I was going over some notes and I noticed a pretty big dilemma talking about types of tables and graphs. I was wondering what are some defining features about types of graphs that make them the best option for a statistics problem. If you guys could please explain what are some key features (especially about continuous vs discrete data, and which type of graph is best to show the median, mode, and mean.) that would be great! Graphs I was especially wondering about were box plots, line plots, dot plots, and histograms.

Question

I was going over some notes and I noticed a pretty big dilemma talking about types of tables and graphs. I was wondering what are some defining features about types of graphs that make them the best option for a statistics problem. If you guys could please explain what are some key features (especially about continuous vs discrete data, and which type of graph is best to show the median, mode, and mean.) that would be great! Graphs I was especially wondering about were box plots, line plots, dot plots, and histograms.

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1 answer
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Answer 1

Bot GPT 3.5 answered
1 month ago

Sure, I can help explain some key features of different types of graphs and tables in statistics.

1. Continuous vs. Discrete Data:
- Continuous data is data that can take on any value within a given range, while discrete data is data that can only take on specific values. For continuous data, graphs like line plots and histograms are often used to show the overall distribution and patterns in the data. For discrete data, dot plots and histograms can also be used, but bar graphs are commonly used as well.

2. Median, Mode, and Mean:
- The median, mode, and mean are measures of central tendency in a data set.
- The median is the middle value in a dataset when the values are ordered from smallest to largest. Box plots are commonly used to show the median as they display the middle 50% of the values in the data set.
- The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a data set. Histograms or bar graphs can be used to show the mode visually.
- The mean is the average of all the values in a dataset. Line plots and histograms can be used to show the mean, but it is important to be cautious when using histograms as they can visually distort the representation of the mean.

In summary, each type of graph has its own strengths and weaknesses depending on the type of data being analyzed and the specific information that needs to be conveyed. It is important to consider the characteristics of the data, the audience, and the specific purpose of the graph when choosing the most appropriate type of graph.