LSP 120
Homework #2
Winter 2011
Due: January 17th

1. Open the file SharkAttacks.xls from the QRC webpage.  

Create one Line Graph (connected) with three lines - one showing shark attacks in the World, one showing the attacks in the U.S., and one showing the attacks in Florida.  Select all four columns of data.  If you do, you will probably get something like this:

Series1, the line at the top of the graph, shouldn’t be there.  It is the data in the first column of the chart (the years).  To remove this series of data, click on Select Data, and Remove Series1.

We want a legend on the right of the graph describing the three lines of data, but Series2, Series3, and Series4 is useless.  Let’s change the names to World, U.S., and Florida.  To do this, again click on Select Data, click on Series2, click on Edit, and then enter the appropriate Series Name.

Make sure the X-axis label corresponds to the years 1960 to 2008.  To do this, right-click on one of the values on the X-axis and click on Select Data.  Under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels, click on the Edit button and then using your cursor select the first column of data (the years).  After you have highlighted the years, click on OK twice.

Cut and paste this graph into a Word document along with the answers from the following questions.

(You could also make an XY Scatter, but making a Line graph will give you practice in removing a series of data.)

Do the number of shark attacks in Florida “agree” with the world and U.S. numbers?  That is, do all the lines of data follow the same pattern? If not, what might be the reason?

Any speculation on why shark attacks seem to rise and fall over the years?  In particular, why such a large rise towards 2000?

2. Open the file qrc.depaul.edu/djabon/gallery.htm and examine the following two graphs:

“Wine vs. Consumer Indexes”

“World Population Milestones”

What is misleading about each graph?  What might you suggest to remedy the problem(s)?

3. Read the article "Clean Air, Longer Life" by Jonathan Shaw. (Pull up this assignment from my website, then Ctrl-Click on the link above.)
a. In a well-written paragraph, summarize the main points of the article.
b. The article has a complex graphic at the end.  In a short paragraph, explain what the graph is saying. Make sure you address what the blue and what the yellow data markers mean (you will need to infer their meaning from the article).