Deck 16: Measurement and Statistical Methods

Question 1

A scale that ranks preferences on a continuum from lowest to highest is a(n) ________ scale.

A) ordinal
B) interval
C) nominal
D) ratio

Answer 1

ordinal

Question 2

An ordinal scale ________ equal distances between the points and ________ a true zero.

A) does not have; has
B) has; has
C) does not have; does not have
D) has; does not have

Answer 2

does not have; does not have

Question 3

Each of the following is true of an interval scale except that it ________.

A) is the least informative measurement scale
B) tells us how many equal-size units of one thing lies above or below another thing of the same kind
C) has no absolute zero
D) cannot tell us how many times bigger, smaller, taller, or fatter one thing is from another

Answer 3

is the least informative measurement scale

Question 4

The scale that provides the least information is a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) interval
C) ratio
D) ordinal

Question 5

A thermometer uses a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) ratio
D) interval

Question 6

A professor who classifies the students in her classes according to whether or not they are psychology majors is using a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) ratio
C) ordinal
D) interval

Question 7

A branch of mathematics that psychologists use to organize and analyze data is known as ________.

A) calculus
B) vector analysis
C) quantum theory
D) statistics

Question 8

An IQ test typically rates people according to a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) interval
C) ratio
D) ordinal

Question 9

On a(n) ________ scale, data are ranked from first to last according to some criterion, and the distance between points on the scale are not specified.

A) nominal
B) interval
C) ratio
D) ordinal

Question 10

Categorizing people according to whether they voted yes or no on a particular issue is an example of a(n) ________ scale.

A) interval
B) nominal
C) ratio
D) ordinal

Question 11

Each of the following is true except ________.

A) no matter what we are measuring, we have to use a scale to measure it
B) a nominal scale is more a way of measuring than classifying
C) the type of scale we use helps determine the conclusions we draw from our data
D) statistics is a branch of mathematics

Question 12

A scale that is simply a set of categories for classifying objects is a(n) ________ scale.

A) ratio
B) ordinal
C) nominal
D) interval

Question 13

A 4-point scale that measures the quality of beef is a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) ratio
C) interval
D) ordinal

Question 14

A scale with equal distances between the points, or values, but without a true zero is called a(n) ________ scale.

A) interval
B) ordinal
C) nominal
D) ratio

Question 15

A ratio scale ________ equal distances between the points and ________ a true zero.

A) has; does not have
B) does not have; has
C) does not have; does not have
D) has; has

Question 16

Classifying workers in a factory according to whether they are blue-collar or white-collar workers is using a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) ratio
D) interval

Question 17

A scale that tells us about order but nothing about the distances between the quantities that are ordered is a(n) ________ scale.

A) ordinal
B) nominal
C) interval
D) ratio

Question 18

A scale with equal distances between the points or values with a true zero point is a(n) ________ scale.

A) ordinal
B) nominal
C) interval
D) ratio

Question 19

Which of the following is true regarding statistics?

A) They guide the conclusions scientists draw from research
B) They cannot provide definitive conclusions that researchers can draw on to generate theories.
C) They are generally considered optional when conducting an experiment or designing a test.
D) They often interfere with a scientist's ability to organize and describe data.

Question 20

A student ranking various graduate schools on a 5-point scale is using a(n) ________ scale.

A) nominal
B) interval
C) ratio
D) ordinal

Question 21

A store owner wishes to determine which shoe size he should stock in the greatest quantity. She would be most interested in the ________ of her customers' shoe sizes.

A) mean
B) range
C) mode
D) median

Question 22

The median for the set of scores 12, 28, 33, 45, 67, 67, 98 is ________.

A) 50
B) 45
C) 98
D) 67

Question 23

The sum of all the scores in a group divided by the number of scores is a measure called ________.

A) range
B) mode
C) mean
D) median

Question 24

The mode of the set of scores 6, 9 10, 11, 15, 15, is ________.

A) 9
B) 11.2
C) 10.5
D) 15

Question 25

The point that divides a set of numbers in half is the ________.

A) median
B) mean
C) mode
D) range

Question 26

The median for the set of scores 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 15 is ________.

A) 9
B) 15
C) 10.5
D) 11.2

Question 27

The most frequently occurring score in a set of scores is called the ________.

A) median
B) mode
C) range
D) mean

Question 28

We can say that one measurement is twice as large as another when ________ scales are used.

A) ordinal
B) nominal
C) ratio
D) interval

Question 29

The auto theft rates of various cities in a state (for example: 15 thefts per 10,000 population) is an example of a(n) ________ scale.

A) ordinal
B) ratio
C) nominal
D) interval

Question 30

In the set of scores 90, 80, 70, the ________.

A) mean is equal to the mode
B) mean is equal to the median
C) mean is greater than the median
D) median is greater than the mean

Question 31

Measurements of age use a(n) ________ scale.

A) ordinal
B) ratio
C) interval
D) nominal

Question 32

The tendency of measurements to cluster around some value near the middle is called the ________.

A) central tendency
B) norm
C) nominal tendency
D) peripheral tendency

Question 33

For the set of numbers 2, 4, 6, 6, the ________.

A) mean is equal to the mode
B) median is equal to the mode
C) median is greater than the mean
D) mean is greater than the median

Question 34

The arithmetical average is also called the ________.

A) range
B) mean
C) mode
D) median

Question 35

The mean of a set of numbers 5, 5, 6, 6, 10, 10 is ________.

A) 6
B) 8
C) 9
D) 7

Question 36

The mode of the set of scores 16, 17, 21, 17, 2, 17, is ________.

A) 16.5
B) 17.5
C) 15
D) 17

Question 37

Which of the following is not a measure of central tendency?

A) median
B) mean
C) range
D) mode

Question 38

Birth and death rates would be two measures that would use a(n) ________ scale.

A) ratio
B) nominal
C) ordinal
D) interval

Question 39

The mean of a set of numbers 100, 90, 80, 50, 30 is ________.

A) 100
B) 80
C) 50
D) 70

Question 40

There is a zero on a(n) ________ scale only.

A) ratio
B) interval
C) nominal
D) ordinal

Question 41

In a set of incomes in which most people are in the $30,000-$40,000 range, which measure of central tendency would be most disturbed by an income of $2,000?

A) median
B) mode
C) frequency
D) mean

Question 42

We say that a curve is skewed to the right if the ________.

A) tail on the left is longer
B) tail on the right is longer
C) tail on the right is shorter
D) highest part of the curve lies on the right

Question 43

The normal curve is ________.

A) symmetrical
B) asymmetrical
C) skewed
D) bimodal

Question 44

The following distribution is ________.

A) normal
B) bimodal
C) skewed to the right
D) skewed to the left

Question 45

A count of the number of scores that fall within each of a series of intervals is a ________.

A) normal curve
B) factor analysis
C) standard deviation
D) frequency distribution

Question 46

If you know that the mean is greater than the median, you can predict that the ________.

A) mode will be equal to the mean
B) frequency polygon will be normal
C) curve will be skewed to the right
D) curve will be skewed to the left

Question 47

A bar graph showing a frequency distribution is called a ________.

A) skewed distribution
B) frequency histogram
C) frequency polygon
D) normal distribution

Question 48

Plotting a normal distribution on a graph yields a ________.

A) frequency histogram
B) normal curve
C) bar graph
D) skewed curve

Question 49

In a frequency histogram, the intervals are usually marked along the ________.

A) bar heights
B) diagonal
C) vertical (y) axis
D) horizontal (x) axis

Question 50

In a frequency histogram, frequency is usually marked along the ________.

A) horizontal (x) axis
B) diagonal
C) vertical (y) axis
D) bar heights

Question 51

The scores gather at one end of a ________ distribution.

A) symmetrical
B) normal
C) standard
D) skewed

Question 52

We say that a curve is skewed to the left if the ________.

A) tail on the left is shorter
B) tail on the right is longer
C) highest part of the curve lies on the left
D) tail on the left is longer

Question 53

A line graph showing a frequency distribution is called a ________.

A) skewed distribution
B) normal distribution
C) frequency polygon
D) frequency histogram

Question 54

The scores gather at one end of a ________ distribution.

A) symmetrical
B) normal
C) standard
D) skewed

Question 55

If you know that the median is greater than the mean, you can predict that the ________.

A) curve will be skewed to the left
B) frequency polygon will be normal
C) mode will be equal to the mean
D) curve will be skewed to the right

Question 56

The following graph is a ________.

A) frequency polygon
B) skewed distribution
C) frequency histogram
D) normal distribution

Question 57

A hypothetical bell-shaped distribution curve that occurs when a normal distribution is plotted as a frequency polygon is called a(n) ________ curve.

A) asymmetrical
B) normal
C) bimodal
D) anomalous

Question 58

If we take a large enough number of measurements of almost any characteristic, the result is most likely to be ________.

A) skewed
B) bimodal
C) mediated
D) normal

Question 59

In a set of incomes in which most people are in the $15,000 through $40,000 range, which measure of central tendency would be most disturbed by an income of $1 million?

A) mode
B) median
C) mean
D) frequency

Question 60

The mean and the mode fall at the same point in ________ distributions.

A) flat
B) skewed
C) bimodal
D) normal

Question 61

The following distribution is ________.

A) normal
B) bimodal
C) skewed to the left
D) skewed to the right

Question 62

Which of the following questions would be most appropriate in a correlational study?

A) Is party affiliation related to economic status?
B) Why did John change his party affiliation?
C) How often does John vote?
D) What percentage of homes have annual incomes above $15,000?

Question 63

In a set of survey results, the mean is 15 and the standard deviation is 3. With these numbers we know that 99% of the scores are between ________.

A) 6 and 24
B) 12 and 18
C) 0 and 30
D) 9 and 21

Question 64

About ________ percent of scores fall between the mean and one standard deviation above and below the mean in a normal distribution.

A) 32
B) 34
C) 68
D) 99

Question 65

In a set of test scores, the mean is 10 and the standard deviation is 2. With these two numbers we know that 95% of the scores fall between ________.

A) 9 and 11
B) 6 and 14
C) 4 and 16
D) 8 and 12

Question 66

About ________ percent of scores fall between 3 standard deviations above and 3 standard deviations below the mean in a normal distribution.

A) 96
B) 99
C) 95
D) 68

Question 67

About 99 percent of scores fall between ________ standard deviation(s) above and below the mean in a normal distribution.

A) three
B) two
C) one
D) four

Question 68

A pattern of dots indicating scores on two different characteristics is called a ________.

A) bar graph
B) frequency histogram
C) scatter plot
D) frequency polygon

Question 69

Which of the following can be used to describe if two or more sets of measurements are in any way associated with each other?

A) measures of central tendency
B) measures of correlation
C) measures of variation
D) measures of central tendency, variation, and correlation

Question 70

To find the standard deviation, we must first find the ________.

A) range
B) median
C) mean
D) mode

Question 71

Which number tells us the most about how the scores in a frequency distribution are dispersed around the mean?

A) range
B) correlation coefficient
C) standard deviation
D) probability ratio

Question 72

Which of the following questions would be most appropriate in a correlational study?

A) What is Sarah's IQ?
B) Is intelligence related to creativity?
C) How many males and females have IQ scores over 120?
D) What is Sarah's IQ in relation to William's IQ?

Question 73

The following distribution is ________.

A) skewed to the left
B) normal
C) bimodal
D) skewed to the right

Question 74

For the numbers 17, 2, 9, 12, 15, the range is ________.

A) 15
B) 9
C) 12
D) 2

Question 75

About 68 percent of scores fall between ________ standard deviation(s) above and below the mean in a normal distribution.

A) two
B) one
C) three
D) four

Question 76

About ________ percent of scores fall between 2 standard deviations above and below the mean.

A) 95
B) 96
C) 99
D) 68

Question 77

For the numbers 100, 90, 80, 60, the range is ________.

A) 50
B) 40
C) 80
D) 60

Question 78

The difference between the highest and the lowest measurements is the ________.

A) mode
B) standard deviation
C) range
D) level of significance

Question 79

The simplest measure of variation is the ________.

A) standard deviation
B) range
C) mean
D) significance

Question 80

About 95 percent of scores fall between ________ standard deviation(s) above and below the mean in a normal distribution.

A) four
B) one
C) three
D) two