Fundamentals of Math

Fundamentals of Mathematics

Example 6.4

Directions: Using the data from Table 6.1 create a bar chart that shows the number of patients with high, normal, or low blood pressure and again for cholesterol.

From this graph, we can infer most of the patients in this study have high cholesterol and blood pressure. Also, note that nobody had low cholesterol. We also notice things like more patients in this study have high cholesterol compared to blood pressure. 6.5 Histograms Histograms are visually similar to bar charts. The difference is that histograms represent continuous data (think values along a number line) rather than discrete data (think categories). Meaning, unlike a bar chart, there are no gaps between the columns in a histogram unless there is no data to observe within that range. To measure the frequency of a category in a bar chart, we find the length of a bar. However, in a histogram, the area of the bar is what is proportional to the size of the category since now the width and length of the bar have meaning. To create a histogram by hand, begin as you do with most other graphs by drawing and labeling your and -axis. Next, choose the number of bins (an interval). There is no hard and fast rule on how to select your bin size. In general, you want a small enough range that you can see differences in your data, but not so small that every data point is plotted into a different bin rendering the graph meaningless. It's often a good idea to play around and try various bin sizes to see which graph yields the best results. Anyways, once you've determined your bins sort your data into each bin and then

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