The Challenge: The "stem-and-leaf" plot below provides a graphical representation of the high and low temperatures around the United States on July 4, 2001. Cities included in the plot are Albuquerque, Atlanta, Bismark, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Salt Lake City, Seattle, St. Louis, Tucson, and Washington D.C.

The plot shows the high temperatures to the left of the stem and the low temps to the right. The "stem," (bright yellow) can be found in the center of the plot and is formed with the tens and hundreds digits of each temperature reading. The ones digit for each reading forms the leaf. Study the plot and answer the questions that follow.

High and Low Temperatures July 4,1997

High_____________Low

         9,7,5 10
       3,3,3,2 9
  9,7,7,6,5,3 8 0
     9,6,6,5,1 7 1,2,3,5,7,8,8
             7,7 6 1,2,4,5,9
                  5 0,0,0,5,6,7,8

1. What is the difference between the high and low temperature? 2. What high temperature occurs most often? 3. What low temperature occurs most often? 4. Where do you think Miami is on the plot? Why?

Questions for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students:

1. What is the mean high temperature and low temperature? 2. What are the median high and low temperatures? 3. What are the modes for the high and low temperatures? 4. Would mean or median give you a more accurate picture of the average high temperature in the U.S. on this date or would it not matter? Explain your answer to this question.

The Solution:

Should you decide to ponder the problem and accept the challenge, communicate your solution to Mister Goodmath at "rooneym@mistergoodmath.org". Great solutions will be featured on T.V. during WAVE morning announcements.
 
 

The Hint:

Remember that the black numbers in the plot represent the ones digit of each temperature. Mean is an average. Median is the middle number and mode is the number that occurs most often. Good lock with this one.