21. When the weights of newborn babies are graphed, the distribution of weights is symmetric with the majority of weights centered around a single peak. Which of the following describes the shape of this distribution?
Answer: D
Bell-shaped
The distribution of newborn baby weights is described as bell-shaped, indicating that the data is symmetric and centered around a single peak, which is characteristic of a normal distribution.
A) Skewed right
A right-skewed distribution would have a longer tail on the right side, indicating that most weights would be concentrated on the lower end with fewer higher values. This does not align with the description of the newborn weights being symmetric and centered around a single peak.
B) Bimodal
A bimodal distribution would exhibit two distinct peaks, suggesting that there are two different groups of weights within the data. This contradicts the assertion that the distribution is centered around a single peak.
C) Uniform
A uniform distribution would imply that all weights occur with the same frequency, resulting in a flat shape. This is inconsistent with the description of a distribution that is symmetric and centered around a peak.
D) Bell-shaped
A bell-shaped distribution is characterized by its symmetry and a single peak, which accurately reflects the distribution of weights of newborn babies as stated in the question.
Conclusion
The bell-shaped distribution effectively represents the symmetric nature and single peak of newborn baby weights, making it the correct choice. All other options fail to capture these characteristics, highlighting why they do not apply to this scenario.