1.71 Potatoes. A quality product is one that is consistent and has very little variability in its characteristics. Controlling variability can be more difficult with agricultural products than with those that are manufactured. The following table gives the weights, in ounces, of the 25 potatoes sold in a 10-pound bag:
POTATO
| 7.6 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 4.7 | 7.6 |
| 6.3 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 6.3 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 7.9 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 3.7 |
(a) Summarize the data graphically and numerically. Give reasons for the methods you chose to use in your summaries.
(b) Do you think that your numerical summaries do an effective job of describing these data? Why or why not?
(c) There appear to be two distinct clusters of weights for these potatoes. Divide the sample into two subsamples based on the clustering. Give the mean and standard deviation for each subsample. Do you think that this way of summarizing these data is better than a numerical summary that uses all the data as a single sample? Give a reason for your answer.