Deck 1: Statistics, Data, and Statistical Thinking

Question 1

What is statistics?

Answer 1

Statistics is the science of data that involves collecting, classifying, summarizing,
organizing, analyzing, and interpreting numerical information.

Question 2

When we take data obtained from a sample and make generalizations or predictions about the
entire population, we are utilizing inferential statistics.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Parking at a large university has become a very big problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average parking time (e.g. the time it takes a student to find a
Parking spot)of its students. An administrator inconspicuously followed 250 students and
Carefully recorded their parking times. Identify the sample of interest to the university
Administration.

A)the entire set of students that park at the university
B)the 250 students that data was collected from
C)a single student that parks at the university
D)the parking time, defined to be the amount of time the student spent finding a parking spot

Answer 3

the 250 students that data was collected from

Question 4

The average age of the students in a statistics class is 22 years. Does this statement describe descriptive or inferential statistics?

A)Descriptive statistics
B)Inferential statistics

Question 5

As part of an economics class project, students were asked to randomly select 500 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)stocks from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the project, students were asked
To summarize the current prices (also referred to as the closing price of the stock for a particular
Trading date)of the collected stocks using graphical and numerical techniques. Would this be an
Application of descriptive or inferential statistics?

A)Inferential statistics
B)Descriptive statistics

Question 6

A study attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend more tax dollars on protecting the Florida beaches from environmental disasters. Twenty-two hundred
Florida residents were surveyed.Which of the following describes the variable of interest in the
Study?

A)the response to the question, ʺAre you willing to spend more tax dollars on protecting the Florida beaches from environmental disasters?ʺ
B)the response to the question ʺDo you live along the beach?ʺ
C)the 2200 Florida residents surveyed
D)the response to the question ʺDo you use the beach?ʺ

Question 7

From past figures, it is predicted that 30% of the registered voters will vote in the March primary. Does this statement describe descriptive or inferential statistics?

A)Descriptive statistics
B)Inferential statistics

Question 8

Parking at a large university has become a very big problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average parking time (e.g. the time it takes a student to find a
Parking spot)of its students. An administrator inconspicuously followed 250 students and
Carefully recorded their parking times. The university is interested in using the information from
The sample of 250 students collected to learn information about the entire student parking
Population. Would this be an application of descriptive or inferential statistics?

A)Descriptive statistics
B)Inferential statistics

Question 9

Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator
Inconspicuously followed 200 students and recorded how long it took each of them to find a
Parking spot. Identify the variable of interest to the university administration.

A)number of students who cannot find a spot
B)time to find a parking spot
C)students who drive cars on campus
D)number of empty parking spots

Question 10

An assembly line is operating satisfactorily if fewer than 3% of the phones produced per day are defective. To check the quality of a dayʹs production, the company randomly samples 10 phones
From a dayʹs production to test for defects. Define the population of interest to the manufacturer.

A)the 10 phones sampled and tested
B)the 10 responses: defective or not defective
C)the 3% of the phones that are defective
D)all the phones produced during the day in question

Question 11

A survey of high school teenagers reported that 83% of those sampled are interested in pursuing a college education. Does this statement describe descriptive or inferential statistics?

A)Inferential statistics
B)Descriptive statistics

Question 12

A recent report stated ʺBased on a sample of 250 truck drivers, there is evidence to indicate that, on average, independent truck drivers earn more than company-hired truck drivers.ʺ Does this
Statement describe descriptive or inferential statistics?

A)Inferential statistics
B)Descriptive statistics

Question 13

Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator
Inconspicuously followed 90 students and recorded how long it took each of them to find a
Parking spot. Identify the population of interest to the university administration.

A)the entire set of students who park at the university
B)the entire set of faculty, staff, and students who park at the university
C)the 90 students about whom the data were collected
D)the students who park at the university between 9 and 10 AM on Wednesdays

Question 14

Which of the following is not an element of descriptive statistical problems?

A)predictions are made about a larger set of data
B)data are displayed visually in graphs
C)information revealed in a data set is summarized
D)patterns in a data set are identified

Question 15

Parking at a large university has become a very big problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average parking time (e.g. the time it takes a student to find a
Parking spot)of its students. An administrator inconspicuously followed 250 students and
Carefully recorded their parking times. Identify the population of interest to the university
Administration.

A)a single student that parks at the university
B)the parking time, defined to be the amount of time the student spent finding a parking spot
C)the 250 students that data was collected from
D)the entire set of students that park at the university

Question 16

Statistics involves two different processes, describing sets of data and drawing conclusions about
the sets of data on the basis of sampling.

Question 17

A study attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend more tax dollars on protecting the Florida coastline from environmental disasters. Thirty-nine hundred
Florida residents were surveyed.Which of the following is the population used in the study?

A)all Florida residents
B)Florida residents willing to spend more tax dollars protecting the coastline from environmental disasters
C)the 3900 Florida residents who were surveyed
D)all Florida residents who lived along the coastline

Question 18

In a survey of 2000 high school students, 14% of those surveyed read at least one
best-seller each month. Give an example of a descriptive statement and an inferential
statement that could be made based on this information.

Question 19

An insurance company conducted a study to determine the percentage of cardiologists who had been sued for malpractice in the previous two years. The sample was randomly chosen from a
National directory of doctors. What is the variable of interest in this study?

A)the responses: have been sued/have not been sued for malpractice in the last two years
B)all cardiologists in the directory
C)the doctorʹs area of expertise (i.e., cardiology, pediatrics, etc.)
D)the number of doctors who are cardiologists

Question 20

Which of the following is not the job of a statistician?

A)determining whether the conclusions drawn from a study are to be trusted
B)collecting numerical information in the form of data
C)determining what information is relevant in a given problem
D)implementing new procedures based on the results of a study

Question 21

Parking at a large university has become a very big problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average parking time (e.g. the time it takes a student to find a
Parking spot)of its students. An administrator inconspicuously followed 250 students and
Carefully recorded their parking times. Identify the experimental unit of interest to the university
Administration.

A)a single student that parks at the university
B)the entire set of students that park at the university
C)the 250 students that data was collected from
D)the parking time, defined to be the amount of time the student spent finding a parking spot

Question 22

Parking at a large university has become a very big problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average parking time (e.g. the time it takes a student to find a
Parking spot)of its students. An administrator inconspicuously followed 250 students and
Carefully recorded their parking times. Identify the variable of interest to the university
Administration.

A)a single student that parks at the university
B)the entire set of students that park at the university
C)the 250 students that data was collected from
D)the parking time, defined to be the amount of time the student spent finding a parking spot

Question 23

As part of an economics class project, students were asked to randomly select 500 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)stocks from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the project, students were asked
To summarize the current prices (also referred to as the closing price of the stock for a particular
Trading date)of the collected stocks using graphical and numerical techniques. Identify the
Experimental unit of interest for this study.

A)the current price (or closing price)of a NYSE stock
B)a single stock traded on the NYSE
C)the entire set of stocks that are traded on the NYSE
D)the 500 NYSE stocks that current prices were collected from

Question 24

The amount of television viewed by todayʹs youth is of primary concern to Parents Against Watching Television (PAWT). 250 parents of elementary school-aged children were asked to
Estimate the number of hours per week that their child watches television. Identify the type of data
Collected by PAWT.

A)quantitative
B)qualitative

Question 25

A study in the state of Georgia was conducted to determine the percentage of all community college students who have taken at least one online class. 1500 community college students were
Contacted and asked if they had taken at least one online class during their time at their
Community college. These responses were then used to estimate the percentage of all community
College students who have taken at least one online class. Identify the variable of interest in this
Study.

A)all community college students in the state of Georgia
B)the response (Yes/No)to the question, ʺHave you taken at least one online class?ʺ
C)the number of online classes a student has taken
D)the 1500 community college students contacted

Question 26

Explain why it is not necessary to provide a measure of reliability when a census is used
rather than a sample.

Question 27

A study in the state of Georgia was conducted to determine the percentage of all community college students who have taken at least one online class. 1500 community college students were
Contacted and asked if they had taken at least one online class during their time at their
Community college. These responses were then used to estimate the percentage of all community
College students who have taken at least one online class. Identify the population of interest in this
Study.

A)the 1500 community college students contacted
B)all community college students in the state of Georgia
C)the response (Yes/No)to the question, ʺHave you taken at least one online class?ʺ
D)the number of online classes a student has taken

Question 28

As part of an economics class project, students were asked to randomly select 500 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)stocks from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the project, students were asked
To summarize the current prices (also referred to as the closing price of the stock for a particular
Trading date)of the collected stocks using graphical and numerical techniques. Identify the sample
Of interest for this study.

A)the current price (or closing price)of a NYSE stock
B)the entire set of stocks that are traded on the NYSE
C)the 500 NYSE stocks that current prices were collected from
D)a single stock traded on the NYSE

Question 29

A census is feasible when the population of interest is small.

Question 30

Measurement is the process of assigning numbers to variables of individual population units.

Question 31

The process of using information from a sample to make generalizations about the larger
population is called statistical inference.

Question 32

The manager of a car dealership records the colors of automobiles on a used car lot. Identify the type of data collected.

A)quantitative
B)qualitative

Question 33

A high school guidance counselor analyzed data from a sample of 100 community colleges
throughout the United States. One of his goals was to estimate the annual tuition costs of
community colleges in the United States. Describe the population and variable of interest
to the guidance counselor.

Question 34

A quality inspector tested 41 copiers in an attempt to estimate the average failure rate of
the copier model. His study indicated that the number of failures decreased from two
years ago, indicating an increase in the reliability of the copiers. Describe the variable of
interest to the inspector.

Question 35

As part of an economics class project, students were asked to randomly select 500 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)stocks from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the project, students were asked
To summarize the current prices (also referred to as the closing price of the stock for a particular
Trading date)of the collected stocks using graphical and numerical techniques. Identify the
Population of interest for this study.

A)a single stock traded on the NYSE
B)the current price (or closing price)of a NYSE stock
C)the 500 NYSE stocks that current prices were collected from
D)the entire set of stocks that are traded on the NYSE

Question 36

Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in
determining the average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator
inconspicuously followed 110 students and recorded how long it took each of them to find
a parking spot. Identify the population, sample, and variable of interest to the
administrators.

Question 37

A measure of reliability is an important element of a descriptive statistical problem.

Question 38

Which of the following is not typically an element of inferential statistical problems?

A)sample
B)measure of reliability
C)variable of interest
D)census

Question 39

As part of an economics class project, students were asked to randomly select 500 New Your Stock Exchange (NYSE)stocks from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the project, students were asked
To summarize the current prices (also referred to as the closing price of the stock for a particular
Trading date)of the collected stocks using graphical and numerical techniques. Identify the
Variable of interest for this study.

A)a single stock traded on the NYSE
B)the 500 NYSE stocks that current prices were collected from
C)the current price (or closing price)of a NYSE stock
D)the entire set of stocks that are traded on the NYSE

Question 40

A variable is a characteristic or property of a population.

Question 41

Gender is one variable of interest in a study of the effectiveness of a new medication. For
data entry purposes, the researcher conducting the study assigns 1 for Male and 2 for
Female. Is the gender data quantitative or qualitative?

Question 42

As part of an economics class project, students were asked to randomly select 500 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)stocks from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the project, students were asked
To summarize the current prices (also referred to as the closing price of the stock for a particular
Trading date)of the collected stocks using graphical and numerical techniques. Identify the data
Collection method used in this study.

A)data from a designed experiment
B)data collected observationally
C)data from a published source

Question 43

What is meant by a representative sample?)

Question 44

What method of data collection would you use to collect data for a study where a drug was given to 95 patients and a placebo to another group of 95 patients to determine if the drug has an effect
On a patientʹs illness?

A)observational study
B)survey
C)designed experiment
D)published source

Question 45

What method of data collection would you use to collect data for a study where a political pollster wishes to determine if his candidate is leading in the polls?

A)published source
B)survey
C)designed experiment
D)observational study

Question 46

A personnel director studied the eating habits of a companyʹs employees. The director noted whether employees brought their own lunch to work, ate at the company cafeteria, or went out to
Eat lunch. This type of data collection would best be considered as a(n)__________.

A)observational study
B)designed experiment

Question 47

A student worked on her statistics project in the library and found a reference book that contained the median family incomes for all 50 states. On her project, she would report her data as being
Collected __________.

A)from a designed experiment
B)from a survey
C)observationally
D)from a published source

Question 48

An usher records the number of unoccupied seats in a movie theater during each viewing of a film. Identify the type of data collected.

A)quantitative
B)qualitative

Question 49

Does online teaching help or hinder student learning? To help answer this question, a statistics teacher decided to teach his three sections of a particular class using three different teaching
Models - a traditional face-to-face section, a completely online section, and a hybrid or blended
Section that incorporated both a face-to-face and online component in the section. Students were
Randomly assigned to the different sections, taught identical information using the different
Teaching formats, and given identical examinations to measure student learning. The goal was to
Identify if the teaching method used affected student learning performance. Identify the data
Collection method used in this study.

A)data from a designed experiment
B)data collected observationally
C)data from a published source

Question 50

The amount of television viewed by todayʹs youth is of primary concern to Parents Against Watching Television (PAWT). 330 parents of elementary school-aged children were asked to
Estimate the number of hours per week that their child watches television. Identify how the data
Were collected in this study.

A)observationally
B)from a published source
C)from a designed experiment
D)from a survey

Question 51

Parking at a large university has become a very big problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average parking time (e.g. the time it takes a student to find a
Parking spot)of its students. An administrator inconspicuously followed 250 students and
Carefully recorded their parking times. What type of variable is the administration interested in
Collecting?

A)qualitative data
B)quantitative data

Question 52

As part of an economics class project, students were asked to randomly select 500 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)stocks from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the project, students were asked
To summarize the current prices (also referred to as the closing price of the stock for a particular
Trading date)of the collected stocks using graphical and numerical techniques. What type of
Variable is being collected?

A)quantitative data
B)qualitative data

Question 53

Three female students and two male students are to be chosen from a group of 30 female
students and 20 male students. Does this sample of five students satisfy the conditions to
be a random sample of the 50 students in the group? Explain.

Question 54

Parking at a large university has become a very big problem. University administrators are interested in determining the average parking time (e.g. the time it takes a student to find a
Parking spot)of its students. An administrator inconspicuously followed 250 students and
Carefully recorded their parking times. Identify the data collection method used by the
Administration in this study.

A)data from a published source
B)data collected observationally
C)data from a designed experiment

Question 55

A postal worker counts the number of complaint letters received by the United States Postal Service in a given day. Identify the type of data collected.

A)qualitative
B)quantitative

Question 56

A fan observes the numbers on the shirts of a girlʹs soccer team. Identify the type of data collected.

A)qualitative
B)quantitative

Question 57

What is the most common way to satisfy the representative sample requirement?

Question 58

Which data about paintings would not be qualitative?

A)the theme
B)the artist
C)the style
D)the value

Question 59

A study in the state of Georgia was conducted to determine the percentage of all community college students who have taken at least one online class. 1500 community college students were
Contacted and asked if they had taken at least one online class during their time at their
Community college. These responses were then used to estimate the percentage of all community
College students who have taken at least one online class. What type of variable is being collected?

A)quantitative data
B)qualitative data

Question 60

In an observational study, the researcher exerts strict control over the units in the study.

Question 61

What is meant by selection bias?

Question 62

Which type of problem has occurred when inaccuracies exist in the values of the data recorded?

A)nonresponse bias
B)selection bias
C)measurement error

Question 63

A health food company has the following statement on their new product packaging:
ʺPrevents all types of cancer!ʺ (Fact: Past studies have shown that some ingredients in the
new product have been know to possibly reduce the risk of many types of cancer).
Discuss why it is unethical to make this statement.

Question 64

A county planning commission is attempted to survey 1500 households from the counties 400,000 households. A random sample was selected and surveys were mailed to the randomly selected
Households, but only 1075 were returned. The inability to collect data from the 425 households that
Didnʹt return the survey would be considered which type of sampling problem?

A)measurement error
B)nonresponse bias
C)selection bias

Question 65

Define statistical thinking.

Question 66

A researcher studying malnutrition among children in a developing country collected weights of a random sample of children using a scale that she had set to give weights 2.5 kilograms less than
The actual weight. Which statement best describes this situation?

A)Measurement error has occurred, and the researcher is guilty of unethical statistical practice.
B)Measurement error has occurred, but the researcher is not guilty of unethical statistical practice.
C)Measurement error has not occurred, and the researcher is not guilty of unethical statistical practice.
D)Measurement error has not occurred, but the researcher is guilty of unethical statistical practice.

Question 67

A university was interested in student reaction to a proposal to spend more on athletic scholarships and less on academic scholarships. 35 student athletes were surveyed. What type of
Problem has occurred?

A)nonresponse bias
B)selection bias
C)measurement error

Question 68

The way in which an interviewer asks a question about political party affiliation causes respondents to answer that they have no affiliation when they actually do. What type of problem
Has occurred?

A)measurement error
B)nonresponse bias
C)selection bias

Question 69

A student completing a research project for a criminal justice class obtained a radar gun for determining automobile speeds and recorded the speeds of automobiles passing a fixed location
Over a period of several hours. The student was unaware that the device needed to be recharged
After two hours of use and that the speeds recorded after two hours were not reliable. What type of
Problem has occurred?

A)nonresponse bias
B)selection bias
C)measurement error

Question 70

Because of the possible legal consequences, many people in a sample of the U.S. population chose not to participate in a survey regarding illegal drug use. What type of problem has occurred?

A)measurement error
B)selection bias
C)nonresponse bias

Question 71

When using data from a published source, it is not important to know how the data were collected
and whether randomization was used.

Question 72

Give an example of unethical statistical practice.

Question 73

A middle school was interested in surveying their students to find out opinions about the schools media center. To facilitate data collection, the homeroom period was extended 30 minutes to allow
Everyone in the school ample time to respond to a short questionnaire. Unfortunately, it was
Learned after the surveys had been completed that all honors students in the middle school were
On an all-day field trip and away from school for the entire day. The exclusion of their input into
The survey would be considered which type of sampling problem?

A)nonresponse bias
B)measurement error
C)selection bias

Question 74

What term is used to describe the situation where sampling units contained in a sample do
not produce sample observations?

Question 75

In one study of the moral of companyʹs employees, 10 employees were randomly chosen
from each of the departments within the company. Identify the sampling design used.

Question 76

A watchdog group is investigating how people are treated during the foreclosure process. Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 300 people who had recently been threatened with foreclosure.
75 of the surveys were returned by the postal service because the intended recipients had moved
And left no forwarding address. What type of problem has occurred?

A)selection bias
B)nonresponse bias
C)measurement error

Question 77

In an attempt to determine the ages of its customers, one store asked every tenth customer
who entered the store his or her age. Identify the sampling design used.