3.26 ● Medicare’s new medical plans offer a wide range of variations and choices for seniors when picking a drug plan (San Luis Obispo Tribune, November 25, 2005). The monthly cost for a stand-alone drug plan varies from plan to plan and from state to state. The accompanying table gives the premium for the plan with the lowest cost for each state.

State Cost per Month (dollars)
Alabama 14.08 Alaska 20.05 Arizona 6.14 Arkansas 10.31 California 5.41 State Cost per Month (dollars)
Colorado 8.62 Connecticut 7.32 Delaware 6.44 District of Columbia 6.44 State Cost per Month (dollars)
Florida 10.35 Georgia 17.91 Hawaii 17.18 Idaho 6.33 Illinois 13.32 Indiana 12.30 Iowa 1.87 Kansas 9.48 Kentucky 12.30 Louisiana 17.06 Maine 19.60 Maryland 6.44 Massachusetts 7.32 Michigan 13.75 Minnesota 1.87 Mississippi 11.60 Missouri 10.29 Montana 1.87 Nebraska 1.87 Nevada 6.42 New Hampshire 19.60 State Cost per Month (dollars)
New Jersey 4.43 New Mexico 10.65 New York 4.10 North Carolina 13.27 North Dakota 1.87 Ohio 14.43 Oklahoma 10.07 Oregon 6.93 Pennsylvania 10.14 Rhode Island 7.32 South Carolina 16.57 South Dakota 1.87 Tennessee 14.08 Texas 10.31 Utah 6.33 Vermont 7.32 Virginia 8.81 Washington 6.93 West Virginia 10.14 Wisconsin 11.42 Wyoming 1.87

a. Use class intervals of $0 to ,$3, $3 to ,$6, $6 to ,$9, etc., to create a relative frequency distribution for these data.

b. Construct a histogram and comment on its shape.

c. Using the relative frequency distribution or the histogram, estimate the proportion of the states that have a minimum monthly plan of less than $13.00 a month.