Measures of Dispersion

(Exercises)

1. The following table gives the age distribution for the number of deaths due to accidents
for residents age 25 and older.
Age Number
25 – 34 393
35 – 44 514
45 – 54 460
55 – 64 341
65 – 74 365
75 – 84 616
85 – 94 618
Please calculate cumulative frequency, relative frequency and cumulative relative frequency.
Which graphical presentation is the best for above data.

2. Porcellini et al studied 8 HIV positive patients who were treated with HAART for at least
6 months. The CD4 counts measured at baseline for 8 subjects are listed below.
221, 205, 213, 173, 173, 199, 227, 181
(a) Compute mean, median, mode, variance, standard deviation and coefficient of variation.
(b) Construct stem and leaf display. Mention the use of stem and leaf display.
(c) Construct box and whisker plot. Please mention the uses of box and whisker plot.
(d) What percentage of measurement is within one standard deviation of the mean? Within two
standard deviations? Within three standard deviations?

3. Suppose two samples of males yield the following results:

Sample 1 (10 males) Sample 2 (5 males)
Mean weight 145 pounds 80 pounds
Standard deviation 10 pounds 10 pounds
We wish to know which sample has more variation, sample 1 or sample 2.
4. Name the variable.
- Blood sugar level
- Blood type (A, B, AB, O)
- Severity of pain
- Area of residence (eg, State, District)
- Haemoglobin level
- Type of carcinoma
- Number of children in a family
- Body temperature in Celsius
- Number of visits to the hospital per patient in a year
- Exposure status (eg, Smoker vs Non-smoker, <5, 5-10, >10)

5. The standard deviation is preferred over variance because

(a) easier to compute
(b) smaller in magnitude
(c) it is closer to mean deviation
(d) it has the same unit of measurement as the raw data
(e) all of the above

6. Median is used as measure of central tendency in which of the distribution?

Whenever the median is reported as the measure of central tendency of a continuous
variable, the appropriate measure of dispersion is
(a) range
(b) standard deviation
(c) variance
(d) interquartile range
(e) coefficient of variation
7.

(a) What type of diagram is this?

(b) How would you describe the shape of the distribution?