Question 1

By visiting homes door-to-door, a municipality surveys all the households in 89 randomly-selected neighborhoods to see how residents feel about a proposed property tax increase. Identify the type of sample that is being used.

Accepted Answer

This is a cluster sample because entire neighborhoods (clusters) are randomly selected and then all members (households) within those selected clusters are surveyed.

Question 2

An electronics manufacturer test every 1000th cell phone to verify that it is functioning properly. Identify the kind of sample that is being used.

Accepted Answer

This is a systematic sample because every 1000th cell phone is selected according to a fixed interval, which is a characteristic of systematic sampling.

Question 3

A pollster randomly samples 159 Democrats, 151 Republicans and 16 Independents (allregistered voters)in Metro City and asks each poll participant which mayorial candidatehe or she prefers. Identify the kind of sample that the pollster is using.

Accepted Answer

The pollster is using a stratified sample because the population is divided into subgroups (Democrats, Republicans, and Independents) and random samples are taken from each of these groups.

Question 4

Which one of the following data are continuous?

Accepted Answer

The average height of a sample of trees is a continuous data type because it can take on any value within a range, including fractions and decimals, representing measurements.

Question 5

Which one of the following data are discrete?

Accepted Answer

Discrete data can only take certain values (often integers) and cannot be meaningfully divided into smaller increments. The pre-season ranking of Duke University's men's basketball team is an example of discrete data because rankings are whole numbers that represent a position on a list.

Question 6

Determine which of the following describes ordinal data.
i. My best friends are Georgia, Amithaba, and Raphael.
ii. My favorite numbers are 2, 7 and 13.

Accepted Answer

Ordinal data refers to data that can be ordered or ranked but does not necessarily have a fixed interval between each value. Neither listing friends by name nor stating favorite numbers inherently involves an order or ranking, thus neither i nor ii describes ordinal data.

Question 7

Determine which of the following describes ordinal data.
i. In the horse race, Betty's Girl won, Mr. Ed placed, and Wabash showed.
ii. In the horse race, I bet on Betty's Girl to win, Mr. Ed to place, and Wabash to show.

Accepted Answer

Ordinal data is characterized by the order of elements, without a precise difference between them. Both statements i and ii describe outcomes in a specific order (win, place, show), making them examples of ordinal data.

Question 8

A ________ is a number that describes a population.

Accepted Answer

A parameter is a number that describes a population, such as a population mean or proportion. Statistics, on the other hand, describe samples.

Question 9

A middle school student passes out leaflets to the adults at a school function. The leafletsask the recipient to indicate whether they believe in anthropogenic global warming. The bottom of the leaflet indicates that the completed leaflet should be returned to the student. Identify the kind of sample that is being used.

Accepted Answer

This is a sample of convenience because the student is distributing leaflets to a readily accessible group (adults at a school function) without any specific selection criteria or randomization.

Question 10

The names of all 130 students in a professor's class are written on identical slips of paper, and the slips are placed into a large glass jar. Then, the professor selects 5 random slips from the jar. Identify the kind of sample that is being used.

Accepted Answer

This is a simple random sample because every student has an equal chance of being selected, and the selection process does not involve any systematic method, clustering, or convenience strategy.

Question 11

Determine which of the following describes quantitative data.
i). the name of a chemical sample
ii). the mass of a chemical sample
iii). the color of a chemical sample

Accepted Answer

Quantitative data refers to data that can be measured and written down with numbers. The mass of a chemical sample is an example of quantitative data because it can be measured in units such as grams or kilograms.

Question 12

Determine which of the following describes qualitative data.
i). the volume of a shipping container, in gallons
ii). the name of the material from which the container is made
iii). the shape of the container

Accepted Answer

Qualitative data refers to non-numeric information that describes characteristics or qualities. The name of the material (ii) and the shape of the container (iii) are qualitative because they describe attributes that are not quantifiable. The volume of a shipping container (i), however, is quantitative data because it is a numeric measurement.

Question 13

Determine which of the following describes qualitative data.
i). the make of the car with license plate number VNS-862
ii). the license plate number VNS-862
iii). the number of vehicles whose license plate number begins with "VNS"

Accepted Answer

Qualitative data describes non-numeric characteristics or categories. Both the make of the car and the license plate number are non-numeric and categorical, thus they are qualitative data.

Question 14

Determine which of the following describes quantitative data.
i). the length of an object in feet
ii). the speed of an object in meters per second
iii). the number of objects that are blue

Accepted Answer

Quantitative data refers to numerical information that can be measured or counted. i) the length of an object in feet, ii) the speed of an object in meters per second, and iii) the number of objects that are blue all represent numerical values that can be measured or counted, thus they are examples of quantitative data.

Question 15

Which one of the following data are continuous?

Accepted Answer

The time remaining for an MP3 music download is a continuous variable because it can take on any value within a range (e.g., 1.5 minutes, 1.75 minutes, etc.), unlike the number of musicians or the number of downloads, which are discrete and can only take on whole numbers.

Question 16

Determine which of the following describes nominal data.
i. Michaelangelo's sells small, medium, large, and jumbo pizzas.
ii. Michaelangelo's most-requested toppings are pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms.

Accepted Answer

Nominal data refers to data that can be categorized but not ranked or ordered in a meaningful way. Both i. and ii. describe categories of pizzas and toppings without implying any order or hierarchy, making them examples of nominal data.

Question 17

A _____________ is a number that describes a sample.

Accepted Answer

A statistic is a number that describes a sample, whereas a parameter describes an entire population.

Question 18

Which of the following sample types should you always regard as unreliable?

Accepted Answer

Voluntary response samples are considered unreliable because they often suffer from self-selection bias, where individuals choose themselves to participate. This can lead to unrepresentative samples as those who volunteer might have strong opinions or characteristics that differ from the general population.

Question 19

Which one of the following data are discrete?

Accepted Answer

The number of crew members on a boat is a discrete data type because it represents countable items, where only whole numbers make sense.

Question 20

Determine which of the following describes nominal data.
i. My favorite days of the week are Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday.
ii. My favorite day of the week is Friday, my second-favorite is Saturday, andthird-favorite is Tuesday.

Accepted Answer

Nominal data categorizes without a natural order or ranking. Statement i describes nominal data as it lists favorite days without implying a rank or order, whereas statement ii introduces an order, making it ordinal data.

Quiz 1: Basic Ideas

By visiting homes door-to-door, a municipality surveys all the households in 89 randomly-selected neighborhoods to see how residents feel about a proposed property tax increase. Identify the type of sample that is being used.

An electronics manufacturer test every 1000th cell phone to verify that it is functioning properly. Identify the kind of sample that is being used.

A pollster randomly samples 159 Democrats, 151 Republicans and 16 Independents (allregistered voters) in Metro City and asks each poll participant which mayorial candidatehe or she prefers. Identify the kind of sample that the pollster is using.

Which one of the following data are continuous?

Which one of the following data are discrete?

Determine which of the following describes ordinal data. i. My best friends are Georgia, Amithaba, and Raphael. ii. My favorite numbers are 2, 7 and 13.

Determine which of the following describes ordinal data. i. In the horse race, Betty's Girl won, Mr. Ed placed, and Wabash showed. ii. In the horse race, I bet on Betty's Girl to win, Mr. Ed to place, and Wabash to show.

A ________ is a number that describes a population.

The names of all 130 students in a professor's class are written on identical slips of paper, and the slips are placed into a large glass jar. Then, the professor selects 5 random slips from the jar. Identify the kind of sample that is being used.

Determine which of the following describes quantitative data. i) . the name of a chemical sample ii) . the mass of a chemical sample iii) . the color of a chemical sample

Determine which of the following describes qualitative data. i) . the volume of a shipping container, in gallons ii) . the name of the material from which the container is made iii) . the shape of the container

Determine which of the following describes qualitative data. i) . the make of the car with license plate number VNS-862 ii) . the license plate number VNS-862 iii) . the number of vehicles whose license plate number begins with "VNS"

Determine which of the following describes quantitative data. i) . the length of an object in feet ii) . the speed of an object in meters per second iii) . the number of objects that are blue

Which one of the following data are continuous?

Determine which of the following describes nominal data. i. Michaelangelo's sells small, medium, large, and jumbo pizzas. ii. Michaelangelo's most-requested toppings are pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms.

A _____________ is a number that describes a sample.

Which of the following sample types should you always regard as unreliable?

Which one of the following data are discrete?

Determine which of the following describes nominal data. i. My favorite days of the week are Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday. ii. My favorite day of the week is Friday, my second-favorite is Saturday, andthird-favorite is Tuesday.