Chapter 6: Problem 39
The data shown represent the number of outdoor drive-in movies in the United States for a 14-year period. Check for normality. \(\begin{array}{ccccccc}{2084} & {1497} & {1014} & {910} & {899} & {870} & {837} & {859} \\ {848} & {826} & {815} & {750} & {637} & {737}\end{array}\)
Short Answer
Expert verified
The data is likely not normally distributed.
Step by step solution
01
Arrange the Data
First, we sort the given data in ascending order: 637, 737, 750, 815, 826, 837, 848, 859, 870, 899, 910, 1014, 1497, 2084.
02
Calculate the Mean
Calculate the mean of the data by summing all values and dividing by the number of observations (14): \[\text{Mean} = \frac{637 + 737 + 750 + 815 + 826 + 837 + 848 + 859 + 870 + 899 + 910 + 1014 + 1497 + 2084}{14} = 1002.71\]
03
Compute the Standard Deviation
Calculate the standard deviation using the formula: \[\text{Standard Deviation} = \sqrt{\frac{1}{n-1}\sum_{i=1}^{n}(x_i - \bar{x})^2}\] where \(x_i\) represents each data point, \(\bar{x}\) is the mean, and \(n\) is the number of data points. This results in a standard deviation of approximately 382.8.
04
Create a Histogram
Create a histogram of the data. Check the distribution by plotting the sorted data into bins (such as 5-6 bins). Observe the shape to see if it resembles a bell curve.
05
Use Normal Probability Plot
Generate a normal probability plot (Q-Q plot). In a Q-Q plot, if the points lie approximately along a straight line, this suggests that the data is normally distributed. Evaluate the linearity of this plot.
06
Perform Statistical Tests
Use statistical tests such as the Shapiro-Wilk or Anderson-Darling test to assess normality. These tests will provide a p-value. Typically, a high p-value (greater than 0.05) indicates normality.
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Histogram
A histogram is a type of bar graph that represents the frequency distribution of a set of data. It gives a visual impression of the data's distribution by showing the number of data points that fall within a particular range of values, known as bins. To create a histogram for the drive-in movie data:
- Divide the sorted data into several bins. For instance, if you choose 5-6 bins, each will cover a specific range of the data.
- Count how many data points fall into each bin.
- Plot the bins on the x-axis and the frequency of data points on the y-axis.
Mean calculation
The mean is a measure of central tendency, often referred to as the average. It provides a central value for a data set, to which individual data points tend to cluster. For the given drive-in movie data, the mean is calculated by summing up all the values and then dividing by the total number of observations. This formula is:\[\text{Mean} = \frac{\text{Sum of all data points}}{\text{Number of data points}}\]For our data, the sum of all values is 14,038, and there are 14 data points, resulting in a mean of 1002.71. Calculating the mean is essential because it serves as a reference point when analyzing how data is spread around it. This is especially important in the context of normality testing.
Standard deviation
The standard deviation is a measure that describes the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of data. It tells us how much the individual data points deviate from the mean. A small standard deviation means that data points are close to the mean, while a large one indicates a wide spread.To calculate standard deviation:
- Subtract the mean from each data point to get the deviation score.
- Square each deviation score.
- Sum those squared deviations.
- Divide by the number of observations minus 1 (n-1 for a sample).
- Finally, take the square root of this value.
Normal probability plot
A normal probability plot, often called a Q-Q plot, is a graphical tool to help assess if a data set is approximately normally distributed. In a Q-Q plot, each data point is plotted against the corresponding quantile value of a theoretical normal distribution.
To create a Q-Q plot for the drive-in movie data:
- Plot each data point's percentile rank within the data set.
- On the x-axis, represent theoretical percentiles from a standard normal distribution.
- On the y-axis, represent the actual data percentiles.
- If the data is normally distributed, the points should follow roughly a straight diagonal line.
Shapiro-Wilk test
The Shapiro-Wilk test is a statistical test that assesses the normality of a data distribution. It's a well-regarded test due to its robustness and suitability for small sample sizes.
To perform the Shapiro-Wilk test:
- Formulate the null hypothesis as "the data is normally distributed."
- Calculate the test statistic based on the data's ordered values (from smallest to largest).
- Compare the test statistic to a standard distribution of the statistic to find the p-value.
- Evaluate the p-value against a chosen significance level, typically 0.05.