A garden center is recording the heights of its available trees. Which of the following displays could be used to represent the data, and why?

Question

Bar chart; because tree height is numerical
Box plot; because tree height is numerical
Histogram; because tree height is categorical
Stem-and-leaf-plot; because tree height is categorical

Answer 1

To represent the heights of trees, the suitable displays from the options given would be:

1. Bar chart: This is not appropriate because while tree height is numerical, a bar chart is typically used for categorical data rather than numerical data.

2. Box plot: This is a suitable choice because it effectively summarizes numerical data and displays the distribution, median, quartiles, and potential outliers of the tree heights.

3. Histogram: This is also a suitable choice because it represents the frequency distribution of a numerical variable (tree height) by displaying the counts of heights within specified intervals (bins). The statement that tree height is categorical is incorrect; it is numerical.

4. Stem-and-leaf plot: This is a suitable choice as well since it can display the numerical data (tree height) while preserving the actual values. However, the reasoning provided in the option mistakenly categorizes tree height as categorical.

In summary, the best options to represent tree height would be the box plot and the histogram, as they both appropriately handle numerical data. The statements regarding categorical data in the options are incorrect.