In frequency distributions, class width is found by $?$.

• A. subtracting the smallest data value from the largest and dividing by the number of classes $\frac{\mathrm{largest}-\mathrm{smallest}}{\mathrm{number of classes}}$
• B. subtracting the lower class limit of the first class from the lower class limit of the next class $\mathrm{class width}=\mathrm{lower class limit of next class}-\mathrm{lower class limit of first class}$
• C. dividing the total number of data values by the number of classes $\frac{\mathrm{total number of data values}}{\mathrm{number of classes}}$
• D. adding the upper and lower class limits of a class $\mathrm{upper class limit}+\mathrm{lower class limit}$

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the class width in a frequency distribution refers to the size or range of each class interval.
2. Recall that class width is typically calculated by finding the difference between the lower class limits of two consecutive classes.
3. Express this mathematically as: \(\text{Class Width} = \text{Lower Class Limit of Class } (i+1) - \text{Lower Class Limit of Class } i\).
4. Note that this method ensures consistent class intervals and helps in organizing data into meaningful groups.
5. Recognize that other options like subtracting the smallest from the largest data value and dividing by the number of classes actually give the class interval size but not the class width directly, and adding upper and lower limits is not a correct method.