Question 1

In order to estimate the amount of TV watched by New York City adults, a sociologist surveys a random sample of adults from this city. All of the New York City adults constitute a _________.

Accepted Answer

A population refers to the entire group of individuals or objects that we want to study, in this case, all New York City adults. A sample, on the other hand, is a subset of the population selected for study, which is what the sociologist surveys in this scenario. A statistic is a numerical summary of a sample, while a parameter is a numerical summary of a population. Therefore, the correct answer is A, population, as the sociologist aims to estimate TV watching habits of all New York City adults, which is the population of interest.

Question 2

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The average (mean) weight of the Dallas Cowboys is called a _________.

Accepted Answer

The average weight of the Dallas Cowboys is a statistic because it is a measure calculated from a sample (the Dallas Cowboys) to estimate the population parameter (average weight of all professional football players).

Question 3

In order to estimate the amount of TV watched by New York City adults, a sociologist surveys a random sample of adults from this city. The obtained raw scores are called _________.

Accepted Answer

Raw scores obtained from a sample are called data. Constants are fixed values used in calculations, statistics are numerical summaries of data, and populations refer to the entire group being studied, not just a sample.

Question 4

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. Incidence of seizures is an example of a(n) _________.

Accepted Answer

The incidence of seizures is what you are trying to measure in this experiment, so it is the dependent variable. The drug being administered is the independent variable that you are trying to see if it has an effect on the occurrence of seizures. B) Constant is incorrect, as it refers to a value that does not change throughout the experiment. C) Statistic is incorrect, as it refers to a measure that summarizes data from a larger population, not just the data collected from this experiment.

Question 5

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. Then you record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month without the drug. Being compulsive, you also record the number of seizures for the remaining 130 epileptics for one month. The number of seizures for each of the 130 epileptics constitutes _________.

Accepted Answer

The number of seizures for the 130 epileptics is simply data that is being collected as part of the experiment. It is not the independent variable (which in this case is the drug) and it is not a statistic (which would be a summary measure of the data). Therefore, the best choice is B.

Question 6

In acquiring knowledge the method that employs logic, reasoning and objective assessment is referred to as _______.

Accepted Answer

The scientific method is a method of acquiring knowledge that employs logic, reasoning, and objective assessment.

Question 7

In order to estimate the amount of TV watched by New York City adults, a sociologist surveys a random sample of adults from this city. The average (mean) of the raw scores is a _________.

Accepted Answer

The average (mean) of the raw scores from a random sample of adults is a statistic because it is a measure that describes a characteristic of a sample.

Question 8

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The 20 subjects constitute _________.

Accepted Answer

The 20 epileptics selected to receive the drug form the sample of this experiment. The dependent variable would be the number of seizures recorded for each subject, and the independent variable is the new drug being administered. A statistic would refer to a numerical summary of the sample data, rather than the sample itself.

Question 9

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The Dallas Cowboys are a _________.

Accepted Answer

The Dallas Cowboys players represent only a portion of all professional football players, so they are a sample.

Question 10

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The number of seizures for each of the 20 subjects constitutes _________.

Accepted Answer

The number of seizures for each of the 20 subjects is data because it is the information that is being collected and analyzed in the experiment. The dependent variable would be the incidence of epileptic seizures, but this is not represented by the data collected from the 20 subjects. The independent variable would be the new drug being administered to the subjects, but again, this is not the information being recorded as data. A statistic would be a summary measure calculated from the data, but the individual number of seizures for each subject is not a statistic.

Question 11

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The new drug is an example of a(n) _________.

Accepted Answer

The new drug is the variable that is being manipulated in the experiment, therefore it is the independent variable. The dependent variable would be the number of seizures recorded in each subject. A constant refers to a value that remains the same throughout the experiment, and a statistic is a numerical summary of a sample from a larger population.

Question 12

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The weight of each Dallas Cowboy is(are) called ___________.

Accepted Answer

The weight of each Dallas Cowboy player is actual data that was collected. A parameter refers to a characteristic of a population, which in this case would be the average weight of all professional football players, and cannot be directly measured. Constants and statistics are not applicable in this context.

Question 13

Which method of knowing is used in the following example? An individual accepts as true that black holes exist because 10 physics Nobel laureates assert such is the case.

Accepted Answer

The individual is accepting the truth of black holes based on the authority of 10 physics Nobel laureates. This means the individual is relying on the consensus and expertise of a respected group of people as a source of knowledge. This method of knowing is known as the Method of Authority.

Question 14

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The average (mean) weight of all professional football players is called a _________.

Accepted Answer

The average weight of all professional football players is a parameter, which is a numerical summary of the population. The weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players is a sample, which is a subset of the population from which data is collected to estimate the parameter.

Question 15

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The average (mean) number of seizures for the 20 subjects is called _________.

Accepted Answer

The average number of seizures for the 20 subjects is a statistic, which is a summary measure calculated from a sample. The dependent variable is the variable being measured in order to determine the effect of the drug, and data is the information collected from the subjects. A parameter, on the other hand, is a summary measure calculated from a population, and it is not applicable in this scenario since we are working with a sample.

Question 16

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. All professional football players constitute a _________.

Accepted Answer

The investigator is trying to estimate the average weight of all professional football players, which is the population of interest. The weight of the Dallas Cowboy players is being used as a representation of this population. Therefore, the correct answer is population (A). Parameter (B) refers to a numerical characteristic of a population, such as its mean or standard deviation. Sample (C) refers to a subset of a population that is actually observed in a study. Statistic (D) refers to a numerical characteristic of a sample, such as its mean or standard deviation.

Question 17

Which method of knowing is used in the following example? You have been struggling to determine the underlying explanation for the sadness you have been feeling for the past couple of months. Since you haven't come up with the explanation, you give up on the struggle and decide to just go on with your life. Two days later, an explanation pops into your consciousness that you are convinced is correct.

Accepted Answer

The method of intuition is used when the individual relies on their inner feeling, instinct, or sudden insight to reach a conclusion or explanation without conscious reasoning or evidence. In this scenario, the explanation for the individual's sadness came to their consciousness without conscious reasoning or evidence.

Question 18

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. Weight is an example of a(n) _________.

Accepted Answer

Weight is the variable that is being measured in order to estimate the mean weight of all professional football players. Therefore, weight is the dependent variable in this scenario.

Question 19

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The 150 epileptics constitute _________.

Accepted Answer

The 150 epileptics being treated at the nearby hospital are a parameter, which is a characteristic of a population. The dependent variable would be the incidence of epileptic seizures and the independent variable would be the new drug being administered. The 20 selected epileptics are a sample, which is a subset of the population being studied.

Question 20

Which method of knowing is used in the following example? An individual accepts as true that there is an afterlife because a minister asserts such is the case.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the Method of Authority because the individual is accepting the minister's assertion without any personal or empirical evidence to support the belief.

Quiz 1: Statistics and Scientific Method