Data Analysis Lab Instructions Complete
Latest Update
You will be using Microsoft Excel to complete this assignment. We would
recommend watching the following Excel tutorial videos before you begin:
#1 Getting Started; #1 Getting Started transcript
#2 Finding Stuf f and Getting Around; #2 Finding Stuf f and Getting
Around transcript
#3 Data: Entering and Formatting; #3 Data: Entering and Formatting
transcript
Background
Cholesterol is essential to normal function of our bodies, but too much
cholesterol negatively affects health. Cholesterol circulates in the blood,
where it accumulates on the walls of arteries and limits the flow of blood. If
cholesterol blocks blood vessels severely, a person can suffer a heart attack
and stroke. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
a concentration of cholesterol greater than 240 mg dL -1 would be considered
too high.
You work for a company that plans to test a new drug, designed to lower the
concentration of cholesterol circulating in blood. To recruit suitable patients
for this test, your company plans to advertise the study, targeting people
who are most likely to have high cholesterol. To design the advertising, your
company needs to know which target audience is most likely to have high
cholesterol. In general, advertising is targeted toward people of a particular
age.
Fortunately, doctors routinely order tests that quantify the concentration of
cholesterol circulating in the blood of their patients. Therefore, your company
could cooperate with a nearby lab to obtain anonymous samples of
cholesterol concentrations for people of various ages. The sample was
divided into two groups: 1) people between the ages of 20 and 44 years, and
2) people between the ages of 45 and 64 years. You have been asked to
analyze the data and conclude which group is more likely to have high
cholesterol.
Step 1: Anticipate your analysis
To construct a sound argument, one must anticipate the evidence needed to
support a claim. In this assignment, you can choose between two claims:
, Potential Claim 1: People between the ages of 20 and 44 years are more
likely to have high cholesterol than people between the ages of 45 and 64
years.
Potential Claim 2: People between the ages of 45 and 64 years are more
likely to have high cholesterol than people between the ages of 20 and 44
years.
In each of the three figures below, the y-axis represents the median
concentration of cholesterol in the blood, with higher values indicating more
cholesterol. The x-axis compares two categories of age: 20-44 years and 45-
64 years.
1. Select the figure that best illustrates what one should expect to
observe if people between the ages of 20 and 44 years are more
likely to have high cholesterol than people between the ages
of 45 and 64 years.
a. Figure A
b. Figure B
c. Figure C
Step 2: Examine the frequency distribution of
cholesterol for each category of people.
To determine whether people are more likely to have higher cholesterol at
ages 20-30 years or at ages 45-64 years, we must first examine the
frequency of high cholesterol among people in each age category. For any
variable, such as cholesterol concentration, we can use a frequency
distribution to visualize the number of observations in a range of values.
(Excel tutorial #8 Frequency; #8 Frequency transcript)
To construct a frequency distribution, we must first generate a table of
Latest Update
You will be using Microsoft Excel to complete this assignment. We would
recommend watching the following Excel tutorial videos before you begin:
#1 Getting Started; #1 Getting Started transcript
#2 Finding Stuf f and Getting Around; #2 Finding Stuf f and Getting
Around transcript
#3 Data: Entering and Formatting; #3 Data: Entering and Formatting
transcript
Background
Cholesterol is essential to normal function of our bodies, but too much
cholesterol negatively affects health. Cholesterol circulates in the blood,
where it accumulates on the walls of arteries and limits the flow of blood. If
cholesterol blocks blood vessels severely, a person can suffer a heart attack
and stroke. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
a concentration of cholesterol greater than 240 mg dL -1 would be considered
too high.
You work for a company that plans to test a new drug, designed to lower the
concentration of cholesterol circulating in blood. To recruit suitable patients
for this test, your company plans to advertise the study, targeting people
who are most likely to have high cholesterol. To design the advertising, your
company needs to know which target audience is most likely to have high
cholesterol. In general, advertising is targeted toward people of a particular
age.
Fortunately, doctors routinely order tests that quantify the concentration of
cholesterol circulating in the blood of their patients. Therefore, your company
could cooperate with a nearby lab to obtain anonymous samples of
cholesterol concentrations for people of various ages. The sample was
divided into two groups: 1) people between the ages of 20 and 44 years, and
2) people between the ages of 45 and 64 years. You have been asked to
analyze the data and conclude which group is more likely to have high
cholesterol.
Step 1: Anticipate your analysis
To construct a sound argument, one must anticipate the evidence needed to
support a claim. In this assignment, you can choose between two claims:
, Potential Claim 1: People between the ages of 20 and 44 years are more
likely to have high cholesterol than people between the ages of 45 and 64
years.
Potential Claim 2: People between the ages of 45 and 64 years are more
likely to have high cholesterol than people between the ages of 20 and 44
years.
In each of the three figures below, the y-axis represents the median
concentration of cholesterol in the blood, with higher values indicating more
cholesterol. The x-axis compares two categories of age: 20-44 years and 45-
64 years.
1. Select the figure that best illustrates what one should expect to
observe if people between the ages of 20 and 44 years are more
likely to have high cholesterol than people between the ages
of 45 and 64 years.
a. Figure A
b. Figure B
c. Figure C
Step 2: Examine the frequency distribution of
cholesterol for each category of people.
To determine whether people are more likely to have higher cholesterol at
ages 20-30 years or at ages 45-64 years, we must first examine the
frequency of high cholesterol among people in each age category. For any
variable, such as cholesterol concentration, we can use a frequency
distribution to visualize the number of observations in a range of values.
(Excel tutorial #8 Frequency; #8 Frequency transcript)
To construct a frequency distribution, we must first generate a table of
