Question: Return on stocks. How well have stocks done of the past generation? The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index describes the average performance of the stocks of 500 leading companies. Because the average is weighted by the total market value of each company's stock, the index emphasizes larger companies. Here are the real (that is, adjusted for the changing buying power of the dollar) returns on the S&P for the years 1972 to 2004:

What can you say about the distribution of real returns on stocks? Follow the four-step process in your answer.