Questions: In a sample of 18 students at East High School the following number of days of absences were recorded for the previous semester: 4,3,1,0,4,2,3,0,1,2,3,0,4,1,1,5,1,1. Find the class width when using four classes for the frequency distribution.

Solution Steps

To find the class width for the frequency distribution with four classes, we need to follow these steps:

1. Identify the range of the data by subtracting the minimum value from the maximum value.
2. Divide the range by the number of classes to determine the class width.
3. Round up the class width to the nearest whole number if necessary.

From the data set of absences, we find:

• Minimum value: \( \text{min\_absence} = 0 \)
• Maximum value: \( \text{max\_absence} = 5 \)

The range of the data is calculated as: \[ \text{data\_range} = \text{max\_absence} - \text{min\_absence} = 5 - 0 = 5 \]

To find the class width when using four classes, we divide the range by the number of classes: \[ \text{class\_width} = \frac{\text{data\_range}}{\text{num\_classes}} = \frac{5}{4} = 1.25 \] Since we need to round up to the nearest whole number, we have: \[ \text{class\_width} = 2 \]

Final Answer