The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) in the early 1970s because of several disease outbreaks on cruise ships. The VSP was established to protect the health of passengers and crew by minimizing the risk of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships. Inspections are scored on a point system of maximum 100, and cruise ships earn a score based on the criteria. Ships that score an 86 or higher have a satisfactory sanitation level. Data from a recent inspection are contained in a file titled Cruiscore.
a. Calculate the mean, standard deviation, median, and interquartile range. Which of these measures would seem most appropriate to characterize this data set?
b. Produce a box and whisker plot of the data. Would the Empirical Rule or Tchebysheff’s theorem be appropriate for describing this data set? Explain.
c. If you wished to travel only on those ships that are at the 90th percentile or above in terms of sanitation, what would be the lowest sanitation score you would find acceptable?