McCandless shows how absolute figures (like the military budget and standing arm
ID: 3200427 • Letter: M
Question
McCandless shows how absolute figures (like the military budget and standing army of each country) can be misleading. Often relative figures like the military budget of a country as a percentage of its GDP, or the army as a percentage of total population, are more meaningful. In particular, absolute quantities that describe a group of people can be more meaningful when we divide by the total number of people; the Latin phrase per capita (which roughly translates to “per person”) is often used to describe such relative quantities.
Describe how each quantity below could be scaled to allow for more meaningful relative comparisons. (There may be more than one acceptable answer but I do need to see your understanding of the concepts).
a) The total amount of coffee consumed per day within a country, in liters.
b) The total number of dropped calls a wireless cell phone provider has.
c) The total amount of money that a person gives to charity.
d) The total number of free throws a basketball player makes.
Explanation / Answer
(a) Amount of coffee consumed per day within a country in liters as a percentage of total amonut of soft drinks including coffee, tea, coca etc.) consumed
(b) Number of dropped calls a wireless cell phone provider as a fraction of the total number of calls (including dropped calls and successful calls)
(c) Amount of money that a person gives to chaty expressed as fractionof his total expenditure
(d) Number of free throws a basketball playter makes expressed as a fraction of total throws (including free throws and normal throws)