Question

graph a and graph b both show the median selling price of a home in the city of springfield for two years, 1994 and 2024. (both graphs show exactly the same data.)

(a) give a rough estimate of the change in the median selling price between the two years. (give the best answer.)

• the median selling price was about 4 times as high in 2024 as in 1994.
• the median selling price was about 2 times as high in 2024 as in 1994.
• the median selling price was about 1/10 as high in 2024 as in 1994.
• the median selling price was about 1/6 as high in 2024 as in 1994.

(b) approximate the difference in the median selling price for the two years. write your answer to the nearest whole number, in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• hundred - thousand dollars

(c) which of the two graphs is more likely to be misleading? why? (choose the best answer.)

• graph a could mislead a person into thinking the increase in the median selling price between the two years is larger than it actually was. this is because for the larger picture of a house both the width and the height are larger than that of the smaller picture of a house. this makes comparing the areas of the two pictures of a house misleading.
• graph a could mislead a person into thinking the increase in the median selling price between the two years is smaller than it actually was. this is because for the larger picture of a house both the width and the height are larger than that of the smaller picture of a house. this makes comparing the areas of the two pictures of a house misleading.
• graph b could mislead a person into thinking the increase in the median selling price between the two years is smaller than it actually was. this is because for the larger bar only the height is larger than that of the smaller bar, while the widths of the two bars are the same. this makes comparing the heights of the two bars misleading.
• graph b could mislead a person into thinking the increase in the median selling price between the two years is larger than it actually was. this is because for the larger bar only the height is larger than that of the smaller bar, while the widths of the two bars are the same. this makes comparing the heights of the two bars misleading.

Explanation:

Step1: Identify prices

In 1994, the median - selling price is $191000. In 2024, the median - selling price is $391400.

Step2: Calculate the ratio for part (a)

The ratio of the 2024 price to the 1994 price is $\frac{391400}{191000}\approx2$.

Step3: Calculate the difference for part (b)

The difference in median - selling prices is $391400 - 191000=200400$. In hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is $\frac{200400}{100000}=2.004\approx2$.

Step4: Analyze misleading graph for part (c)

Graph A uses two - dimensional house images. The larger house in 2024 has both height and width larger than the 1994 house. Comparing areas of two - dimensional images can mislead people into thinking the increase in price is larger than it actually is.

Answer:

(a) The median selling price was about 2 times as high in 2024 as in 1994.
(b) 2
(c) Graph A could mislead a person into thinking the increase in the median selling price between the two years is larger than it actually was. This is because for the larger picture of a house both the width and the height are larger than that of the smaller picture of a house. This makes comparing the areas of the two pictures of a house misleading.