A review of the height and weight of children around the world concluded that there are differences in the distributions of these variables across populations. Which of the following best describes how a graphing calculator can be used to numerically summarize such data?

• A. By calculating measures such as the $\mathrm{mean}$, $\mathrm{median}$, and $\mathrm{standard\; deviation}$ for each group using the calculator's statistical functions
• B. By generating random numbers to simulate new data sets
• C. By only plotting scatterplots without providing any numerical summaries
• D. By converting all data to percentages without calculating any descriptive statistics

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the goal: We want to numerically summarize the height and weight data for different populations to compare their distributions.
2. Recall that numerical summaries include measures of central tendency (like mean and median) and measures of spread (like standard deviation). These help describe the data's typical values and variability.
3. Use the graphing calculator's statistical functions to input the data for each population group separately.
4. Calculate the mean, median, and standard deviation for each group using the calculator's built-in statistical summary features. This provides a clear numerical summary of each group's distribution.
5. Interpret these numerical summaries to compare differences in height and weight distributions across populations, which is more informative than just plotting or simulating data.