Deck 1: An Introduction to Statistics and Research Design

Question 1

A community researcher wanted to explore the connection between the number of bathrooms in a house and the sale price of the house.She studied 1750 home sales in an economically diverse, medium-sized city and found that the average sale price went up by $63,000 for each full bath.What is the descriptive statistic in this study?

A) 1750 home sales
B) houses in economically diverse, medium-sized cities
C) number of bathrooms
D) average increase in sale price of $63,000 per bathroom

Answer 1

average increase in sale price of $63,000 per bathroom

Question 2

Why do researchers typically study samples rather than populations?

A) Entire populations can be too costly to study or impossible to access.
B) Entire populations are too variable to study.
C) Samples are more representative than their respective populations.
D) Studying a sample is more difficult than studying a population.

Answer 2

Entire populations can be too costly to study or impossible to access.

Question 3

Wendy is a weight-loss group leader.To get a better idea of how to help those she will be working with to achieve their weight-loss goals, she wishes to know the average weight-loss goal of the individuals in her group.What kind of statistic should Wendy use?

A) reliability
B) population
C) inferential
D) descriptive

Answer 3

descriptive

Question 4

A community researcher wanted to explore the connection between the number of bathrooms in a house and the sale price of the house.He studied 1750 home sales in an economically diverse, medium-sized city and found that the average sale price went up by $63,000 for each full bath.Which statement involves a logical inferential statistic based on this research?

A) Adding a bathroom to your house will cost $63,000.
B) On average, adding a bathroom to your house can increase the sale price.
C) Houses sell for $63,000 on average.
D) Bathrooms are highly desirable features of houses in medium-sized cities.

Question 5

A community researcher wanted to explore the connection between the number of bathrooms in a house and the sale price of the house.He studied 1750 home sales in an economically diverse, medium-sized city and found that the average sale price went up by $63,000 for each full bath.What is the sample in this study?

A) 1750 home sales
B) houses in economically diverse, medium-sized cities
C) number of bathrooms
D) average increase in sale price of $63,000 per bathroom

Question 6

An inferential statistic is generally defined as:

A) the entire group of interest about which we want to make conclusions.
B) a single number or group of numbers that organize, summarize, and communicate a group of numerical observations.
C) a subset, or smaller collection, of observations from the overall group of interest.
D) using data to make general estimates about the overall group of interest.

Question 7

A researcher wanted to determine whether eating sugary cereal for breakfast increased the aggression of second graders during their morning play period.After feeding a group of 20 students sugary cereal for breakfast she observed that, on average, the students committed 4.5 aggressive behaviors during their morning play period.In this example, the sample is:

A) the 4.5 aggressive behaviors.
B) the 20 students the researcher observed.
C) all second graders.
D) all second graders who ate sugary cereal for breakfast.

Question 8

Unnithan, Houser, and Fernhall (2006) were interested in whether playing the game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) met the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations for exercise to improve cardiovascular health.Twenty-two adolescents, 10 of whom were classified as overweight and 12 of whom were not overweight, played DDR for 12 minutes.During the 12 minutes, the researchers measured each participant's heart rate.On average, the researchers found no difference between the heart rates of the two groups.Both groups' heart rates were above the minimum recommended for cardiovascular exercise.What is the sample in this study?

A) the 22 adolescents who participated in the study
B) all adolescents, both overweight and not overweight, who play DDR
C) the average heart rate for an adolescent playing DDR
D) the recommendation by the American College of Sports Medicine

Question 9

A population is generally defined as:

A) the entire group of interest about which we want to make conclusions.
B) a single number or group of numbers that organize, summarize, and communicate a group of numerical observations.
C) a subset, or smaller collection, of observations from the overall group of interest.
D) using data to make general estimates about the overall group of interest.

Question 10

A descriptive statistic is generally defined as:

A) the entire group of interest about which we want to make conclusions.
B) a single number or group of numbers that organize, summarize, and communicate a group of numerical observations.
C) a subset, or smaller collection, of observations from the overall group of interest.
D) using data to make general estimates about the overall group of interest.

Question 11

A researcher wanted to determine whether eating sugary cereal for breakfast increased the aggression of second graders during their morning play period.After feeding a group of 20 students sugary cereal for breakfast she observed that, on average, the students committed 4.5 aggressive behaviors during their morning play period.In this example, the descriptive statistic is:

A) the 4.5 aggressive behaviors.
B) the 20 students the researcher observed.
C) all second graders.
D) all second graders who ate sugary cereal for breakfast.

Question 12

A community researcher wanted to explore the connection between the number of bathrooms in a house and the sale price of the house.She studied 1750 home sales in an economically diverse, medium-sized city and found that the average sale price went up by $63,000 for each full bath.What is a logical population to which the researcher would want to extend this finding?

A) the 1750 homes involved in the research
B) home sales across the country in which the research was conducted
C) all home sales in diverse, medium-sized cities
D) home sales throughout the last decade

Question 13

Unnithan, Houser, and Fernhall (2006) were interested in whether playing the game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) met the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations for exercise to improve cardiovascular health.Twenty-two adolescents, 10 of whom were classified as overweight and 12 of whom were not overweight, played DDR for 12 minutes.During the 12 minutes, the researchers measured each participant's heart rate.On average, the researchers found no difference between the heart rates of the two groups.Both groups' heart rates were above the minimum recommended for cardiovascular exercise.What is the population in this study?

A) the 22 adolescents who participated in the study
B) all adolescents, both overweight and not overweight, who play DDR
C) the average heart rate for an adolescent playing DDR
D) the recommendation by the American College of Sports Medicine

Question 14

Unnithan, Houser, and Fernhall (2006) were interested in whether playing the game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) met the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations for exercise to improve cardiovascular health.Twenty-two adolescents, 10 of whom were classified as overweight and 12 of whom were not overweight, played DDR for 12 minutes.During the 12 minutes, the researchers measured each participant's heart rate.On average, the researchers found no difference between the heart rates of the two groups.Both groups' heart rates were above the minimum recommended for cardiovascular exercise.Which of these requires an inferential statistic?

A) the recommendation by the American College of Sports Medicine
B) recruiting the sample of 22 adolescents
C) the average heart rate for an adolescent playing DDR
D) the conclusion that adolescents will get cardiovascular benefit from playing DDR

Question 15

A researcher wanted to determine whether eating sugary cereal for breakfast increased the aggression of second graders during their morning play period.After feeding a group of 20 students sugary cereal for breakfast she observed that, on average, the students committed 4.5 aggressive behaviors during their morning play period.In this example, the population is:

A) the 4.5 aggressive behaviors.
B) the 20 students the researcher observed.
C) all second graders.
D) all second graders who eat sugary cereal for breakfast.

Question 16

A medical researcher interested in asthma symptoms wanted to know how symptoms were affected in dry versus humid conditions.The researchers recruited 18 asthma patients to spend four weeks under two conditions: sleeping with a dehumidifier for two weeks to create a "dry" environment and sleeping with a humidifier for the remaining two weeks to create a "humid" environment.Patients were asked to rate their symptoms at regular intervals using a scale from "0 - no symptoms" to "20 - maximum asthma symptoms." The change in asthma symptoms from dry to humid conditions was 5.82, showing a reduction of symptoms in humid conditions.What was the descriptive statistic in this study?

A) change in responses on the scale of 5.82 on average
B) four weeks, with two weeks under each condition
C) 18 asthma patients
D) two sleeping conditions, dry and humid

Question 17

Hsee and Tang (2007) reported the results of a study in which 195 college students completed a happiness scale (from 1 to 7) just before taking a midterm exam.On this scale, 1 corresponded to very unhappy and 7 to very happy.On average, the students rated their happiness as 6.18.In this study, which of these would require an inferential statistic?

A) the average rating of happiness at 6.18
B) the conclusion that college students, on average, are rather happy prior to taking midterm exams
C) the conclusion that these 195 college students are rather happy prior to taking this midterm exam
D) the 195 college students who completed the happiness scale

Question 18

The statement "100 college-aged students participated in a study examining the relationship between gender and depression" is an example of a(n) _____ in research and statistics.

A) population
B) sample
C) descriptive statistic
D) inferential statistic

Question 19

Inferential statistics allow a researcher to:

A) summarize numerical observations for a population.
B) make inferences about a sample of interest given observations taken on a larger population.
C) make inferences about a population of interest given observations taken on a smaller sample.
D) summarize numerical observations for a sample.

Question 20

A sample is generally defined as:

A) the entire group of interest about which we want to make conclusions.
B) a single number or group of numbers that organize, summarize, and communicate a group of numerical observations.
C) a subset, or smaller collection, of observations from the overall group of interest.
D) using data to make general estimates about the overall group of interest.

Question 21

When you read your college textbooks, you may sometimes find errors in them.If you track the number of errors based on the edition of the textbook, you might find that 1st editions have more errors than 3rd, 5th, and 10th editions.What type of variable is the edition of the text you are assessing?

A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) scale
D) dependent

Question 22

A medical researcher interested in asthma symptoms wanted to know how symptoms were affected in dry versus humid conditions.The researchers recruited 18 asthma patients to spend four weeks under two conditions: sleeping with a dehumidifier for two weeks to create a "dry" environment and sleeping with a humidifier for the remaining two weeks to create a "humid" environment.Patients were asked to rate their symptoms at regular intervals using a scale from "0 - no symptoms" to "20 - maximum asthma symptoms." The change in asthma symptoms from dry to humid conditions was 5.82, showing a reduction of symptoms in humid conditions.What is MOST likely the population of interest for this researcher?

A) the patients who participated in the study
B) all asthma sufferers
C) everyone who sleeps
D) patients during the four weeks of the study

Question 23

A medical researcher interested in asthma symptoms wanted to know how symptoms were affected in dry versus humid conditions.The researchers recruited 18 asthma patients to spend four weeks under two conditions: sleeping with a dehumidifier for two weeks to create a "dry" environment and sleeping with a humidifier for the remaining two weeks to create a "humid" environment.Patients were asked to rate their symptoms at regular intervals using a scale from "0 - no symptoms" to "20 - maximum asthma symptoms." The change in asthma symptoms from dry to humid conditions was 5.82, showing a reduction of symptoms in humid conditions.Which statement involves an inferential statistic related to this research finding?

A) Asthma symptoms may be lowered, on average, with humid sleeping conditions.
B) You can expect your asthma symptoms to diminish if you move to a drier climate.
C) Varying your sleeping conditions can affect your health.
D) Asthma symptoms increase when patients sleep with humidifiers.

Question 24

A person's political affiliation is a(n) _____ variable.

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

Question 25

Which variables are always discrete?

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

Question 26

An elementary school teacher is interested in the relation between sugar consumption and activity level in preschool children.The teacher gives 30 preschool children from Preppy Preschool Playland 0 milligrams, 20 milligrams, or 50 milligrams of sucrose (sugar) in a breakfast drink.She then observes their behavior for 30 minutes during their morning outdoor play period and codes their activity level.In this example, the sample is:

A) 30 preschool children.
B) the amount of sucrose.
C) all preschool children.
D) activity level.

Question 27

A variable that consists of separate specific categories for which there are no values between categories is:

A) discrete.
B) ratio.
C) continuous.
D) confounding.

Question 28

Emily is a student at a large university.When visiting professors during their office hours, she has noticed that many have refrigerators in their offices.She decides to survey 80 faculty and count the total number of refrigerators they have.What is the variable in this study?

A) the university where the data are collected
B) number of faculty, 80
C) total number of refrigerators
D) location of refrigerators

Question 29

Emily is a student at a large university.When visiting professors during their office hours, she has noticed that many have refrigerators in their offices.She decides to survey 80 faculty and count the total number of refrigerators they have.What type of observation is she making?

A) discrete
B) continuous
C) discrete and ordinal
D) continuous and interval

Question 30

Which of these is NOT a variable?

A) students' heights
B) students' scores on a statistic exam
C) maximum number of points possible on a 100-point exam
D) students' scores on an empathy scale

Question 31

A five-star rating system for movies is a(n) _____ variable.

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

Question 32

Variables are:

A) specific values (in whole numbers) that represent an individual's category membership.
B) the value of physical, attitudinal, or behavioral characteristics for a given individual.
C) hypothetical ideas that have been developed to describe and explain human behavior.
D) observations of physical, attitudinal, or behavioral characteristics that can take on different values.

Question 33

A variable for which there is an infinite number of values between any two points on the scale is:

A) discrete.
B) ratio.
C) continuous.
D) confounding.

Question 34

Eye color, assessed as blue, green, hazel, brown, and other, as a variable is measured on a(n) _____ scale.

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

Question 35

The number of times a person eats fast food each week is:

A) discrete and ratio.
B) continuous and interval.
C) discrete and interval.
D) continuous and ordinal.

Question 36

An elementary school teacher is interested in the relation between sugar consumption and activity level in preschool children.The teacher gives 30 preschool children from Preppy Preschool Playland 0 milligrams, 20 milligrams, or 50 milligrams of sucrose (sugar) in a breakfast drink.She then observes their behavior for 30 minutes during their morning outdoor play period and codes their activity level.In this example, the population is:

A) 30 preschool children.
B) the amount of sucrose.
C) all preschool children.
D) activity level.

Question 37

A medical researcher interested in asthma symptoms wanted to know how symptoms were affected in dry versus humid conditions.The researchers recruited 18 asthma patients to spend four weeks under two conditions: sleeping with a dehumidifier for two weeks to create a "dry" environment and sleeping with a humidifier for the remaining two weeks to create a "humid" environment.Patients were asked to rate their symptoms at regular intervals using a scale from "0 - no symptoms" to "20 - maximum asthma symptoms." The change in asthma symptoms from dry to humid conditions was 5.82, showing a reduction of symptoms in humid conditions.What was the sample in this study?

A) change in responses on the scale of 5.82 on average
B) four weeks, with two weeks under each condition
C) 18 asthma patients
D) two sleeping conditions, dry and humid

Question 38

In a student election, five people run for student body president.The votes are tallied to create a list of candidates from most to least popular.The number of votes is then removed so that a list of candidates from most to least popular is presented.This is a(n) _____ variable.

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

Question 39

The United States Department of Homeland Security Threat Advisory System measures threat as severe, high, elevated, guarded, or low.In this system, threat is:

A) continuous and ratio.
B) continuous and interval.
C) discrete and interval.
D) discrete and ordinal.

Question 40

A person's grade point average on a scale from 0 to 4.0 is a(n) _____ variable.

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

Question 41

Dr.Feldman was interested in the effect of Valium on motor performance.He injected 30 rats in the experimental group with a small amount of Valium and 30 rats in the control group with saline solution.Following injection, he measured the rate of bar pressing by both groups of rats.On average, rats in the control group had 800 presses per hour and rats in the experimental group had 715 presses per hour.The same testing box was used for both groups of rats, but different student assistants tested the control and experimental groups.In this example, having two different student assistants test the two groups is a(n) _____ variable.

A) confounding
B) ordinal
C) independent
D) dependent

Question 42

The term level refers to:

A) a variable that is manipulated to determine its effects on another variable.
B) the discrete values that a variable can take on.
C) a situation in which two variables have the same value.
D) a situation in which there are no confounding variables.

Question 43

The variable that is manipulated or observed in order to determine its effects on another variable is the _____ variable.

A) scale
B) independent
C) dependent
D) confounding

Question 44

The outcome variable that we expect to change with changes in the independent variable is the _____ variable.

A) confounding
B) noise
C) dependent
D) scale

Question 45

Which types of variables are considered scale variables by statistical computing packages such as SPSS?

A) continuous and ratio
B) continuous and interval
C) discrete and interval
D) ratio and interval

Question 46

_____ variables are almost always continuous.

A) Ordinal
B) Interval
C) Nominal
D) Ratio

Question 47

When you read your college textbooks, you may sometimes find errors in them.If you track the number of errors based on the edition of the textbook, you might find that 1st editions have more errors than 3rd, 5th, and 10th editions.What type of variable is the number of errors found?

A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) scale
D) independent

Question 48

A researcher was interested in the effects of gender on attitudes toward women in leadership positions.The researcher surveyed a group of individuals, 12 of whom were men and 12 of whom were women.In this example, gender is the _____ variable.

A) level of the independent
B) independent
C) dependent
D) confounding

Question 49

In 2010, there was an interesting lawsuit about bagels.A company claimed to have created a new way to recreate "Brooklyn style" bagels and then reported that another bagel producer stole its recipe.A researcher wonders if bagel sales might have been affected simply by the story making the national news, so she tracks total bagel sales in dollars for one year before and after the news story hits.What type of variable is total bagel sales?

A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) scale
D) independent

Question 50

A researcher was interested in the effects of gender on attitudes toward women in leadership positions.The researcher surveyed a group of individuals, 12 of whom were men and 12 of whom were women.In this example, men is a(n) _____ variable.

A) level of the independent
B) independent
C) dependent
D) confounding

Question 51

In a student election, five people run for student body president.The votes are tallied to create a list of candidates from most to least popular.When the number of votes are actually presented, this is a(n) _____ variable.

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

Question 52

The amount of food a person eats each week (as measured in ounces) is:

A) continuous and ratio.
B) continuous and interval.
C) discrete and interval.
D) continuous and ordinal.

Question 53

The number of aces in tennis matches is calculated for 50 elite tennis players.What type of variable is number of aces?

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

Question 54

A New York Times article published on April 24, 2007, reported the research of Dr.Vallortigara, a neuroscientist at the University of Trieste, Italy.In this study, Dr.Vallortigara assessed whether a dog's tail wags in a preferred direction in response to positive as opposed to negative stimuli.First, Dr.Vallortigara recruited 30 dogs that were family pets.While filming a dog's tail from above, he allowed the dog to view (through a slot in its cage) its owner, an unfamiliar human, a cat, and an unfamiliar dominant dog.The study found that dogs' tails wagged to the right for the owner and to the left for the unfamiliar dominant dog.What type of measure was the independent variable in this study?

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

Question 55

A researcher was interested in the effects of gender on attitudes toward women in leadership positions.The researcher surveyed a group of individuals, 12 of whom were men and 12 of whom were women.In this example, what is the dependent variable?

A) the 12 men in the study
B) the 12 women in the study
C) gender of the participants
D) participants' attitudes toward women in leadership positions

Question 56

Imagine that a variable "sensitivity to others" is measured from 10 (low) to 80 (high).Although it is possible to have low sensitivity to others, it is not conceptually possible to have no sensitivity at all.What type of variable is this MOST likely to be?

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

Question 57

The difference between an interval and a ratio variable is that:

A) ratio scales indicate only difference, but interval scales indicate difference and order.
B) interval scales indicate only difference, but ratio scales indicate difference and order.
C) on a ratio scale, the number 0 corresponds to an absence of the quality, but this is not true for an interval scale.
D) there are equal intervals between points on an interval scale, but this is not true for a ratio scale.

Question 58

The measurement of the performance of runners in a race based on their finishing places is a(n) _____ variable.The measurement of the performance of runners in a race based on their times to complete the race is a(n) _____ variable.

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

Question 59

A New York Times article published on April 24, 2007, reported the research of Dr.Vallortigara, a neuroscientist at the University of Trieste, Italy.In this study, Dr.Vallortigara assessed whether a dog's tail wags in a preferred direction in response to positive as opposed to negative stimuli.First, Dr.Vallortigara recruited 30 dogs that were family pets.While filming a dog's tail from above, he allowed the dog to view (through a slot in its cage) its owner, an unfamiliar human, a cat, and an unfamiliar dominant dog.The study found that dogs' tails wagged to the right for the owner and to the left for the unfamiliar dominant dog.What type of measure was the dependent variable in this study?

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

Question 60

A New York Times article published on April 24, 2007, reported the research of Dr.Vallortigara, a neuroscientist at the University of Trieste, Italy.In this study, Dr.Vallortigara assessed whether a dog's tail wags in a preferred direction in response to positive as opposed to negative stimuli.First Dr.Vallortigara recruited 30 dogs that were family pets.While filming a dog's tail from above, he allowed the dog to view (through a slot in its cage) its owner, an unfamiliar human, a cat, and an unfamiliar dominant dog.The study found that dogs' tails wagged to the right for the owner and to the left for the unfamiliar dominant dog.What is the independent variable in this study?

A) finding that dogs' tails went rightward for the owner and leftward for an unfamiliar dog
B) the 30 dogs recruited for the study
C) how far each dog wagged its tail to the right or left
D) the type of visual stimulus provided to the dog

Question 61

The Beck Depression Inventory is a scale intended to measure depression levels, with higher scores indicating higher levels of depression.If the Beck test is a valid measure of depression, we would expect that:

A) the results of the inventory could not be consistently replicated.
B) a person's score on the inventory would not be related to his or her level of depression.
C) people who get higher scores on the inventory would be more depressed than people who get lower scores.
D) people who get lower scores on the inventory would be more depressed than people who get higher scores.

Question 62

A weight-management researcher was interested in whether the size of breakfast could deter overall food consumption throughout the rest of the day.He creates two breakfast groups, a 350-calorie breakfast and a 750-calorie breakfast, assigns six participants to each group, and tracks their total calories eaten in one day.Because of the detailed attention needed to accurately interview participants about their eating, he works with the high-calorie group and has his assistant interview the low-calorie group.How many levels does the independent variable have in this study?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 6
D) 12

Question 63

The Consideration of Future Consequences scale is intended to measure the extent to which an individual considers the future when making immediate choices.If the scale is a reliable measure, we would expect that:

A) a person's score on the scale might change from day to day.
B) a person's score on the scale would be relatively stable from day to day.
C) people with higher scores on the scale would have a greater tendency to consider future consequences.
D) people with lower scores on the scale would have a lower tendency to consider future consequences.

Question 64

When a test measures what it is intended to measure, the test is said to be:

A) a scale variable.
B) continuous.
C) reliable.
D) valid.

Question 65

A researcher studies length of time in college, first through fourth year, and its relation to academic motivation.To get the most detail out of her measures, she assesses each student in both the fall and spring semesters of each of their four years in school.She finds that students have increasingly higher motivation from their first semester to their seventh semester (the start of their fourth year), with a trailing off in the last semester.What is the independent variable in this study?

A) year in school
B) semester in school
C) academic motivation
D) time of year in which the assessment was completed

Question 66

In 2010, there was an interesting lawsuit about bagels.A company claimed to have created a new way to recreate "Brooklyn style" bagels and then reported that another bagel producer stole its recipe.A researcher wonders if bagel sales might have been affected simply by the story making the national news, so she tracks total bagel sales in dollars for one year before and after the news story hits.What is the independent variable in this study?

A) the types of bagels sold
B) total sales
C) the news story
D) the lawsuit

Question 67

Prof.Martin was interested in which of two popular statistics textbooks (Statistics: It Will Change Your Life and Statistics: Bigger, Better, Stronger) was better for students.Prof.Martin compared the two texts by assigning one text to a section of statistics taught by Prof.Miller from 10 to 11 a.m.on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the other text to a section of statistics taught by Prof.Mervin from 7 to 10 p.m.on Wednesday evenings.At the end of the term, all students took the same comprehensive test.Students to whom Statistics: Bigger, Better, Stronger was assigned performed better on the test than did students to whom Statistics: It Will Change Your Life was assigned.Therefore, Prof.Martin concluded that the former textbook was the better one.What was the independent variable in this study?

A) statistics textbooks
B) professors
C) comprehensive test
D) students

Question 68

A researcher studies year in college, first through fourth year, and its relation to academic motivation.To get the most detail out of her measures, she assesses each student in both the fall and spring semesters of each their four years in school.She finds that students have increasingly higher motivation from their first to fourth year, with a trailing off in the last semester.What is the dependent variable in this study?

A) year in school
B) semester in school
C) academic motivation
D) time of year in which the assessment was completed

Question 69

An elementary school teacher is interested in the relation between sugar consumption and activity level in preschool children.The teacher gives 30 preschool children from Preppy Preschool Playland 0 milligrams, 20 milligrams, or 50 milligrams of sucrose (sugar) in a breakfast drink.She then observes their behavior for 30 minutes during their morning outdoor play period and codes their activity level.In this example, the dependent variable is:

A) 30 preschool children.
B) the amount of sucrose.
C) all preschool children.
D) activity level.

Question 70

Prof.Martin was interested in which of two popular statistics textbooks (Statistics: It Will Change Your Life and Statistics: Bigger, Better, Stronger) was better for students.Prof.Martin compared the two texts by assigning one text to a section of statistics taught by Prof.Miller from 10 to 11 a.m.on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the other text to a section of statistics taught by Prof.Mervin from 7 to 10 p.m.on Wednesday evenings.At the end of the term, all students took the same comprehensive test.Students to whom Statistics: Bigger, Better, Stronger was assigned performed better on the test than did students to whom Statistics: It Will Change Your Life was assigned.Therefore, Prof.Martin concluded that the former textbook was the better one.Which of the following is NOT a potential confounding variable in this study?

A) number of classes per week
B) professors teaching course
C) comprehensive test scores
D) time of day course is taught

Question 71

A weight-management researcher was interested in whether the size of breakfast could deter overall food consumption throughout the rest of the day.He creates two breakfast groups, a 350-calorie breakfast and a 750-calorie breakfast, assigns six participants to each group, and tracks their total calories eaten in one day.Because of the detailed attention needed to accurately interview participants about their eating, he works with the high-calorie group and has his assistant interview the low-calorie group.What is the dependent variable in this study?

A) total calories consumed
B) the breakfasts
C) weight loss experienced in the day
D) the researcher conducting the interviews

Question 72

Jonathon has taken the GRE three times.Every time he takes it he gets a 500 on the math section.This implies that:

A) the GRE is a valid test.
B) the GRE is a reliable test.
C) the GRE is neither a valid nor a reliable test.
D) Jonathon is not motivated to improve his score on the math section.

Question 73

In the Coke/Pepsi Challenge, tasters try to identify regular and diet versions of these popular beverages under "blind" conditions, where they can't see the two products.How many levels are there to the independent variable?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 4
D) 8

Question 74

People debate whether standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, are predictors of college performance.This is essentially a debate about:

A) validity.
B) reliability.
C) confounding variables.
D) hypothesis testing.

Question 75

Prof.Martin was interested in which of two popular statistics textbooks (Statistics: It Will Change Your Life and Statistics: Bigger, Better, Stronger) was better for students.Prof.Martin compared the two texts by assigning one text to a section of statistics taught by Prof.Miller from 10 to 11 a.m.on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the other text to a section of statistics taught by Prof.Mervin from 7 to 10 p.m.on Wednesday evenings.At the end of the term, all students took the same comprehensive test.Students to whom Statistics: Bigger, Better, Stronger was assigned performed better on the test than did students to whom Statistics: It Will Change Your Life was assigned.Therefore, Prof.Martin concluded that the former textbook was the better one.What was the dependent variable in this study?

A) statistics textbooks
B) professors
C) comprehensive test scores
D) students

Question 76

An elementary school teacher is interested in the relation between sugar consumption and activity level in preschool children.The teacher gives 30 preschool children from Preppy Preschool Playland 0 milligrams, 20 milligrams, or 50 milligrams of sucrose (sugar) in a breakfast drink.She then observes their behavior for 30 minutes during their morning outdoor play period and codes their activity level.In this example, the independent variable is:

A) 30 preschool children.
B) the amount of sucrose.
C) all preschool children.
D) activity level.

Question 77

A New York Times article published on April 24, 2007, reported the research of Dr.Vallortigara, a neuroscientist at the University of Trieste, Italy.In this study, Dr.Vallortigara assessed whether a dog's tail wags in a preferred direction in response to positive as opposed to negative stimuli.First Dr.Vallortigara recruited 30 dogs that were family pets.While filming a dog's tail from above he allowed the dog to view (through a slot in its cage) its owner, an unfamiliar human, a cat, and an unfamiliar dominant dog.The study found that dogs' tails wagged to the right for the owner and to the left for the unfamiliar dominant dog.What is the dependent variable in this study?

A) finding that dogs' tails went rightward for the owner and leftward for an unfamiliar dog
B) the 30 dogs that were recruited for the study
C) whether the dog wagged its tail to the right or left
D) the type of visual stimulus provided to the dog

Question 78

A weight-management researcher was interested in whether the size of breakfast could deter overall food consumption throughout the rest of the day.He creates two breakfast groups, a 350-calorie breakfast and a 750-calorie breakfast, assigns six participants to each group, and tracks their total calories eaten in one day.Because of the detailed attention needed to accurately interview participants about their eating, he works with the high-calorie group and has his assistant interview the low-calorie group.What is the confounding variable in this study?

A) total calories consumed
B) the low- and high-calorie breakfasts
C) weight loss experienced in the day
D) the researcher conducting the interviews

Question 79

In 2010, there was an interesting lawsuit about bagels.A company claimed to have created a new way to recreate "Brooklyn style" bagels and then reported that another bagel producer stole its recipe.A researcher wonders if bagel sales might have been affected simply by the story making the national news, so she tracks total bagel sales in dollars for one year before and after the news story hits.What is the dependent variable in this study?

A) the types of bagels sold
B) total sales
C) the news story
D) the lawsuit

Question 80

A weight-management researcher was interested in whether the size of breakfast could deter overall food consumption throughout the rest of the day.He creates two breakfast groups, a 350-calorie breakfast and a 750-calorie breakfast, assigns six participants to each group, and tracks their total calories eaten in one day.Because of the detailed attention needed to accurately interview participants about their eating, he works with the high-calorie group and has his assistant interview the low-calorie group.What is the independent variable in this study?

A) total calories consumed
B) the breakfasts
C) weight loss experienced in the day
D) the researcher conducting the interviews