Happiest Age. An article, titled “We’re Happiest at 74; It’s All Downhill till 40, Then Life Gets Better, Say Scientists,” included a graph, similar to the following one, of a happiness scale versus age.

The article argues that happiness decreases until the age of 46 and then increases again, and that people are happiest when they hit 74.

Notice the horizontal axis as well as the vertical axis. [SOURCE:

Graph from Daily Mail. Copyright c 2010 by Associated Newspapers Ltd. Used by permission of Associated Newspapers Ltd.]

6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 15 20 30 40 45 46 50 60 70 74 80 Happiness scale (1 to 7)

Age (years)

Happiness starts to increase at age 46 Happiness peaks at age 74

a. Cover the numbers on the vertical axis of the graph with a piece of paper.

b. What impression does the graph convey regarding the percentage drop in happiness between the ages of 15 and 20?

c. Now remove the piece of paper from the graph. Use the vertical scale to find the actual percentage drop in happiness between the ages of 15 and 20.

d. Why is the graph potentially misleading?

e. What can be done to make the graph less potentially misleading?

Extending the Concepts and Skills