Chapter 2, Problem 1CQQ

Cookies Refer to the accompanying frequency distribution that summarizes the numbers of chocolate chips found in each cookie in a sample of Chips Ahoy regular chocolate chip cookies (from Data Set 28 “Chocolate Chip Cookies” in Appendix B). What is the class width? Is it possible to identify the original data values?

To determine

To find: The class width in the frequency distribution.

To identify: The original values in the frequency distribution.

Answer to Problem 1CQQ

The class width for each class is 3.

No, it is not possible to identify the original data values in the frequency distribution table.

Explanation of Solution

Given info:

The data shows the frequency distribution for the number of chocolate chips in each cookie from a sample of cookies.

Calculation:

Formula for finding the class width:

$\text{Class width}\approx \frac{\text{Maximum data value}-\text{Minimum data value}}{\text{Number of classes}}$

From the given table, the maximum data value is 32, the minimum data value is 18 and the number of classes is 5. Substitute these values in the class width formula.

$\begin{array}{c}\text{Class width = }\frac{\text{32}-\text{18}}{5}\\ =\frac{14}{5}\\ =2.8\\ \approx 3\end{array}$

Thus, the class width for each class is 3.

Justification:

No, it is impossible to identify the original data values because only the frequency distribution is given.