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Instruction

Practice activities - Try these 5 graphing exercises

 Data Visualization Practice

Practice Activity: Describing Data Graphically in Excel

Purpose

The purpose of this activity is to practice using  Excel for basic data analysis and graphing. You will work with an Excel dataset provided and complete several exercises to gain experience with descriptive statistics, histograms, and data visualization.

This activity is for  practice only—it is not graded, but completing it will help you succeed on future assignments.

Step 1: Prepare Excel

Enable the Analysis ToolPak

The  Analysis ToolPak is an Excel add-in that provides advanced analysis tools like histograms, regression, and descriptive statistics.

· For Excel in Microsoft 365 (Windows/Mac):

1. Go to the  File tab.

2. Select  Options (Windows) or  Preferences (Mac).

3. Choose  Add-ins.

4. At the bottom, find  Manage: Excel Add-ins and click  Go.

5. Check the box for  Analysis ToolPak and click  OK.

6. You should now see  Data Analysis under the  Data tab on the ribbon.

· If you don’t see it:

. Microsoft Support: Load the Analysis ToolPak

Step 2: Download and Open the Files

1. Download the Excel file:  DescribingDataGraphically_Excel_Practice_WithPrompts.xlsx Download DescribingDataGraphically_Excel_Practice_WithPrompts.xlsx

2. Save it on your computer.

3. Open the file in Excel.

Step 3: Exercises

Work through each of the exercises below using Excel. Detailed instructions are provided to guide you.

Exercise 1 – Hitchcock Film Lengths

The worksheet contains a list of Hitchcock films and their lengths (in minutes).

Part A – Create a Histogram

1. Go to the  Data tab →  Data Analysis → choose  Histogram.

2. For  Input Range, select the column with “Film Lengths (min)”.

3. For  Bin Range, leave blank (Excel will create bins automatically).

4. Check  Chart Output.

5. Click  OK to create the histogram.

Part B – Adjust Bin Labels

1. Right-click the horizontal axis labels on the histogram.

2. Choose  Format Axis.

3. Change the option so bins display as  boundaries (cutpoints) rather than midpoints.

Part C – Add a Title and Note

1. Click the chart title and change it to: “Histogram of Hitchcock Film Lengths (min)”

2. Insert a text box at the bottom and type: “Bins contain their left endpoints (e.g., 120 ≤ x < 130).”

Part D – Outliers

· Look at your histogram. Which film seems unusually long compared to the others? Write it down.

Part E – Create a Stem-and-Leaf Alternative Excel does not have a built-in stem-and-leaf plot. Instead, create a  sorted list:

1. Copy the film lengths into a new sheet.

2. Sort the data from smallest to largest.

3. This acts as your “leaf” display and will help answer interpretation questions.

Part F – Answer These Questions:

· What is the longest film in the dataset?

· Are there any films between 85 and 100 minutes?

· How many films are shorter than 110 minutes?

· What is the mode (most common length)?

· Which graph (histogram or sorted list) do you find easier for interpreting film lengths, and why?

Exercise 2 – Exam Scores

Open the worksheet with Exam 1 scores.

· Use  Insert > Histogram to visualize the data with bins of size  10 and then with bins of size  5.

· Compare: What does the histogram with smaller bin size reveal that the larger one does not?

Exercise 3 – NBA Team Salaries

Open the worksheet with NBA salaries.

· Create a histogram.

· Determine:

1. How many teams had salaries of at least $70 million?

2. What is the median salary? (Hint: Use the =MEDIAN() formula.)

Exercise 4 – Commute Times

Open the worksheet with commute times.

Part A – Histogram

1. Use  Data Analysis > Histogram to create a histogram.

2. Add a descriptive title:  “Professor’s Commute Times (minutes)”.

3. Add a footnote explaining which endpoints are included.

Part B – Outlier Removal

· One data point (37.4 minutes) is an outlier. Delete it, then re-create the histogram.

Part C – Interpretation

· How many commutes were between 18 and 18.5 minutes? (Hint: hover over the bin in the histogram.)

Exercise 5 – News Reading Times

Part A – Histogram of Original Data

· Create a histogram using cutpoints.

· Add axis labels (minutes) and a descriptive title.

Part B – Skewness

· Look at the shape: Is it skewed left, skewed right, or symmetric?

Part C – Data Transformation

· In a new column, enter the formula: =1/SQRT(cell) for each value.

· Label this column  Transformed Data.

Part D – Histogram of Transformed Data

· Create another histogram of the transformed data.

· Title it:  “Histogram of Transformed News Reading Times (1/√x)”.

Part E – Interpretation

· Compare the before/after histograms. What effect did the transformation have?

Additional Support

· Microsoft Support: Create a histogram in Excel

· Video: Analyze Data in ExcelLinks to an external site.

· Excel Functions Guide (Average, Median, Mode, etc.)

✅ This activity is practice only. Save your completed Excel file for your own reference—you do not need to submit it.

Excel_QuickStart_Guide.pdf Download Excel_QuickStart_Guide.pdf

DescribingDataGraphically_Excel_Practice_WithPrompts.xlsx Download DescribingDataGraphically_Excel_Practice_WithPrompts.xlsx