager wants to know whether Normal sanitary
engineer crews are picking up more garbage than the city crews in Moore. The
city manager may want to know because Moore crews collect only garbage that
residents place curbside in front of their houses, whereas Normal crews collect
trash cans located in residents yards. The city managers goal is to collect more
garbage while holding down garbage collection costs.
Table 4.3 shows the frequency distributions of garbage collection in both
cities. But from the frequency distributions, the city manager cannot tell
which method of trash collection is more efficient. Because Moore has a larger
Table 4.3 Tons of Garbage Collected by Sanitary Engineer Teams, Week of

June 8, 2011
Numbers of Crews
Tons of Garbage Normal Moore
5060 16 22
6070 24 37
7080 30 49
8090 20 36
90100 10 21
100 165
Cumulative Frequency Distributions 65
Table 4.4 Tons of Garbage Collected by Sanitary Engineer Teams, Week of

June 8, 2011
Percentage of Work Crews

Tons of Garbage Normal Moore
5060 16 13
6070 24 22
7080 30 30
8090 20 22
90100 10 13
100 100
N 5 100 N 5 165
workforce, it has a larger number of crews in all five of the classes. The data must
be converted so that the two cities can be compared.
The easiest way to make the data comparable is to convert both columns of data
into percentage distributions. A percentage distribution shows the percentage of
the total observations that fall into each class. To convert the data of Table 4.3
to percentage distributions, the frequency in each class should be divided by the
total frequency for that city. In this instance, all Normal class frequencies should
be divided by 100, and all Moore class frequencies should be divided by 165.
(Chapter 15 presents a more detailed discussion of percentage distributions.)
Table 4.4 shows the resulting percentage distributions. Is the Moore method of
trash collection more efficient than the method used in Normal?
Table 4.4 pairs each class with the percentage that class constitutes of
all observations. Note that some new items are included in the percentage
distribution table that were not included in the frequency distribution table. At
the bottom of each column, a number is found (N 5 100 or N 5 165). N stands
for the total number of observations; it represents the total frequency (or number
of observations) on which the percentages are based. Given this number, you
can calculate the original class frequencies. Try it. You should get the frequency
distributions shown in Table 4.3.
Cumulative Frequency Distributions

Frequency distributions and percentage distributions show the number and
percentage, respectively, of observations that fall in each class of a variable.
Sometimes the administrator needs to know how many observations (or what
percentage of observations) fall below or above a certain standard. For example,
the fire chief of Metro, Texas, is quite concerned about how long it takes fire
crews to arrive at the scene of a fire. The Metro Morning News has run several
stories about fires, in which it claimed the Metro fire department was slow in
responding. Because the Metro fire department automatically records the time of
fire calls on its computer and also records the dispatched fire trucks report that
it has arrived at the fire, the response times to all fires are available. An analyst
has made a frequency distribution of these response times (Table 4.5). The Metro
fire chief considers 5 minutes to be an excellent response time, 10 minutes to be
an acceptable response time, 15 minutes to be an unsatisfactory response time,
and 20 minutes to be unacceptable. As a result, the fire chief wants to know the
percentage of fire calls answered in under 5 minutes, under 10 minutes, under
15 minutes, and under 20 minutes. To provide the fire chief with the informa-
tion she wants, the analyst must construct a cumulative percentage distribution.
The first step in developing a cumulative percentage distribution is to pre-
pare a running total of responses to fire calls. To the right of the Number of Calls
column in Table 4.5, you will find a blank column labeled Running Total. In
this column, we will calculate the total number of responses made that were less
than each intervals upper limit. For example, how many fires were responded to
in less than 1 minute? From the table, we can see seven fires had response times
of under a minute. Enter the number 7 for the first class in the Running Total
column. How many fire responses were under 2 minutes? There were 21, with
7 under 1 minute, plus 14 between 1 and 2 minutes. Enter 21 as the value for the
second class. Using this logic, fill in the rest of the values in Table 4.5.
Table 4.5 Response Times of the Metro Fire Department, 2011
Response Time Running Cumulative

(Minutes) Number of Calls Total Percentage
01 7
12 14
23 32
34 37
45 48
56 53
67 66
78 73
89 42
910 40
1011 36
1112 23
1213 14
1314 7
1415 2
1520 6
500
Graphical Presentations 67
Table 4.6 Response Times of the Metro Fire Department, 2011
Percentage (Cumulative) of
Response Time Response Times
Under 5 minutes 27.6
N 5 500
The second step is to construct a cumulative percentage column. This

step is performed by dividing each frequency in the Running Total column
by the total frequency (in this case, 500). In the fourth column of Table 4.5,
Cumulative Percentage, enter the following numbers. The first entry should be
1.4 (7 4 500); the second entry should be 4.2 (21 4 500); the third entry should
be 10.6 (53 4 500). Fill in the remaining values for this column.
You now have a cumulative frequency distribution, and a cumulative
percentage distribution, for the fire chief. The distribution is a bit awkward,
however, because it has so many categories. The next step would be to collapse the
cumulative percentage distribution into fewer categories. Because the fire chief is
concerned with response times of 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes, these times would
be the best categories. Table 4.6 should result from your calculations. From this
table, what can you tell the chief about fire department response times in Metro?
How good are the departments response times?
Graphical Presentations
Often a public or nonprofit administrator wants to present information visually
so that leaders, citizens, and staff can get a general feel for a problem without
reading a table. Two methods of visual presentation will be described here: the
frequency polygon and the histogram.
Let us say that the Normal city manager, as part of her budget justification,
wants to show the city council the number of complaints that the city animal
control office receives about barking dogs. An assistant has prepared the frequency
distribution shown in Table 4.7.
To construct a frequency polygon, follow these steps.
Step 1: On a sheet of graph paper, write the name of the variable across the bot-
tom and the frequency along the side. Here, the variable is the number
of complaints about dogs, and the frequency is the number of weeks.
See Figure 4.1.
Table 4.7 Complaints per Week about Barking Dogs, 2011
Number of Complaints Number of Weeks
59 7
1014 6
1519 15
2024 17
2529 5
3034 2
52
Figure 4.1 First Step in Constructing a Frequency Polygon
20
Number of Weeks
15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2011
Step 2: Calculate the midpoint for each class interval. Add the two boundar-
ies for each class and divide by 2. For the first class, the midpoint is
(5 1 9) 4 2, or 7. The midpoints for the other classes are 12, 17, 22,
27, 32.
Step 3: On the horizontal dimension or axis of the graph, find the first class
midpoint (7). Directly above this point, mark the frequency for this
class (also 7) with a dot. Repeat this procedure for the five other classes.
Your graph should look like the one in Figure 4.2.
Figure 4.2 Third Step in Constructing a Frequency Polygon
20
Number of Weeks 15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Step 4: Calculate the midpoint for the class below the lowest class observed
(this class would be 04 complaints) and for the class above the highest
class observed (3539). Plot these midpoints with a frequency of 0 on
your graph (i.e., on the horizontal axis).
Step 5: Draw a line connecting the points in sequence. Your first fre-
quency polygon should look like the one in Figure 4.3. (Note that
whereas the frequency polygon presents a useful visual representa-
tion of the data, the line segments do not correspond to actual
data points.)
One nice aspect of frequency polygons is that the analyst can draw more
than one on the same graph. For example, suppose that the Normal city
manager wants to show how complaints about barking dogs have changed
over time. The city manager gives you the data shown in Table 4.8. In
Figure 4.4, graph frequency polygons for both years on the same graph. What
does the graph tell you about barking dog complaints in 2011 as opposed to
those in 2010?
Note: Whenever two or more frequency polygons are drawn on the same set
of axes, each polygon should be drawn in a different color or with a different type
of line (such as solid, broken, bold) so the reader can tell them apart. Be sure to
label each line. Figure 6.1 in Chapter 6 illustrates using different types of lines on
the same set of axes.
Figure 4.3 The Frequency Polygon
20
Number of Weeks 15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Table 4.8 Complaints per Week about Barking Dogs, 2010 and 2011
Number of Weeks
Number of Complaints 2010 2011

59 8 7
1014 12 6
1519 14 15
2024 10 17
2529 6 5
3034 2 2
52 52
A histogram is a bar graph for a variable that takes on many values (such
as income or gross national product [GNP]). The term bar chart is sometimes
used when a variable can take only a very limited set of values (for example, a
variable assessing an opinion that calls for the responses agree, undecided,
or disagree). Our intention is not to multiply terms (or confusion), but some
statistical package programs loaded onto computers, such as the Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), do make this distinction. You may need
to use SPSS in class or on the job.
Figure 4.4 Frequency Polygons for Number of Complaints about Dogs,

2010 and 2011
20
Number of Weeks
15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Number of Complaints about Barking Dogs, 2010 and 2011
To construct a histogram of barking dog complaints in Normal for 2011,

complete the following steps.
Steps 13: Follow the same procedures given for constructing frequency
polygons in Steps 1, 2, and 3 above. Following this procedure should
yield the graph shown in Figure 4.5.
Step 4: Using the points on the graph, first draw a horizontal line from the
lower to the upper class boundary for each class. Then draw in the
vertical lines along the class boundaries from these horizontal lines
to the horizontal axis of the graph. Each class is now represented by
a bar.
Step 5: Shade in the bars you have drawn in Step 4. Your graph should
appear as shown in Figure 4.6.
You should use histograms rather than frequency polygons whenever you want
to emphasize the distinctiveness of each class. As you can see by looking at the
graphs, the frequency polygon tends to smooth out class differences. Frequency
polygons should be used whenever you want to emphasize a smooth trend
or when two or more graphs are placed on a single chart, table, or pair of coor-
dinate axes.
Figure 4.5 Third Step in Constructing a Histogram
20
Number of Weeks 15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 4.6 The Histogram
20
Number of Weeks
15
10
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 4.7 Cumulative Frequency Polygons
Cumulative Percentage of Response Times

100
80
60
40
20
0 5 10 15 20
Number of Minutes
Cumulative frequency distributions can also be graphed. For example, the

cumulative distribution for the Metro fire department response times shown in
Table 4.6 can be made into a frequency polygon. For each response time in the
table (under 5 minutes, under 10 minutes, and so on), simply plot the corre-
sponding percentage, and connect the consecutive points. Your graph should look
like the one in Figure 4.7. For comparative purposes, make a second frequency
polygon in Figure 4.7 for the city of Atlantis fire department; the response times
are presented in Table 4.9. Be sure to label the two lines for clarity.
A frequency polygon for a cumulative distribution is called an ogive.
Compare the ogives in Figure 4.7. Which fire department appears to respond
more quickly to fires? Why do you think so?
Table 4.9 Response Times of Atlantis Fire Department, 2011
Percentage (Cumulative) of
Response Time Response Times
Chapter Summary
Descriptive statistics summarize a body of raw data so that the data can be more
easily understood. Frequency distributions, percentage distributions, and cumula-
tive frequency distributions are three ways to condense raw data into a table that is
easier to read and interpret. A frequency distribution displays the number of times
each value, or range of values, of a variable occurs. The frequency distribution shows
classes appropriate for the variable under study and the number of data points falling
into each class. A percentage distribution shows the percentage of total data points
that fall into each class. A cumulative frequency (or percentage) distribution displays
the number (or percentage) of observations that fall above or below a certain class.
To add visual appeal and increase interpretability, graphical presentations
of data are used. Graphical techniques discussed in this chapter include the fre-
quency polygon, the histogram and bar chart, and the ogive. The frequency poly-
gon is a plot of the frequency distribution information (class versus frequency),
with the plotted points connected in sequence by line segments. The histogram is
a bar graph of a frequency distribution; each class is represented by a horizontal
bar, and its frequency corresponds to the height of the bar from the horizontal
axis. The term bar chart is sometimes used in place of histogram when the variable
can take on only a very limited set of values. An ogive is a frequency polygon for
a cumulative frequency distribution.
Problems
4.1 You are the research assistant to the administrator of a small bureau in the federal
government. Your boss has received some criticism that the bureau does not respond
promptly to congressional requests. The only information you have is the day the
agency received the request and the day the agency mailed the response. From those
figures, you have calculated the number of days the agency took to respond.
Days Necessary to Respond to Congressional Requests

9 1 6 10 8 12 9 14 15 7
19 8 21 10 50 37 9 4 28 44
9 18 8 39 7 1 4 15 7 28
47 9 6 7 24 10 41 7 9 29
6 4 12 7 9 15 39 24 9 2
20 31 18 9 33 8 6 3 7 16
20 26 9 9 16 5 3 12 36 11
8 6 28 35 8 10 11 20 3 10
16 8 12 4 6 9 10 10 9 16
4 14 11 8 5 8 11 9 7 6
11 9 7 8 10 9 11
Problems 75
Do the following:
(a) Prepare the frequency distribution.
(b) Present the distribution graphically.
(c) Prepare a cumulative frequency distribution.
(d) Present the cumulative distribution graphically.
(e) Write a paragraph explaining what you have found.
4.2 Allan Wiese, the mayor of Orva, South Dakota, feels that the productivity of
meter butlers has declined in the past year. Mayor Wieses research assistant
provides him with the accompanying data. Convert the frequency distributions
to comparable distributions. What can you tell Mayor Wiese about the produc-
tivity of his meter butlers?
Number of Butlers
Parking Tickets Issued

per Meter Butler May 2010 May 2011
2130 5 6
3140 7 9
4150 9 12
5160 5 7
6170 3 1
29 35
4.3 Scotty Allen, the civil service director for Maxwell, New York, compiles the
accompanying frequency distribution of scores on the Maxwell civil service
exam. Construct a cumulative frequency distribution and a cumulative frequency
polygon for Mr. Allen.
Exam Score Number of Applicants

6165 20
6670 13
7175 47
7680 56
8185 33
8690 27
9195 41
96100 34
4.4 The incumbent governor of a large state is campaigning on the platform that he
eliminated a great many large, do-nothing bureaucracies. As the research assis-
tant for the challenger, you are asked to present the accompanying data (numbers
are the size of bureaus eliminated under the incumbent and under his predeces-
sor) graphically in the manner most favorable for the challenger.
Incumbent Predecessor
6 16 15
14 5 28
7 3 48
3 7 104
24 19 37
6 21 56
3 12 15
1 4 6
2 3 3
21 6 27
41 1 39
4.5 Refer to Problem 4.4. Construct a frequency distribution, and present it to reflect
favorably on the incumbent.
4.6 The city clerk has received numerous complaints over the past year that couples
applying for a marriage license have to wait too long to receive one. Although the
clerk is skeptical (couples applying for a license are usually young and impatient),
she pulls a representative sample of marriage licenses issued in the past year.
Because a machine stamps each license application with the time the application
is received and the time it is issued, she can tell how long the young (and old)
lovers had to wait for the marriage license. The clerk considers service received in
less than 10 minutes good and service received in less than 15 minutes acceptable.
Her tabulation of the license data shows the following:
Minutes Waited for

Marriage License Number of Couples
Less than 5 28
59 36
1014 60
1519 82
2024 44
2529 39
Prepare the percentage distribution for the marriage license data and the
appropriate graphical displays. Write a short memorandum explaining the results
and addressing the issue of whether couples have to wait too long for marriage
licenses.
4.7 The city clerk from Problem 4.6 is intrigued by the findings of her survey of
marriage licenses issued in the past year (data analysis often has this effect).
Accordingly, she decides to pull another representative sample of marriage
licenses, this time from 2 years ago. She is interested in determining whether
service to the public from her unit has improved or declined over the past
2 years. As before, the clerk considers service received in less than 10 minutes
good and service received in less than 15 minutes acceptable. Her tabulation of
the sample of marriage licenses issued 2 years ago shows the following:
Problems 77
Minutes Waited for

Marriage License Number of Couples
Less than 5 112
59 87
1014 31
1519 27
2024 29
2529 3
Prepare the percentage distribution for the marriage license data and the
appropriate graphical displays. Write a short memorandum explaining the results
and addressing the question of whether service to the public from her unit has
improved or declined over the past 2 years.
4.8 Because of cutbacks in agency funding, the United Way of Megopolis has had
to forgo routine maintenance of its computer terminals for the past 5 years.
(The equipment is made by the Indestructible Computer Company.) The head
of the agency is concerned that the agency will face a major equipment crisis
this year, because the recommended maintenance schedule for the terminals is
once every 3 years. Over the past 5 years, the agency has been able to purchase
new terminals. In an effort to obtain more funding from the state legislature, the
agency chief compiles the following data. The data show the time since the last
routine maintenance of the terminal or, if the terminal was purchased in the last
2 years, the time since the terminal was purchased.
Years since Last

Maintenance Number of Terminals
1 or less 103
2 187
3 97
4 56
5 37
6 12
7 or more 5
Prepare the percentage distribution for the terminal maintenance data and the
appropriate graphical displays. Write a short memorandum both explaining the
results and trying to convince the state legislature to provide funding for routine
maintenance of computer terminals.
4.9 Assume that you are a staff analyst working for the head of the United Way of
Megopolis in Problem 4.8. Write a short memorandum both explaining the
results of the data tabulation in Problem 4.8 and trying to convince the agency
head that the equipment crisis at the agency is overblown.
4.10 The local humane society is concerned about available space for impounded ani-
mals. The agency keeps careful count of the number of animals it shelters each
day. To determine the load on the agency, its head, Anna Trueheart, selects a
representative sample of days from the last 2 years and records the number of
animals impounded on each day. Her data appear as follows:
65 49 84 72 43 91
57 46 77 69 90 64
85 67 52 44 95 79
48 63 55 96 75 48
88 81 93 67 58 72
51 49 96 79 73 80
65 54 86 98 42 63
92 71 79 84 59 45
Prepare the frequency and percentage distributions for the animal impound-
ment data and the appropriate graphical displays for Ms. Trueheart. Write a short
memorandum explaining both the results and the demands on the humane soci-
ety to shelter animals.
4.11 The director of the state Department of Public Works wants to upgrade the de-
partments automobile fleet; she claims that the fleet is too old. The governor
appoints a staff analyst to investigate the issue. The analyst compiles data on both
the age and the odometer readings (mileage) of the departments automobile
fleet. Her data appear as follows:
Age (in years) Number of Automobiles

Less than 2 16
24 24
46 41
68 57
810 64
10 or more 39
Mileage Number of Automobiles

Less than 10,000 76
10,00020,000 63
20,00030,000 51
30,00040,000 32
40,00050,000 12
50,000 or more 7
Prepare percentage distributions for the age and mileage data and the appropriate
graphical displays. Write a short memorandum to the governor both explaining
the results and making a recommendation regarding whether the departments
automobile fleet should be upgraded.

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CHAPT E R

Number of Arrests Number of Police Ocers

Constructing a Frequency Distribution

Step 3: The tabulations in Step 2 could actually be called a frequency distribu-

Table 4.2 Tons of Garbage Collected by Sanitary Engineer Teams in Normal,

Tons of Garbage Number of Crews

The Percentage Distribution

Table 4.3 Tons of Garbage Collected by Sanitary Engineer Teams, Week of

Table 4.4 Tons of Garbage Collected by Sanitary Engineer Teams, Week of

Percentage of Work Crews

Cumulative Frequency Distributions

Table 4.5 Response Times of the Metro Fire Department, 2011

Response Time Running Cumulative

Table 4.6 Response Times of the Metro Fire Department, 2011

The second step is to construct a cumulative percentage column. This

Table 4.7 Complaints per Week about Barking Dogs, 2011

Number of Complaints Number of Weeks

Figure 4.1 First Step in Constructing a Frequency Polygon

Figure 4.2 Third Step in Constructing a Frequency Polygon

Figure 4.3 The Frequency Polygon

Number of Complaints 2010 2011

Figure 4.4 Frequency Polygons for Number of Complaints about Dogs,

To construct a histogram of barking dog complaints in Normal for 2011,

Figure 4.5 Third Step in Constructing a Histogram

Figure 4.6 The Histogram

Figure 4.7 Cumulative Frequency Polygons

Cumulative Percentage of Response Times

Cumulative frequency distributions can also be graphed. For example, the

Table 4.9 Response Times of Atlantis Fire Department, 2011

Days Necessary to Respond to Congressional Requests

Parking Tickets Issued

Exam Score Number of Applicants

Minutes Waited for

Minutes Waited for

Years since Last

Age (in years) Number of Automobiles

Mileage Number of Automobiles

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