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Average wind speed is a crucial metric for understanding how windy a city truly is. It is calculated by summing up the daily wind speeds and dividing by the number of days. This average offers insights into the general wind conditions over a specified period.
In the recent exercise, we looked at the average wind speed across 55 cities. Among them, Chicago had an average wind speed of 10.3 mph. While this may sound low, it places the city in the higher spectrum of the dataset, confirming that Chicago is indeed windy, but not exceptionally so outside of notable outliers like Mt. Washington.
Considering wind speeds helps in understanding patterns and comparing them across different places. By knowing these averages, we can evaluate if a city's reputation, like that of "The Windy City", holds up against empirical data. This approach provides a factual basis instead of relying solely on perceptions.

Class boundaries are essential when constructing a histogram. They help categorize data into intervals or classes for easy analysis. In our exercise, we chose 7 classes to represent wind speeds across 55 U.S. cities.
To determine the class boundaries, it's vital to select classes that make the data easy to interpret. For instance, excluding the outlier of 35.1 mph (recorded in Mt. Washington) helped in setting more sensible boundaries. We decided on a class width of 1 mph, starting from the lowest observed non-outlier value, ensuring the classes were consistent and clear.
This technique helps illustrate how often different wind speeds occur, showing patterns or trends in the data. Knowing how to set class boundaries effectively can make data more digestible, facilitating accurate observations from the resulting relative frequency histogram.

Geography plays a significant role in influencing wind speed data. This influence is evident in places with distinct geographical features like mountains or valleys. For instance, Mt. Washington is famously windy due to its location and altitude.
As noted in the exercise, Mt. Washington is the tallest peak in the northeastern U.S. Its prominent position in the Presidential Range leads to high wind speeds as different air currents intersect there. This geographical context justifies the recorded 35.1 mph average wind speed, which is an outlier in our dataset.
Therefore, understanding the geography of a location helps explain variations in data. For students and researchers, considering geographical influences is critical when interpreting statistical measures, ensuring a comprehensive appreciation of what affects environmental data like wind speed.