Chapter 17: Activities
306
Comparing Test Results Using Box Plots
Problem
An experiment found a significant difference between boys and girls pertaining to their ability to
identify objects held in their left hands, which are controlled by the right side of their brains, versus
their right hands, which are controlled by the left side of their brains. The TI Graphics team
conducted a similar test for adult men and women.
The test involved 30 small objects, which participants were not allowed to see. First, they held 15
of the objects one by one in their left hands and guessed what they were. Then they held the other
15 objects one by one in their right hands and guessed what they were. Use box plots to compare
visually the correct-guess data from this table.
Each row in the table represents the results observed for one subject. Note that 10 women and 12
men were tested.
Procedure
1. Press
…
5
to select
5:SetUpEditor
. Enter list names
WLEFT
,
WRGHT
,
MLEFT
, and
MRGHT
,
separated by commas. Press
Í
. The stat list editor now contains only these four lists.
(See Chapter 11: Lists for detailed instructions for using the
SetUpEditor
.)
2. Press
…
1
to select
1:Edit
.
3. Enter into
WLEFT
the number of correct guesses each woman made using her left hand
(
Women Left
). Press
~
to move to
WRGHT
and enter the number of correct guesses each
woman made using her right hand (
Women Right
).
4. Likewise, enter each man’s correct guesses in
MLEFT
(
Men Left
) and
MRGHT
(
Men Right
).
Correct Guesses
Women
Left
Women
Right
Men
Left
Men
Right
8
4
7
12
9
1
8
6
12
8
7
12
11
12
5
12
10
11
7
7
8
11
8
11
12
13
11
12
7
12
4
8
9
11
10
12
11
12
14
11
13
9
5
9
