image2.150 Records for men and women in the 10K. Table 2.4 shows the progress of world record times (in seconds) for the 10,000-meter run for both men and women.33

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Table : TABLE 2.4 World Record Times for the 10,000-Meter Run
Men Women
Record
year		 Time
(seconds)		 Record
year		 Time
(seconds)		 Record
year		 Time
(seconds)
1912 1880.8 1963 1695.6 1967 2286.4
1921 1840.2 1965 1659.3 1970 2130.5
1924 1835.4 1972 1658.4 1975 2100.4
1924 1823.2 1973 1650.8 1975 2041.4
1924 1806.2 1977 1650.5 1977 1995.1
1937 1805.6 1978 1642.4 1979 1972.5
1938 1802.0 1984 1633.8 1981 1950.8
1939 1792.6 1989 1628.2 1981 1937.2
1944 1775.4 1993 1627.9 1982 1895.3
1949 1768.2 1993 1618.4 1983 1895.0
1949 1767.2 1994 1612.2 1983 1887.6
1949 1761.2 1995 1603.5 1984 1873.8
1950 1742.6 1996 1598.1 1985 1859.4
1953 1741.6 1997 1591.3 1986 1813.7
1954 1734.2 1997 1587.8 1993 1771.8
1956 1722.8 1998 1582.7
1956 1710.4 2004 1580.3
1960 1698.8 2005 1577.3
1962 1698.2

  1. (a) Make a scatterplot of world record time against year, using separate symbols for men and women. Describe the pattern for each sex. Then compare the progress of men and women.

  2. (b) Women began running this long distance later than men, so we might expect their improvement to be more rapid. Moreover, it is often said that men have little advantage over women in distance running as opposed to sprints, where muscular strength plays a greater role. Do the data appear to support these claims?