Introduction to Probability

and Statistics
Thirteenth Edition

Chapter 2
Describing Data
with Numerical Measures
 Describing Data with
Numerical Measures
• Graphical methods may not always be
sufficient for describing data.
• Numerical measures can be created
for both populations and samples.
– A parameter is a numerical
descriptive measure calculated for a
population.
– A statistic is a numerical descriptive
measure calculated for a sample.
 Measures of Center
• A measure along the horizontal
axis of the data distribution that
locates the center of the
distribution.
Arithmetic Mean or Average
• The mean of a set of measurements is
the sum of the measurements divided
by the total number of measurements.

 xi
x=
n
where n = number of
measurements
 xi = sum of all the measurements
 Example
•The set: 2, 9, 1, 5, 6

 xi 2 + 9 + 11 + 5 + 6 33
x= = = = 6.6
n 5 5

If we were able to enumerate the whole

population, the population mean would be
called  (the Greek letter “mu”).
 Median
• The median of a set of measurements
is the middle measurement when the
measurements are ranked from
smallest to largest.
• The position of the median is

.5(n + 1)
once the measurements have been
ordered.
 Example
• The set: 2, 4, 9, 8, 6, 5, 3 n = 7
• Sort: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
• Position: .5(n + 1) = .5(7 + 1) = 4th
Median = 4th largest measurement
• The set: 2, 4, 9, 8, 6, 5 n=6
• Sort: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
• Position: .5(n + 1) = .5(6 + 1) = 3.5th
Median = (5 + 6)/2 = 5.5 — average of the 3rd and 4th
measurements
 Mode
• The mode is the measurement which
occurs most frequently.
• The set: 2, 4, 9, 8, 8, 5, 3
– The mode is 8, which occurs twice
• The set: 2, 2, 9, 8, 8, 5, 3
– There are two modes—8 and 2
(bimodal)
• The set: 2, 4, 9, 8, 5, 3
– There is no mode (each value is unique).
 Example
The number of quarts of milk purchased
by 25 households:
0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5
• Mean?
 xi 55
x= = = 2.2 10/25

n 25 8/25

Relative frequency
• Median? 6/25

m=2 4/25

• Mode? (Highest peak) 2/25

mode = 2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Quarts
 Extreme Values
• The mean is more easily affected by
extremely large or small values than
the median.
myapplet

•The median is often used as a

measure of center when the
distribution is skewed.
Extreme Values

Symmetric: Mean = Median

Skewed right: Mean > Median

Skewed left: Mean < Median

Measures of Variability
• A measure along the horizontal
axis of the data distribution that
describes the spread of the
distribution from the center.
 The Range
• The range, R, of a set of n
measurements is the difference between
the largest and smallest measurements.
• Example: A botanist records the
number of petals on 5 flowers:
5, 12, 6, 8, 14
• The range is R = 14 – 5 = 9.
•Quick and easy, but only uses
2 of the 5 measurements.
 The Variance
• The variance is measure of
variability that uses all the
measurements. It measures the
average deviation of the
measurements about their mean.
• Flower petals: 5, 12, 6, 8, 14
45
x= =9
5
4 6 8 10 12 14
 The Variance
• The variance of a population of N
measurements is the average of the squared
deviations of the measurements about their
mean 
 ( x −  ) 2
 =
2 i

N
• The variance of a sample of n measurements is
the sum of the squared deviations of the
measurements about their mean, divided by (n – 1)

( xi − x ) 2
s =
2

n −1
The Standard Deviation
• In calculating the variance, we squared
all of the deviations, and in doing so
changed the scale of the
measurements.
• To return this measure of variability to
the original units of measure, we
calculate the standard deviation, the
positive square root of the variance.
Population standard deviation :  =  2
Sample standard deviation : s = s 2
Two Ways to Calculate
the Sample Variance
Use the Definition Formula:
xi xi − x ( xi − x ) 2

5 -4 16 ( xi − x ) 2
s =
2
12 3 9 n −1
6 -3 9
60
8 -1 1 = = 15
14 5 25
4
Sum 45 0 60
s = s 2 = 15 = 3.87
Two Ways to Calculate
the Sample Variance
Use the Calculational Formula:
xi xi2
(  x ) 2
 xi −
2 i
5 25
s =
2 n
12 144
n −1
6 36
452
8 64 465 −
14 196 = 5 = 15
Sum 45 465 4

s = s = 15 = 3.87
2
 myapplet

Some Notes
• The value of s is ALWAYS positive.
• The larger the value of s2 or s, the
larger the variability of the data set.
• Why divide by n –1?
–The sample standard deviation s is
often used to estimate the
population standard deviation 
Dividing by n –1 gives us a better
estimate of 
 Using Measures of Center and
Spread: Tchebysheff’s Theorem
Given a number k greater than or equal to 1
and a set of n measurements, at least 1-(1/k2)
of the measurement will lie within k standard
deviations of the mean.
✓ Can be used for either samples ( x and s) or for a
population ( and ).
✓Important results:
✓If k = 2, at least 1 – 1/22 = 3/4 of the measurements are
within 2 standard deviations of the mean.
✓If k = 3, at least 1 – 1/32 = 8/9 of the measurements are
within 3 standard deviations of the mean.
Using Measures of
Center and Spread:
The Empirical Rule
Given a distribution of measurements
that is approximately mound-shaped:
✓The interval    contains approximately
68% of the measurements.
✓The interval   2 contains approximately
95% of the measurements.
✓The interval   3 contains approximately
99.7% of the measurements.
 Example
The ages of 50 tenured faculty at a
state university.
• 34 48 70 63 52 52 35 50 37 43 53 43 52 44
• 42 31 36 48 43 26 58 62 49 34 48 53 39 45
• 34 59 34 66 40 59 36 41 35 36 62 34 38 28
• 43 50 30 43 32 44 58 53

x = 44.9
14/50

12/50

Relative frequency
10/50

s = 10.73 8/50

6/50

4/50

2/50

Shape? Skewed right 0

25 33 41 49
Ages
57 65 73
 k x ks Interval Proportion Tchebysheff Empirical
in Interval Rule

1 44.9 10.73 34.17 to 55.63 31/50 (.62) At least 0  .68

2 44.9 21.46 23.44 to 66.36 49/50 (.98) At least .75  .95
3 44.9 32.19 12.71 to 77.09 50/50 (1.00) At least .89  .997

•Yes. Tchebysheff’s
•Do the actual proportions in the Theorem must be
three intervals agree with those true for any data
given by Tchebysheff’s Theorem? set.
•Do they agree with the Empirical •No. Not very well.
Rule?
• The data distribution is not
•Why or why not? very mound-shaped, but
skewed right.
 Example
The length of time for a worker to
complete a specified operation averages
12.8 minutes with a standard deviation of 1.7
minutes. If the distribution of times is
approximately mound-shaped, what proportion
of workers will take longer than 16.2 minutes to
complete the task?
95% between 9.4 and 16.2
47.5% between 12.8 and 16.2

.47 .47 .025 (50-47.5)% = 2.5% above 16.2

5 5
 Approximating s
• From Tchebysheff’s Theorem and
the Empirical Rule, we know that
R  4-6 s
• To approximate the standard
deviation of a set of measurements,
we can use:

s  R/4
or s  R / 6 for a large data set.
 Approximating s
The ages of 50 tenured faculty at a
state university.
• 34 48 70 63 52 52 35 50 37 43 53 43 52 44
• 42 31 36 48 43 26 58 62 49 34 48 53 39 45
• 34 59 34 66 40 59 36 41 35 36 62 34 38 28
• 43 50 30 43 32 44 58 53

R = 70 – 26 = 44
s  R / 4 = 44 / 4 = 11

Actual s = 10.73
 Measures of Relative Standing
• Where does one particular measurement
stand in relation to the other
measurements in the data set?
• How many standard deviations away
from the mean does the measurement
lie? This is measured by the z-score.
Suppose s = 2. s
x−x 4
z - score = s s
s
x =5 x=9
x = 9 lies z =2 std dev from the mean.
 z-Scores
• From Tchebysheff’s Theorem and the Empirical Rule
– At least 3/4 and more likely 95% of measurements lie
within 2 standard deviations of the mean.
– At least 8/9 and more likely 99.7% of measurements lie
within 3 standard deviations of the mean.
• z-scores between –2 and 2 are not unusual. z-scores
should not be more than 3 in absolute value. z-scores
larger than 3 in absolute value would indicate a possible
outlier.

Outlier Not unusual Outlier

z
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2
3
Somewhat
unusual
 Measures of Relative Standing
• How many measurements lie
below the measurement of
interest? This is measured by the
pth percentile.

p% (100-p) %
x
p-th percentile
 Examples
• 90% of all men (16 and older) earn
more than $319 per week.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

10% 90% $319 is the 10th

$319 percentile.

50th Percentile  Median

25th Percentile  Lower Quartile (Q1)
75th Percentile  Upper Quartile (Q3)
 Quartiles and the IQR
• The lower quartile (Q1) is the value of x
which is larger than 25% and less than
75% of the ordered measurements.
• The upper quartile (Q3) is the value of x
which is larger than 75% and less than
25% of the ordered measurements.
• The range of the “middle 50%” of the
measurements is the interquartile range,
IQR = Q3 – Q1
 Calculating Sample Quartiles
• The lower and upper quartiles (Q1
and Q3), can be calculated as follows:
• The position of Q1 is .25(n + 1)

•The position of Q3 is .75(n + 1)

once the measurements have been

ordered. If the positions are not
integers, find the quartiles by
interpolation.
 Example
The prices ($) of 18 brands of walking shoes:
40 60 65 65 65 68 68 70 70
70 70 70 70 74 75 75 90 95

Position of Q1 = .25(18 + 1) = 4.75

Position of Q3 = .75(18 + 1) = 14.25

✓Q1is 3/4 of the way between the 4th and 5th ordered
measurements, or
Q1 = 65 + .75(65 - 65) = 65.
 Example
The prices ($) of 18 brands of walking shoes:
40 60 65 65 65 68 68 70 70
70 70 70 70 74 75 75 90 95

Position of Q1 = .25(18 + 1) = 4.75

Position of Q3 = .75(18 + 1) = 14.25

✓Q3 is 1/4 of the way between the 14th and 15th

ordered measurements, or
Q3 = 75 + .25(75 - 74) = 74.25
✓and
IQR = Q3 – Q1 = 74.25 - 65 = 9.25
Using Measures of Center and
Spread: The Box Plot
The Five-Number Summary:
Min Q1 Median Q3 Max

•Divides the data into 4 sets containing an

equal number of measurements.
•A quick summary of the data distribution.
•Use to form a box plot to describe the
shape of the distribution and to detect
outliers.
 Constructing a Box Plot
✓Calculate Q1, the median, Q3 and IQR.
✓Draw a horizontal line to represent the
scale of measurement.
✓Draw a box using Q1, the median, Q3.

Q1 m Q3
 Constructing a Box Plot
✓Isolate outliers by calculating
✓Lower fence: Q1-1.5 IQR
✓Upper fence: Q3+1.5 IQR
✓Measurements beyond the upper or
lower fence is are outliers and are marked
(*).
*
Q1 m Q3
 Constructing a Box Plot
✓Draw “whiskers” connecting the largest
and smallest measurements that are NOT
outliers to the box.

*
Q1 m Q3
 Example
Amt of sodium in 8 brands of cheese:
260 290 300 320 330 340 340 520
myapplet

Q1 = 292.5 m = 325 Q3 = 340

m
Q1 Q3
 Example
IQR = 340-292.5 = 47.5
Lower fence = 292.5-1.5(47.5) = 221.25
myapplet

Upper fence = 340 + 1.5(47.5) = 411.25

Outlier: x = 520

*
m
Q1 Q3
 Interpreting Box Plots
✓ Median line in center of box and whiskers
of equal length—symmetric distribution
✓ Median line left of center and long right
whisker—skewed right
✓ Median line right of center and long left
whisker—skewed left
 Key Concepts
I. Measures of Center
1. Arithmetic mean (mean) or average
a. Population: 
 xi
b. Sample of size n:x =
n
2. Median: position of the median = .5(n +1)
3. Mode
4. The median may preferred to the mean if the data are
highly skewed.
II. Measures of Variability
1. Range: R = largest − smallest
 Key Concepts
2. Variance
 ( x −  ) 2
2 =
a. Population of N measurements:
i

N
b. Sample of n measurements:
( xi ) 2
 xi −
2
 ( x − x ) 2
n
s2 = i
=
n −1 n −1
3. Standard deviation
Population standard deviation :  =  2
Sample standard deviation : s = s 2
4. A rough approximation for s can be calculated as s  R / 4.
The divisor can be adjusted depending on the sample
size.
 Key Concepts
III. Tchebysheff’s Theorem and the Empirical Rule
1. Use Tchebysheff’s Theorem for any data set,
regardless of
its shape or size.
a. At least 1-(1/k 2 ) of the measurements lie within k
standard deviation of the mean.
b. This is only a lower bound; there may be more
measurements in the interval.
2. The Empirical Rule can be used only for relatively
mound-
shaped data sets.
– Approximately 68%, 95%, and 99.7% of the
measurements are within one, two, and three
standard deviations of the mean, respectively.
 Key Concepts
IV. Measures of Relative Standing
1. Sample z-score:
2. pth percentile; p% of the measurements are smaller,
and
(100 − p)% are larger.
3. Lower quartile, Q 1; position of Q 1 = .25(n +1)
4. Upper quartile, Q 3 ; position of Q 3 = .75(n +1)
5. Interquartile range: IQR = Q 3 − Q 1
V. Box Plots
1. Box plots are used for detecting outliers and shapes of
distributions.
2. Q 1 and Q 3 form the ends of the box. The median line
is in the interior of the box.
 Key Concepts
3. Upper and lower fences are used to find
outliers.
a. Lower fence: Q 1 − 1.5(IQR)
b. Upper fence: Q 3 + 1.5(IQR)
4. Whiskers are connected to the smallest and
largest measurements that are not outliers.
5. Skewed distributions usually have a long
whisker in the direction of the skewness, and the
median line is drawn away from the direction of
the skewness.