NM-MSSA Data Literacy 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A line graph shows a city's temperature each month over one year. Which statement best describes what the graph displays?
- The exact temperature at noon on one specific day
- How temperature changes over time throughout the year (Correct answer)
- The average temperature compared to other cities
- The total rainfall for each month
Correct answer: How temperature changes over time throughout the year
A line graph is used to show how a value changes over time, making it ideal for tracking monthly temperature trends.
Question 2: A survey asked 50 students their favorite school subject. The results show: Math 20, Science 15, English 10, Art 5. What percentage chose Math?
- 20%
- 25%
- 40% (Correct answer)
- 50%
Correct answer: 40%
20 out of 50 students chose Math; 20 ÷ 50 = 0.40, which equals 40%.
Question 3: Which type of graph is BEST for comparing the sizes of different categories at one point in time?
- Line graph
- Bar graph (Correct answer)
- Scatter plot
- Histogram
Correct answer: Bar graph
Bar graphs are designed to compare distinct categories side by side at a single point in time.
Question 4: A data set has the values: 4, 7, 7, 9, 13. What is the median?
- 4
- 7 (Correct answer)
- 9
- 8
Correct answer: 7
When values are ordered from least to greatest, the median is the middle value; here the middle of five values is 7.
Question 5: A pie chart shows that 25% of students walk to school. If there are 200 students total, how many walk?
- 25
- 40
- 50 (Correct answer)
- 75
Correct answer: 50
25% of 200 equals 0.25 × 200 = 50 students.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes a data outlier?
- The most common value in a data set
- A value that is much higher or lower than the others (Correct answer)
- The middle value when data is sorted
- The difference between the highest and lowest values
Correct answer: A value that is much higher or lower than the others
An outlier is a data point that is significantly different from most other values in the set.
Question 7: A table shows the number of books read by students in one month. To find the average (mean) number of books read, you should:
- Find the value that appears most often
- Add all the values and divide by the number of students (Correct answer)
- Subtract the smallest value from the largest value
- List the values from least to greatest and pick the middle one
Correct answer: Add all the values and divide by the number of students
The mean is calculated by summing all values and then dividing by the count of values.
NM-MSSA Data Literacy 2
A line graph shows a city's temperature each month over one year.
Which statement best describes what the graph displays?