Q. 2.147 - Elementary Statistics

Question

Cholesterol Levels. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average cholesterol level for children between 4 and 19 years of age is 165mg /dl. A pediatrician who tested the cholesterol levels of several young patients was alarmed to find that many had levels higher than 200mg / dL. The following relative frequency histogram shows the readings for some patients who had high cholesterol levels.

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

The distribution is roughly symmetric.

Step 1: Given Information

To determine whether the given graph is symmetric, right-skewed, or left-skewed.  

Step 2: Explanation

A relative frequency histogram is a variant of the standard frequency histogram. We use this axis to express the overall proportion of data values that fall into this bin, rather than utilizing a vertical axis to represent the count of data values that fall into a certain bin.

Let's consider the given graph:

The highest peak in the graph is nearly in the middle of the histogram. Therefore, the distribution is roughly symmetric.