4.3 interpret statistics in the media

Misleading graphs > Little percent changes are made to look huge > This line should appear flat on a regular graph

>The most common “trick” with graphs is to have the scale not start at zero. >This makes small differences look much bigger.

>The most common “trick” with graphs is to have the scale not start at zero. >Both graphs are displaying the same data, except the one on the left has a vertical scale that doesn’t start at 0.

Misleading advertisements How is the advertiser using statistics inappropriately in this statement?

Political polls A newspaper report included this statement: “The prime minister has the approval of 45% of the population. This is accurate to within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.” Explain the meaning of this statement. If the poll were conducted 20 times, the results would fall within three percentage points of 45% or between a 42% and a 48% approval rating. This would occur in 19 of the 20 polls or 95% of the time. The greater the sample size, he more accurate the results.

4.3 homework p. 231 #1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 12