Question 1

Compared with experiments, one drawback of observational studies is that they lack:

Accepted Answer

A) a detailed statistical analysis 
B) scientific objectivity 
C) real scientific value 
D) a clear methodology 
E) a randomly assigned control group 
A) a detailed statistical analysis 
B) scientific objectivity 
C) real scientific value 
D) a clear methodology 
E) a randomly assigned control group

Question 2

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? In 2011, half of American households had an income greater than $50,502, while the other half had a lower income.

Accepted Answer

A) absolute frequency 
B) relative frequency 
C) distribution 
D) average 
E) median 
A) absolute frequency 
B) relative frequency 
C) distribution 
D) average 
E) median

Question 3

Which of the following statistics is a total?

Accepted Answer

A) Seventy-three percent of the graduates of our high school go on to college. 
B) There are 218 homeless people in our town. 
C) There are 13 rocks for every crayfish in this stream. 
D) It costs 52 cents per minute to keep our business open. 
E) Half of my students are getting at least an 80%, while the other half are not doing that well. 
A) Seventy-three percent of the graduates of our high school go on to college. 
B) There are 218 homeless people in our town. 
C) There are 13 rocks for every crayfish in this stream. 
D) It costs 52 cents per minute to keep our business open. 
E) Half of my students are getting at least an 80%, while the other half are not doing that well.

Question 4

Can a concept be a value?

Accepted Answer

A) Yes, because concepts cannot be variables. 
B) Yes, because the variable of which the concept is a value could be the concept's genus. 
C) No, because only referents can be values. 
D) No, because concepts can only be variables. 
E) No, because then there would be no other values for the variable, so it wouldn't be a true variable. 
A) Yes, because concepts cannot be variables. 
B) Yes, because the variable of which the concept is a value could be the concept's genus. 
C) No, because only referents can be values. 
D) No, because concepts can only be variables. 
E) No, because then there would be no other values for the variable, so it wouldn't be a true variable.

Question 5

A factor that is neither necessary nor sufficient to bring about an effect but does play a role in bringing it about is called a(n) _____ factor.

Accepted Answer

A) irrelevant 
B) contributing 
C) fool's 
D) circumstantial 
E) coincidental 
A) irrelevant 
B) contributing 
C) fool's 
D) circumstantial 
E) coincidental

Question 6

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? There are currently 128 species of maple trees.

Accepted Answer

A) total 
B) ratio 
C) distribution 
D) average 
E) median 
A) total 
B) ratio 
C) distribution 
D) average 
E) median

Question 7

Are the motions of the planets studied by means of observational studies or experiments?

Accepted Answer

A) Neither experiments nor observational studies can be used to study planetary motion. 
B) motions of Earth by experiments, other planets by observational studies 
C) motions of Earth by observational studies, other planets by experiments 
D) experiments only 
E) observational studies only 
A) Neither experiments nor observational studies can be used to study planetary motion. 
B) motions of Earth by experiments, other planets by observational studies 
C) motions of Earth by observational studies, other planets by experiments 
D) experiments only 
E) observational studies only

Question 8

Many psychological studies are conducted on college campuses.Which of the following would be most likely to cast doubt on the external validity of these studies?

Accepted Answer

A) Many of the researchers are college students. 
B) Faculty and students disagree about the political implications of their findings. 
C) All of the subjects in the study are college students. 
D) The results of the studies are not published. 
E) The studies do not have the professors' full attention since they are also teaching classes. 
A) Many of the researchers are college students. 
B) Faculty and students disagree about the political implications of their findings. 
C) All of the subjects in the study are college students. 
D) The results of the studies are not published. 
E) The studies do not have the professors' full attention since they are also teaching classes.

Question 9

Some statistics are derived by adding up the quantitative values of all the members of a class, and then dividing the total by the number of quantitative values in the class.These statistics are called:

Accepted Answer

A) averages 
B) frequencies 
C) totals 
D) ratios 
E) medians 
A) averages 
B) frequencies 
C) totals 
D) ratios 
E) medians

Question 10

Some statistics specify the number of items in a class, or the sum of their values on a variable, per unit of some other class.These statistics are called:

Accepted Answer

A) ratios 
B) products 
C) basic statistics 
D) quotients 
E) totals 
A) ratios 
B) products 
C) basic statistics 
D) quotients 
E) totals

Question 11

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? Seventy-six percent of the fish in this stream are infected with parasites.

Accepted Answer

A) absolute frequency 
B) relative frequency 
C) distribution 
D) average 
E) median 
A) absolute frequency 
B) relative frequency 
C) distribution 
D) average 
E) median

Question 12

Which of the following is a contributing factor for becoming a governor?

Accepted Answer

A) winning an election 
B) getting your name on the ballot 
C) being the lieutenant governor at the time that the previous governor died 
D) being old enough to hold the office 
E) giving an outstanding campaign speech 
A) winning an election 
B) getting your name on the ballot 
C) being the lieutenant governor at the time that the previous governor died 
D) being old enough to hold the office 
E) giving an outstanding campaign speech

Question 13

In statistical reasoning, a generic quality is a called a(n) _____ and its specific qualities are called _____.

Accepted Answer

A) property; specifiers 
B) quality; quantities 
C) variable; values 
D) abstractum; particuli 
E) genus; identifiers 
A) property; specifiers 
B) quality; quantities 
C) variable; values 
D) abstractum; particuli 
E) genus; identifiers

Question 14

Which of the following statistics is an average?

Accepted Answer

A) Half of my friends live within 20 miles and half live further away than that. 
B) There are 25 houses on our block and 78 trees, so that's 3.12 trees per yard. 
C) Sixty percent of Americans are political centrists. 
D) Eighteen percent of students are getting a C in this class. 
E) Of my wisest friends, only two support my decision to spend a year in Europe. 
A) Half of my friends live within 20 miles and half live further away than that. 
B) There are 25 houses on our block and 78 trees, so that's 3.12 trees per yard. 
C) Sixty percent of Americans are political centrists. 
D) Eighteen percent of students are getting a C in this class. 
E) Of my wisest friends, only two support my decision to spend a year in Europe.

Question 15

Some statistics simply tell us how many of something there are.These statistics are called:

Accepted Answer

A) ratios 
B) products 
C) basic statistics 
D) quotients 
E) totals 
A) ratios 
B) products 
C) basic statistics 
D) quotients 
E) totals

Question 16

A statistic that is generalized from a sample can be made more accurate by:

Accepted Answer

A) excluding the more unusual members of the sample 
B) including more unusual members in the sample 
C) increasing the size of the sample 
D) decreasing the size of the sample 
E) averaging the measured value with the expected value 
A) excluding the more unusual members of the sample 
B) including more unusual members in the sample 
C) increasing the size of the sample 
D) decreasing the size of the sample 
E) averaging the measured value with the expected value

Question 17

Do distributions tell us the actual number of members in each class, or do they simply tell us the percentage of members in each class?

Accepted Answer

A) They can either tell us the actual number or the percentage. 
B) They can only tell us the percentage, since they involve multiple categories. 
C) They can only tell us the percentage, since they are only used when actual counts aren't available. 
D) They must always tell us the actual number, since we could never know the percentage in each class without knowing the actual number first. 
E) They must always tell us the actual number, since if they only told us the percentage, they would be frequencies rather than distributions. 
A) They can either tell us the actual number or the percentage. 
B) They can only tell us the percentage, since they involve multiple categories. 
C) They can only tell us the percentage, since they are only used when actual counts aren't available. 
D) They must always tell us the actual number, since we could never know the percentage in each class without knowing the actual number first. 
E) They must always tell us the actual number, since if they only told us the percentage, they would be frequencies rather than distributions.

Question 18

Sometimes a variable cannot be studied directly, but can be studied indirectly by means of some other variable.This other variable is a called a _____ variable.

Accepted Answer

A) proxy 
B) differential 
C) mediating 
D) final 
E) hidden 
A) proxy 
B) differential 
C) mediating 
D) final 
E) hidden

Question 19

Suppose we find that there is a correlation between the cleanliness of a student's room and how much time that student spends studying.By itself, this would not prove that having a clean room causes students to study longer, because there could be a confounding variable.What is the most likely candidate?

Accepted Answer

A) difficulty of classes 
B) number of roommates 
C) noise level in the room 
D) self-discipline of the student 
E) availability of cleaning products 
A) difficulty of classes 
B) number of roommates 
C) noise level in the room 
D) self-discipline of the student 
E) availability of cleaning products

Question 20

Can the median value be the same as the average value?

Accepted Answer

A) Yes, because median and average are two names for the same thing. 
B) Yes, because sometimes they will just happen to be the same value. 
C) No, because the median value is always higher than the average value. 
D) No, because they are determined by two completely different methods. 
E) No, because the two terms don't mean the same thing. 
A) Yes, because median and average are two names for the same thing. 
B) Yes, because sometimes they will just happen to be the same value. 
C) No, because the median value is always higher than the average value. 
D) No, because they are determined by two completely different methods. 
E) No, because the two terms don't mean the same thing.

Compared with experiments, one drawback of observational studies is that they lack:

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? In 2011, half of American households had an income greater than $50,502, while the other half had a lower income.

Which of the following statistics is a total?

Can a concept be a value?

A factor that is neither necessary nor sufficient to bring about an effect but does play a role in bringing it about is called a(n) _____ factor.

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? There are currently 128 species of maple trees.

Are the motions of the planets studied by means of observational studies or experiments?

Many psychological studies are conducted on college campuses.Which of the following would be most likely to cast doubt on the external validity of these studies?

Some statistics are derived by adding up the quantitative values of all the members of a class, and then dividing the total by the number of quantitative values in the class.These statistics are called:

Some statistics specify the number of items in a class, or the sum of their values on a variable, per unit of some other class.These statistics are called:

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? Seventy-six percent of the fish in this stream are infected with parasites.

Which of the following is a contributing factor for becoming a governor?

In statistical reasoning, a generic quality is a called a(n) _ and its specific qualities are called _.

Which of the following statistics is an average?

Some statistics simply tell us how many of something there are.These statistics are called:

A statistic that is generalized from a sample can be made more accurate by:

Do distributions tell us the actual number of members in each class, or do they simply tell us the percentage of members in each class?

Sometimes a variable cannot be studied directly, but can be studied indirectly by means of some other variable.This other variable is a called a _____ variable.

Can the median value be the same as the average value?

Classification

Definitions

Propositions

Argument Analysis

Fallacies

Categorical Propositions

Categorical Syllogisms

Reasoning With Syllogisms

Propositional Logic-Propositions

Propositional Logic-Arguments

Predicate Logic

Inductive Generalizations

Argument by Analogy

Explanation

Probability

Filters

Exam 14: Statistical Reasoning

Compared with experiments, one drawback of observational studies is that they lack:

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? In 2011, half of American households had an income greater than $50,502, while the other half had a lower income.

Which of the following statistics is a total?

Can a concept be a value?

A factor that is neither necessary nor sufficient to bring about an effect but does play a role in bringing it about is called a(n) _____ factor.

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? There are currently 128 species of maple trees.

Are the motions of the planets studied by means of observational studies or experiments?

Many psychological studies are conducted on college campuses.Which of the following would be most likely to cast doubt on the external validity of these studies?

Some statistics are derived by adding up the quantitative values of all the members of a class, and then dividing the total by the number of quantitative values in the class.These statistics are called:

Some statistics specify the number of items in a class, or the sum of their values on a variable, per unit of some other class.These statistics are called:

What sort of statistic does the following most clearly exemplify? Seventy-six percent of the fish in this stream are infected with parasites.

Which of the following is a contributing factor for becoming a governor?

In statistical reasoning, a generic quality is a called a(n) _____ and its specific qualities are called _____.

Which of the following statistics is an average?

Some statistics simply tell us how many of something there are.These statistics are called:

A statistic that is generalized from a sample can be made more accurate by:

Do distributions tell us the actual number of members in each class, or do they simply tell us the percentage of members in each class?

Sometimes a variable cannot be studied directly, but can be studied indirectly by means of some other variable.This other variable is a called a _____ variable.

Can the median value be the same as the average value?

Classification

Definitions

Propositions

Argument Analysis

Fallacies

Categorical Propositions

Categorical Syllogisms

Reasoning With Syllogisms

Propositional Logic-Propositions

Propositional Logic-Arguments

Predicate Logic

Inductive Generalizations

Argument by Analogy

Explanation

Probability

Filters

In statistical reasoning, a generic quality is a called a(n) _ and its specific qualities are called _.