The basic histogram page gave you an idea of how data accumulate on a histogram. This advanced histogram page allows you to manipulate data in much the same way as an experimental particle physicist would.
When you open the page, the Netscape window displays a text area that contains a table of penny data.
Each line in the text area represents a row of cells from a spreadsheet of penny data. The JavaScript program is designed to interpret this text as if it had been loaded from a standard spreadsheet format. You can use one of two data sets. The "Load pocket data." button puts in the text area the data from 250 pennies that accumulated as pocket change in late 1997. The "Load jar data." button puts in the text area the data from 250 pennies that were collected in a jar in somebody's basement.
When you click on the "Make a control panel." button above the text area, a new window opens. It contains a "Control Panel" that allows you to cut or include penny data according to year, mint, or mass.
Depending on the kind of data present in each column of the text area, the "Control Panel" will group the data as numbers or as categories. You can change the upper and lower bounds to be graphed for data that are numbers, like the "year" or "mass." Data that are grouped by category, like "mint," are controlled by a radio button, which allows you to include or exclude that category from the final graph.
When you want to see a graph of the data as set by the control panel, you must click on the "Make a graph." button on the "Control Panel." A third window opens, which shows you a graph. If you change no settings on the original control panel before you make the graph, the resulting "Graph Window" will display results from all of the pennies that were in the original text area.
When you see the graph, note that the shape of the histogram depends upon what factor you selected as the "Distribution along x-axis" on the "Control Panel." There are two choices for the pennies: mass and year. The graph above shows how all of the penny data look when the mass is graphed on the x-axis. The same pennies make the distribution shown below when the year is graphed on the x-axis.
Refine Your Information - Cut Data - Extend the Activity