Casino Games

Activity 3 8
Data and statistics
What is a box and whisker plot?
The following table reports the average monthly temperatures for San Francisco,
California and for Raleigh, North Carolina. Dotplots of these twelve temperatures for
each city appear below.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Raleigh 39 42 50 59 67 74 78 77 71 60 51 43
S.F. 49 52 53 56 58 62 63 64 65 61 55 49

As you can figure out, the median temp for Raleigh is 59.5, while the median temp for
S.F. is 57. These two numbers are pretty close to each other, but we can’t conclude that
there is no difference between the two cities with regard to monthly temperature.

You can see that Raleigh has more variability. Variability is measured with range or
standard deviation, among other statistics. You might also use interquartile range (IQR) as
a measure of variability.

IQR divides the data into

four (roughly) equal parts,
then finds how far apart
the 25% line is from the
75% line.
Let’s find the lower quartile for the Raleigh data. Here’s the complete data set in order:

39 42 43 50 51 59 60 67 71 74 77 78

There are 12 data values, so the median is the mean of the 6th and 7th, 59 and 60 =
59.5.

To find the lower quartile, list all of the values below the median. Then find the median of
that list.

39 42 43 50 51 59

There are 6 data values, so the median is the mean of the 3rd and 4th, 43 and 50.
(43 + 50)/2 = 46.5. 46.5 is the lower quartile.

Find the upper quartile in the same manner.

60 67 71 74 77 78

Upper quartile = (71 + 74)/2 = 72.5.

Thus, the IQR is 72.5 (upper quartile) minus 46.5 (lower quartile) = 26.

The median, quartiles, and extremes (minimum and maximum) of a

distribution are called the five-number summary, which gives a quick
description of the data. Here’s the five-number summary (plus the
mean for comparison) for Raleigh.

These five numbers form

the basis for a boxplot,
sometimes called a box
and whisker plot. To make
a boxplot, draw a
rectangle, or box,
between the quartiles.
Horizontal lines called
whiskers are extended
from the middle of the
sides of the box to the
extremes. Then the
median is marked with a
vertical line inside the
box.
How do I know what plot to use?

For what kind of data

Type of plot Advantages Drawbacks
is this appropriate?

doesn’t make sense for

comparing categorical simple, works well for
bar graph (word) variables categorical (word) variables
quantitative (number)
variables

doesn’t make sense for

circle comparing categorical visually simple, makes quantitative (number)
graph (word) variables sense to most people variables, can be
manipulated to distort data

keeps all data values,

a single quantitative cumbersome for large data
dotplot variable
provides visual distribution
sets
for quantitative data

keeps all data values,

provides visual distribution
a single quantitative cumbersome for large data
stem plot variable
for quantitative data,
sets
simplifies dot plot structure
without losing detail

loses some detail in

a single quantitative
histogram variable
works for large data sets bunching data into
subranges

appropriate for sometimes difficult to

can see trends and
scatterplot comparing two
comparisons
recognize linear vs.
quantitative variables nonlinear trends

a single quantitative simple, shows essential loses most of the detail in

boxplot variable parts of a distribution the data

8 8 8
Problem Set 6
1. Give the five number summary for the San Francisco temperatures.
2. Construct a box plot for the San Francisco temperatures. Compare and contrast with the Raleigh boxplot.
3. For each data description,
name an appropriate plot to
display the data.
a. The heights of a class
of 20 6th graders
b. Comparing size of a
house to the amount of energy
used by the house
c. Comparing the
percentage of voters who voted
for the different candidates in the
2008 presidential election
d. The heights of 10,000
6th graders nationwide

Sets
What is a Venn diagram?
You’ve probably encountered Venn diagrams before.
They show how sets interact with each other. The
diagram here shows a very basic Venn diagram. The
rectangle represents “everything.” The circle shows a
set that doesn’t include everything. Some stuff is in the
set, and some isn’t.

An example would be for the rectangle to represent the set of all animals, while the circle
shows only marsupials. (Venn diagrams usually don’t show scale—the size of the circle
compared to the size of the rectangle doesn’t show proportion. There’s no way marsupials
would take up that much space in the set of all animals.)

The diagram you’re probably used to seeing looks like

this. Maybe the left circle represents “mammals” while
the right circle represents “animals that live in the
ocean.” Then “whales” would in in the intersection of
set 1 and 2.

Another common Venn diagram looks like this. Set 1

could be mammals, while set 2 is marsupials. All
marsupials are mammals.
What are union, intersection, and complement?
The union of two sets is the stuff is set 1, set 2, or
both. The intersection of two sets is only the stuff in
both sets. The complement of a set is everything not
in the set.

Look at the diagram to the right.

M = the set of all mammals
O = the set of all animals that live in the ocean

The union of M and O is

notated like this:

M ∪O
and a Venn diagram
showing union would
have both circles shaded.

The intersection of M and

O is notated like this:

M ∩O
and a Venn diagram
showing union would
have only the sliver in
both circles shaded.

The complement of M is
notated like this:

M′
and a Venn diagram
showing the complement
show have everything
shaded but the set M
 shaded but the set M

Problem Set 7

Given the Venn diagram here, where

E = the set of even numbers
M = multiples of 3
1. Describe E ∩ M .
2. Describe E ∪ M .
3. Describe E ′.

4.€Create your own Venn diagram with stuff in

€ set: the first set, second set, intersection,
every
€ neither set.
and

the rectangle represents the set of all numbers

Probability
What are odds?
Sometimes probabilities are given in terms of odds. This is especially common in gambling.

Example 1:
Suppose the weather forecaster says that the probability of rain tomorrow is 1/3. Find the odds in favor of rain
tomorrow.

Since P(rain tomorrow) = 1/3, the probability of the complement, P(no rain tomorrow) is 2/3. Then the odds in favor of
rain are 1/3 divided by 2/3 = 1/2. When we’re talking about odds, we write this as 1:2 or “1 to 2.”

Example 2:
What are the odds of flipping a coin and getting tails?

Since P(tails) = 1/2, the probability of the complement, P(heads) is 1/2. Then the odds in favor of rain are 1/2 divided by
1/2 = 1/1. When we’re talking about odds, we call this “even odds.”

Example 3:
If the odds in favor of a particular horse’s winning a race are 5 to 7, what is the probability that the horse will win the
race?

The odds say there are 5 ways for the horse to win, and 7 to lose. 5 + 7 = 12 total way, so the probability the horse wins
is 5/12. However, racetracks generally give the odds against a horse winning, so at Canterbury they’d quote the odds as
7 to 5.

Odds get confusing for a couple reasons. Normally, in gambling, odds are quoted as odds
against. Instead of giving 1:2 odds that it will rain tomorrow (according to example 1), an
oddsmaker would give 2:1 odds against it raining. If you bet $1 that it would rain and were
correct, you’d get $2, plus your original bet, in return.

The other confusing thing is that in gambling, the odds represent the payout rather than the
theoretical probability. Oddsmakers will increase odds so that they make money on the
wagering no matter what happens.

Problem Set 8
1. The odds against getting a royal flush in poker on first five cards dealt is 649,740 to 1. Find the probability of this
event.
2. As I write this, North Carolina is about to play Duke in college basketball. According to the oddsmakers, the
probability North Carolina will win is 8/13. What are the odds against Duke winning?
Counting
What is the multiplication principle?
If there is are a series of choices to be made, and you want to find the number of possibilities
of making all those choices, multiply the number of possibilities for the first choice times the
number for the second choice times the number for the third choice, and so on.

Example 1:
A certain combination lock can be set to open to any one 3-letter sequence. How many such sequences are possible?

Since there are 26 letters in the alphabet, there are 26 choices for each of the 3 letters. By the multiplication principle,
there are 26 * 26 * 26 = 17,576 different possible sequences.

Example 2:
A teacher has 5 different books that he wishes to arrange side by side. How many different arrangements are possible?

Five choices will be made, one for each space that will hold a book. Any of the 5 books could be chosen for the first
space. Once that first book is chosen, however, there are only 4 books for the second slot. Then there are only 3 choices
for the third, and so on. By the multiplication principle, the number of different possible arrangements is
5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1 = 120.

The use of the multiplication principle often leads to products such as 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1, the
product of all natural numbers from 5 down to 1. If n is a natural number, the symbol n!
(read “n factorial”) gives the product of all the natural numbers from n down to 1.

Example 3:
What is 4! equal to?

4 * 3 * 2 * 1 = 24

Example 4:
What is 0! equal to?

0! is defined as being equal to 1.

Problem Set 9
1. 6!
2. 7!
3. How many different types of homes are available if a builder offers a choice of 5 basic plans, 3 roof styles, and 2
exterior finishes?
4. A couple has narrowed down the choice of a name for their new baby to 3 first names and 5 middle names. How
many different first- and middle-name arrangments are possible?