Chapter 2, Problem 52SE

Cell Phone Use Refer to the accompanying bar chart, which shows the time spent on a typical day talking on the cell phone for some men and women. Each person was asked to choose the one of four intervals that best fit the amount of time he or she spent on the phone (for example, “0 to 4 hours” or “12 or more hours”).

a. Identify the two variables. Then state whether they are categorical or numerical and explain.

b. Is the graph a bar chart or a histogram? Which would be the better choice for these data?

c. If you had the actual number of hours for each person, rather than just an interval, what type of graph should you use to display the distribution of the actual numbers of hours?

d. Compare the modes of the two distributions and interpret what you discover: What does this say about the difference between men’s and women’s cell phone use?