In the exercises in Chapter 2 we considered the study by a fourth-grade girl who examined the average allowance of her classmates. Recall that 7 boys reported an average allowance of $3.18, while 11 girls reported an average allowance of $2.63. These data raise some interesting statistical issues. This fourth-grade student did a meaningful study (well, it was better than I would have done in fourth grade), but let’s look at the data more closely.
The paper reported that the highest allowance for a boy was $10, while the highest for a girl was $9. It also reported that the two lowest girls’ allowances were $0.50 and $0.51, while the lowest reported allowance for a boy was $3.00.
(a) Create a set of data for boys and girls that would produce these results. (No, I didn’t make an error.)
(b) What is the most appropriate measure of central tendency to report in this situation?
(c) What does the available information suggest to you about the distribution of allowances for the two genders?
(d) What do the data suggest about the truthfulness of little boys?