Consider the distribution of mathematics SAT scores of students in honors calculus at a liberal arts college. What would you expect the shape and variation of the distribution to be?


A. Symmetric with little variation


B. Symmetric with large variation


C. Skewed right with large variation


D. Skewed left with little variation

Where's the data?

To determine the shape and variation of the distribution of mathematics SAT scores of students in honors calculus at a liberal arts college, one approach is to consider the characteristics of the SAT scores and the type of students in honors calculus.

SAT scores are typically standardized and follow a nearly normal distribution. However, keep in mind that the population of students in honors calculus is likely to be academically high-achieving and may exhibit a narrower distribution compared to the general population.

Considering these factors, we can eliminate options A and D.

Option B suggests a symmetric distribution with large variation. This could be possible if the students in honors calculus have a wide range of mathematical abilities.

Option C suggests a skewed right distribution with large variation. This suggests that the majority of students have lower scores, while a smaller portion has significantly higher scores. Skewed distributions are generally more common when dealing with data that has inherent limits, such as minimum and maximum scores. Since SAT scores have a maximum value, this option could be plausible if there are a few students with extremely high scores, leading to a skewness towards the right.

In summary, the expected shape and variation of the distribution of mathematics SAT scores of students in honors calculus at a liberal arts college would most likely be option C: skewed right with large variation.