Number of Amusement Park Visits
| Visits | Tally |
| :----- | :---- |
| 1 | |||| |
| 2 | ||+\| || |
| 3 | ||| |
| 4 | |||| |
| 5 | || |
You asked amusement park visitors the question "How many amusement parks have you visited this summer?" The tally table shows the results.
Which number line would be best to use to create a dot plot of the set of data?
A. a number line from 0 to 4
B. a number line from 1 to 5
C. a number line from 2 to 7
D. a number line from 0 to 7
Answer (1)
The data ranges from 1 to 5 visits.
A number line must include the minimum and maximum values.
The number line from 1 to 5 includes all necessary values.
The best number line is from 1 t o 5 .
Explanation
Analyze the data range We need to determine the best number line for a dot plot representing the number of amusement park visits. The data ranges from 1 to 5 visits. A suitable number line should include these minimum and maximum values, as well as all the integers in between.
Identify minimum and maximum values The minimum number of visits is 1, and the maximum number of visits is 5. Therefore, the number line must include at least the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Evaluate the options Let's examine the given options:
A number line from 0 to 4: This number line does not include the maximum value of 5, so it's not suitable.
A number line from 1 to 5: This number line includes both the minimum (1) and maximum (5) values, as well as all values in between. This is a suitable option.
A number line from 2 to 7: This number line includes all the values from 2 to 7, which covers the range of our data (1 to 5), but it starts at 2, excluding the minimum value of 1. So, it's not the best option.
A number line from 0 to 7: This number line includes all values from 0 to 7, which covers the range of our data (1 to 5), but it includes unnecessary values and doesn't start at the minimum value of 1. So, it's not the best option.
Select the best number line The best number line to use for the dot plot is the one that includes all the data values (1 to 5) and nothing more. Therefore, the number line from 1 to 5 is the most appropriate choice.
Examples
Dot plots are commonly used to visualize the distribution of data. For example, if you were tracking the number of books students read over the summer, a dot plot could quickly show you how many students read 1 book, 2 books, 3 books, and so on. This helps identify trends and patterns in the data, such as the most common number of books read.
