A West Coast university statistics professor wishes to determine which surfboard brand delivers consistently longer rides, Channel Island or JS. He recruits two of his students who surf to assist in an experiment, and the student assigned to the Channel Island board is determined by coin flip. The three head out to the beach for an afternoon, with the professor holding up a sign at random times for the respective student to catch the next wave on his board, and the time spent on that wave is recorded. This is repeated until each student has ridden 10 waves.
The brand of surfboard in this story is:
A) a parameter.
B) the response variable.
C) the explanatory variable.
D) blinded.
E) stratified.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The brand of the surfboard (Channel Island or JS) is the explanatory variable, as it is being used to explain the differences in the time spent on waves. The response variable is the time spent on the wave, and the goal of the experiment is to determine which surfboard brand delivers consistently longer rides.

A West Coast University Statistics Professor Wishes to Determine Which