Mathematical and Technological Literacy I Assignment 3: Graphing

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1. Women in the United States continue to be paid less than men overall.   Nationally, in 2007, the median weekly earnings of female full-time wage and salary workers totaled $614, while it was $766 for males. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics report: http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2007.pdf )

a. Fill in the blanks using the data: 

In 2007, male full-time wage and salary workers earned _________ % more than female full-time wage and salary workers.

In 2007, female full-time wage and salary workers earned _________ % less than male full-time wage and salary workers.

b. What percent of male full-time wage and salary worker median weekly earnings does the female median weekly earnings represent?  (This percentage is often called the women-to-men's earning ratio.)

c. Using the data above ($614 for females and $766 for males), make a bar chart that purposely exaggerates the difference between men and women.  Paste it into your Word document.

d. Using the data above ($614 for females and $766 for males), make a bar chart that purposely makes the difference between men and women seem small.  Paste it into your Word document.

e. In the spirit of the story of Goldilocks, make a graph of the data that you feel gives the most accurate, non-biased view of the difference between male an female wages.

2. In the Bureau of Labor Standard's report http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2007.pdf, the authors include the following complex chart.

In a 5-7 sentence paragraph, carefully describe the graph.  What do you want you audience to know about the data you graphed?  Address the following questions in your paragraph:

• Change in men's earnings over time.
• Change women's earnings over time.
• The relationship between between men and women's actual earnings over time.
• The relationship between women's earnings as a percent of men's earnings over time.

3. Another graph found in the Bureau of Labor Standard's report http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2007.pdf shows the following:

a.  What type of graph is this graph? 

b. True or False: The graph shows that women with bachelor's degree or higher earn more than men with bachelor's degrees or higher. Briefly explain your answer.

c. In a 5-7 sentence paragraph , carefully describe what this graph tells about changes in women's and men's earnings from 1979 to 2007.  Address the following questions in your paragraph:

• The changes in the data across the categories.  (Compare men and women.)
• The changes in the data within the categories.  (Only look at women and then only look at men.)

4. Critique the following graph: