Absolute

and
Relative
Quantities

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 1

Copyright 2003
 Introduction
There are two ways to measure numerical data
—particularly if the goal is to measure the
least and greatest occurrence of some
quantifiable variable.

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 2

 ABSOLUTE QUANTITIES
The absolute quantity of a quantifiable
variable is a measure of the absolute
occurrence of the variable.

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 3

 The EXCEL file StateLotteries2000.xls shows ticket sales.

When they are sorted in ascending order, we can see

which states have the least and greatest ticket sales in
absolute terms.

2000 Ticket Absolute

State Population Sales Sales

Montana 902,000 $ 29,900,000 $ 29,900,000

Nebraska 1,711,000 $ 68,170,000 $ 68,170,000
Vermont 609,000 $ 75,920,000 $ 75,920,000
California 33,872,000 $ 2,598,380,000 $ 2,598,380,000
Texas 20,852,000 $ 2,657,290,000 $ 2,657,290,000
New York 18,976,000 $ 3,629,260,000 $ 3,629,260,000
Massachusetts 6,349,000 $ 3,697,970,000 $ 3,697,970,000

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 4

 Conclusion
 Montana spent the least on lottery tickets,
while Massachusetts spent the most.

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 5

 RELATIVE QUANTITIES
 The relative quantity of a quantifiable
variable is a measure of the absolute
occurrence of the variable in relation to some
other quantifiable variable.

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 6

 We can measure ticket sales by taking the
absolute ticket sales of each state and dividing by
the state population.

This ratio is the relative ticket sales.

2000 Ticket Relative

State Population Sales Sales
Montana 902,000 $ 29,900,000 $33.15
Nebraska 1,711,000 $ 68,170,000 $39.84
Arizona 5,131,000 $ 255,550,000 $49.81
New Mexico 1,819,000 $ 110,610,000 $60.81
Massachusetts 6,349,000 $ 3,697,970,000 $582.45
Delaware 784,000 $ 556,450,000 $709.76
South Dakota 755,000 $ 581,050,000 $769.60
Rhode Island 1,048,000 $ 864,320,000 $824.73

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 7

 Conclusion
 Once the relative ticket sales for each state is
sorted in ascending order, we reach very
different conclusions about which states have the
least and greatest ticket sales (relative to the
state’s population).
 Montana again spent the least on lottery tickets,
while Rhode Island spent the most—in terms of
relative sales.

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 8

 Summary
Many data sets can be analyzed according to various
quantitative measures that produce different conclusions.

In general, examining relative quantities is more informative

than absolute quantities.

The change found is an increase if

new value > previous value

The change found is a decrease if

new value < previous value

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 9

 RATIOS

Suppose we wish to compare the size of

California’s population to that of
Oregon’s.
According to the 2000 census, California
was home to 33,872,000 people, while
3,421,000 resided in Oregon.
Clearly many more people call California
home than Oregon.
Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 10
 RATIOS
If we compute the ratio of California’s
population to Oregon’s we have

Ratio = 33,872,000/3,421,000 = 9.90

What does this mean?

It means that California’s population is

almost ten times as big as Oregon’s.
Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 11
Changes in a Quantity over Time
Population estimates were derived from information available as
of Spring 2000. Source: 2000 Statistical Abstract of the US.
  Area Population (1000's)
Country or area (sq. mile) 1980 1990 2000
             
Afghanistan 250000 14985 14750 25889
Albania 10579 2671 3258 3490
Algeria 919591 18862 25341 31194
Andorra 174 34 53 67
Angola 481351 6741 8056 10145
Antigua & Barbuda 170 69 63 66
Argentina 1056637 28237 32634 36955
Armenia 11506 3115 3366 3344
Australia 2941285 14616 17022 19165
Austria 31942 7549 7718 8131
Azerbaijan 33436 6173 7200 7748
Bahamas 3888
Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 210 257 295 12
 Data Types
Each column represents a different kind of data:

Column A Country Categorical

Column B Area Quantitative
Column C 1980 Population Quantitative
Column D 1990 Population Quantitative
Column E 2000 Population Quantitative

What units are the data expressed in?

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 13

 Changes in populations between
different time periods
 We can describe this change by using
an absolute change or a relative
change to describe either a net gain
or a loss.

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 14

 Absolute Change
Absolute change is defined as the difference from a previous
value to a new value.

For example, the change of population for Afghanistan between

1980 and 1990.

Absolute change = 1990 pop – 1980 pop

Absolute change = 14,750,000 – 14,985,000

Absolute change = –235,000

What does the –235,000 represent in terms of the problem?

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 15

 Relative Change
The relative change is defined as the absolute change divided by the
previous value.

For example, the relative change for the Afghanistan’s population is

given by

Relative change = Absolute change/previous

Relative change = (new – previous)/previous

Relative change = (14750 – 14985)/14985

Relative change = –235/14985

Relative change = –0.0156823

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 16

 Percent Change
We can express relative change as percent change by
multiplying by 100%, or

Percent change = Relative change * 100%

For our previous example, we have that

Percent change = –0.0156823 * 100%

Percent change ≈ –1.57%

What does this percent change mean?

Quantitative Reasoning - DePaul University 17