Deck 1: Introduction and Data Collection

Question 1

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How much time do you use the videocassette recorder every week on the average?" are values from a

A) continuous numerical random variable.
B) discrete numerical random variable.
C) categorical random variable.
D) parameter.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A marketing research firm, in conducting a comparative taste test, provided three types of peanut butter to a sample of households randomly selected within the state. Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when people are asked to compare the three types of peanut butter?

A) published sources
B) surveying
C) experimentation
D) observation

Answer 2

C

Question 3

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "What brand of videocassette recorder did you purchase?" result in

A) an interval scale variable.
B) a ratio scale variable.
C) an ordinal scale variable.
D) a nominal scale variable.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is most likely a population as opposed to a sample?

A) the first 5 students completing an assignment
B) every third person to arrive at the bank
C) respondents to a newspaper survey
D) registered voters in a county

Question 5

The process of using sample statistics to draw conclusions about true population parameters is called

A) the scientific method.
B) descriptive statistics.
C) statistical inference.
D) sampling.

Question 6

The chancellor of a major university was concerned about alcohol abuse on her campus and wanted to find out the proportion of students at her university who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week. Her assistant took a random sample of 250 students. The portion of students in the sample who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week is an example of

A) a continuous random variable.
B) a parameter.
C) a discrete random variable.
D) a categorical random variable.

Question 7

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the population of interest is

A) all the customers who have bought a videocassette recorder made by the company and brought it in for repair over the past 12 months.
B) all the customers who have ever bought a videocassette recorder made by the company.
C) all the customers who have bought a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months.
D) all the customers who have used a videocassette recorder over the past 12 months.

Question 8

Which of the following is most likely a parameter as opposed to a statistic?

A) the proportion of trucks stopped yesterday that were cited for bad brakes
B) the average score of the first five students completing an assignment
C) the proportion of females registered to vote in a county
D) the average height of people randomly selected from a database

Question 9

The British Airways Internet site provides a questionnaire instrument that can be answered electronically. Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when people complete the questionnaire?

A) surveying
B) observation
C) experimentation
D) published sources

Question 10

A study is under way in Yosemite National Forest to determine the adult height of American pine trees. Specifically, the study is attempting to determine what factors aid a tree in reaching heights greater than 60 feet tall. It is estimated that the forest contains 25,000 adult American pines. The study involves collecting heights from 250 randomly selected adult American pine trees and analyzing the results. Identify the sample in the study.

A) the 250 randomly selected adult American pine trees
B) all the adult American pine trees taller than 60 feet
C) all American pine trees, of any age, in the forest
D) the 25,000 adult American pine trees in the forest

Question 11

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "What is your annual income rounded to the nearest thousands?" are values from a

A) categorical random variable.
B) parameter.
C) discrete numerical random variable.
D) continuous numerical random variable.

Question 12

The estimation of the population average family expenditure on food based on the sample average expenditure of 1,000 families is an example of

A) a parameter.
B) descriptive statistics.
C) a statistic.
D) inferential statistics.

Question 13

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How many videocassette recorders made by other manufacturers have you used?" result in

A) an ordinal scale variable.
B) a ratio scale variable.
C) a nominal scale variable.
D) an interval scale variable.

Question 14

Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when a person counts the number of cars passing designated locations on the Los Angeles freeway system?

A) observation
B) published sources
C) experimentation
D) surveying

Question 15

Which of the following is a discrete quantitative variable?

A) the volume of water released from a dam
B) the number of employees of an insurance company
C) the distance you drove yesterday.
D) the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Question 16

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How many videocassette recorders made by other manufacturers have you used?" are values from a

A) continuous random variable.
B) discrete random variable.
C) parameter.
D) categorical random variable.

Question 17

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How many people are there in your household?" are values from a

A) continuous numerical random variable.
B) categorical random variable.
C) parameter.
D) discrete numerical random variable.

Question 18

The average number of units earned per semester by college students is suspected to be rising. A researcher at Calendula College wishes to estimate the number of units earned by students during the spring semester at Calendula. To do so, he randomly selects 100 student transcripts and records the number of units each student earned in the spring term. Identify the variable of interest to the researcher.

A) the average indebtedness of Calendula College students enrolled in the spring
B) the age of Calendula College students enrolled in the spring
C) the number of students enrolled at Calendula College during the spring term
D) the number of units earned by Calendula College students during the spring term

Question 19

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "Out of a 100 point score with 100 being the highest and 0 being the lowest, what is your satisfaction level on the videocassette recorder that you purchased?" are values from a

A) continuous numerical random variable.
B) parameter.
C) discrete numerical random variable.
D) categorical random variable.

Question 20

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "What is your annual income rounded to the nearest thousands?" result in

A) a nominal scale variable.
B) an ordinal scale variable.
C) a ratio scale variable.
D) an interval scale variable.

Question 21

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "In which year were you born?" are values from a

A) categorical random variable.
B) discrete numerical random variable.
C) continuous numerical random variable.
D) parameter.

Question 22

Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How much time do you use the videocassette recorder every week on the average?" result in

A) an interval scale variable.
B) a nominal scale variable.
C) a ratio scale variable.
D) an ordinal scale variable.

Question 23

A summary measure that is computed to describe a characteristic of an entire population is called

A) a statistic.
B) a parameter.
C) the scientific method.
D) a census.

Question 24

Researchers are concerned that the weight of the average American school child is increasing implying, among other things, that children's clothing should be manufactured and marketed in larger sizes. If X is the weight of school children sampled in a nationwide study, then X is an example of

A) a discrete random variable.
B) a parameter.
C) a continuous random variable.
D) a categorical random variable.

Question 25

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "In which year were you born?" result in

A) a nominal scale variable.
B) an interval scale variable.
C) an ordinal scale variable.
D) a ratio scale variable.

Question 26

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How many people are there in your household?" result in

A) an ordinal scale variable.
B) an interval scale variable.
C) a nominal scale variable.
D) a ratio scale variable.

Question 27

A study attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend more tax dollars on protecting the beaches from environmental disasters. Twenty-five hundred Florida residents were surveyed. What type of data collection procedure was most likely used to collect the data for this study?

A) a random sample
B) a designed experiment
C) observational data
D) a published source

Question 28

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How would you rate the quality of your purchase experience with 1 = excellent, 2 = good, 3 = decent, 4 = poor, 5 = terrible?" result in

A) an ordinal scale variable.
B) a ratio scale variable.
C) a nominal scale variable.
D) an interval scale variable.

Question 29

Most analysts focus on the cost of tuition as the way to measure the cost of a college education. But incidentals, such as textbook costs, are rarely considered. A researcher at Drummand University wishes to estimate the textbook costs of first-year students at Drummand. To do so, she monitored the textbook cost of 250 first-year students and found that their average textbook cost was $300 per semester. Identify the variable of interest to the researcher.

A) the age of Drummand University students
B) the cost of incidental expenses of Drummand University students
C) the year in school of Drummand University students
D) the textbook cost of first-year Drummand University students

Question 30

The universe or "totality of items or things" under consideration is called

A) a parameter.
B) a sample.
C) a statistic.
D) a population.

Question 31

The portion of the universe that has been selected for analysis is called

A) a statistic.
B) a frame.
C) a parameter.
D) a sample.

Question 32

The personnel director at a large company studied the eating habits of the company's employees. The director noted whether employees brought their own lunches to work, ate at the company cafeteria, or went out to lunch. The goal of the study was to improve the food service at the company cafeteria. This type of data collection would best be considered as

A) a quota sample.
B) a random sample.
C) a designed experiment.
D) an observational study.

Question 33

The chancellor of a major university was concerned about alcohol abuse on her campus and wanted to find out the proportion of students at her university who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week. Her assistant took a random sample of 250 students and computed the portion of students in the sample who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam. The portion of all students at her university who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week is an example of

A) a parameter.
B) a discrete random variable.
C) a categorical random variable.
D) a continuous random variable.

Question 34

Jared was working on a project to look at global warming and accessed an Internet site where he captured average global surface temperatures from 1866. Which of the four methods of data collection was he using?

A) experimentation
B) published sources
C) surveying
D) observation

Question 35

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "How would you rate the quality of your purchase experience with 1 = excellent, 2 = good, 3 = decent, 4 = poor, 5 = terrible?" are values from a

A) continuous numerical random variable.
B) categorical random variable.
C) parameter.
D) discrete numerical random variable.

Question 36

Tim was planning for a meeting with his boss to discuss a raise in his annual salary. In preparation, he wanted to use the Consumer Price Index to determine the percentage increase in his real (inflation-adjusted) salary over the last three years. Which of the 4 methods of data collection was involved when he used the Consumer Price Index?

A) experimentation
B) surveying
C) observation
D) published sources

Question 37

The collection and summarization of the socioeconomic and physical characteristics of the employees of a particular firm is an example of

A) a statistic.
B) a parameter.
C) descriptive statistics.
D) inferential statistics.

Question 38

A study is under way in Yosemite National Forest to determine the adult height of American pine trees. Specifically, the study is attempting to determine what factors aid a tree in reaching heights greater than 60 feet tall. It is estimated that the forest contains 25,000 adult American pines. The study involves collecting heights from 250 randomly selected adult American pine trees and analyzing the results. Identify the variable of interest in the study.

A) the species of trees in Yosemite National Forest
B) the age of an American pine tree in Yosemite National Forest
C) the number of American pine trees in Yosemite National Forest
D) the height of an American pine tree in Yosemite National Forest

Question 39

Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "Are you happy, indifferent, or unhappy with the performance per dollar spent on the videocassette recorder?" are values from a

A) continuous numerical random variable.
B) discrete numerical random variable.
C) parameter.
D) categorical random variable.

Question 40

To monitor campus security, the campus police office is taking a survey of the number of students in a parking lot each 30 minutes of a 24-hour period with the goal of determining when patrols of the lot would serve the most students. If X is the number of students in the lot each period of time, then X is an example of

A) a categorical random variable.
B) a statistic.
C) a discrete random variable.
D) a continuous random variable.

Question 41

Which of the following is not an element of descriptive statistical problems?

A) identification of patterns in the data
B) an inference made about the population based on the sample
C) tables, graphs, or numerical summary tools
D) the population or sample of interest

Question 42

A statistics student found a reference in the campus library that contained the median family incomes for all 50 states. She would report her data as being collected using

A) a designed experiment.
B) a random sample.
C) observational data.
D) a published source.

Question 43

Most analysts focus on the cost of tuition as the way to measure the cost of a college education. But incidentals, such as textbook costs, are rarely considered. A researcher at Drummand University wishes to estimate the textbook costs of first-year students at Drummand. To do so, she monitored the textbook cost of 250 first-year students and found that their average textbook cost was $300 per semester. Identify the population of interest to the researcher.

A) all Drummand University students
B) all college students
C) the 250 students that were monitored
D) all first-year Drummand University students

Question 44

A study is under way in Yosemite National Forest to determine the adult height of American pine trees. Specifically, the study is attempting to determine what factors aid a tree in reaching heights greater than 60 feet tall. It is estimated that the forest contains 25,000 adult American pines. The study involves collecting heights from 250 randomly selected adult American pine trees and analyzing the results. Identify the population from which the study was sampled.

A) all American pine trees, of any age, in the forest
B) the 250 randomly selected adult American pine trees
C) all the adult American pine trees taller than 60 feet
D) the 25,000 adult American pine trees in the forest

Question 45

A summary measure that is computed to describe a characteristic from only a sample of the population is called

A) a parameter.
B) a statistic.
C) the scientific method.
D) a census.

Question 46

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, which of the following will be a good frame for drawing a sample?

A) the list of customers who returned the registration card
B) telephone directory
C) voting registry
D) a list of potential customers purchased from a database marketing company

Question 47

In purchasing an automobile, there are a number of variables to consider. The color of the car is an example of a(n)______ variable.

Question 48

Those methods involving the collection, presentation, and characterization of a set of data in order to properly describe the various features of that set of data are called

A) descriptive statistics.
B) sampling.
C) statistical inference.
D) the scientific method.

Question 49

Most analysts focus on the cost of tuition as the way to measure the cost of a college education. But incidentals, such as textbook costs, are rarely considered. A researcher at Drummand University wishes to estimate the textbook costs of first-year students at Drummand. To do so, she monitored the textbook cost of 250 first-year students and found that their average textbook cost was $300 per semester. Identify the sample in the study.

A) all first-year Drummand University students
B) all college students
C) all Drummand University students
D) the 250 students that were monitored

Question 50

A personal computer user survey was conducted. Primary word processing package used is an example of a(n)_______ variable.

Question 51

Which of the following is a continuous quantitative variable?

A) the color of a student's eyes
B) the number of gallons of milk sold at the local grocery store yesterday
C) the number of employees of an insurance company
D) the amount of milk produced by a cow in one 24-hour period

Question 52

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question " Out of a 100 point score with 100 being the highest and 0 being the lowest, what is your satisfaction level on the videocassette recorder that you purchased?" result in

A) a nominal scale variable.
B) an interval scale variable.
C) a ratio scale variable.
D) an ordinal scale variable.

Question 53

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "What brand of videocassette recorder did you purchase?" are values from a

A) parameter.
B) discrete numerical random variable.
C) categorical random variable.
D) continuous numerical random variable.

Question 54

Researchers suspect that the average number of units earned per semester by college students is rising. A researcher at Calendula College wishes to estimate the number of units earned by students during the spring semester at Calendula. To do so, he randomly selects 100 student transcripts and records the number of units each student earned in the spring term. He found that the average number of semester units completed was 12.96 units per student. Identify the population of interest to the researcher.

A) all college students enrolled in the spring
B) all college students
C) all Calendula College students
D) all Calendula College students enrolled in the spring

Question 55

The chancellor of a major university was concerned about alcohol abuse on her campus and wanted to find out the proportion of students at her university who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week. Her assistant took a random sample of 250 students. The portion of students in the sample who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week is an example of

A) a parameter.
B) a statistic
C) a categorical random variable.
D) a discrete random variable.

Question 56

The Commissioner of Health in New York State wanted to study malpractice litigation in New York. A sample of 31 thousand medical records was drawn from a population of 2.7 million patients who were discharged during the year 1997. The proportion of malpractice claims filed from the sample of 31 thousand patients is a(n) _____ .

Question 57

The classification of student major (accounting, economics, management, marketing, other) is an example of

A) a parameter.
B) a continuous random variable.
C) a categorical random variable.
D) a discrete random variable.

Question 58

The chancellor of a major university was concerned about alcohol abuse on her campus and wanted to find out the proportion of students at her university who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week. Her assistant took a random sample of 250 students. The total number of students in the sample who visited campus bars on the weekend before the final exam week is an example of

A) a discrete random variable.
B) a parameter.
C) a continuous random variable.
D) a categorical random variable.

Question 59

TABLE 1-1
The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a videocassette recorder made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.
Referring to Table 1-1, the possible responses to the question "Are you happy, indifferent, or unhappy with the performance per dollar spent on the videocassette recorder?" result in

A) an interval scale variable.
B) a nominal scale variable.
C) a ratio scale variable.
D) an ordinal scale variable.

Question 60

The classification of student class designation (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) is an example of

A) a categorical random variable.
B) a continuous random variable.
C) a discrete random variable.
D) a parameter.

Question 61

The Dean of Students conducted a survey on campus. Major area of study is an example of a(n) ________ variable.

Question 62

An insurance company evaluates many numerical variables about a person before deciding on an appropriate rate for automobile insurance. The number of claims a person has made in the last 3 years is an example of a(n)______ numerical variable.

Question 63

The Quality Assurance Department of a large urban hospital is attempting to monitor and evaluate patient satisfaction with hospital services. Prior to discharge, a random sample of patients is asked to fill out a questionnaire to rate such services as medical care, nursing, therapy, laboratory, food, and cleaning. The Quality Assurance Department prepares weekly reports that are presented at the Board of Directors meetings and extraordinary/atypical ratings are easy to flag. True population characteristics estimated from the sample results each week are called__________ .

Question 64

The Human Resources Director of a large corporation wishes to develop an employee benefits package and decides to select 500 employees from a list of all (N = 40,000) workers in order to study their preferences for the various components of a potential package. In this study, methods involving the collection, presentation, and characterization of the data are called_________ .

Question 65

The Commissioner of Health in New York State wanted to study malpractice litigation in New York. A sample of 31 thousand medical records was drawn from a population of 2.7 million patients who were discharged during the year 1997. The collection, presentation, and characterization of the data from patient medical records are examples of ________.

Question 66

The Dean of Students conducted a survey on campus. Number of clubs, groups, teams, and organizations affiliated with on campus is an example of a(n)_______ numerical variable.

Question 67

The Commissioner of Health in New York State wanted to study malpractice litigation in New York. A sample of 31 thousand medical records was drawn from a population of 2.7 million patients who were discharged during the year 1997. Using the information obtained from the sample to predict population characteristics with respect to malpractice litigation is an example of _______.

Question 68

Most colleges admit students based on their achievements in a number of different areas. Whether a student has taken any advanced placement courses is an example of a(n)__________
variable.

Question 69

An insurance company evaluates many numerical variables about a person before deciding on an appropriate rate for automobile insurance. How long a person has been a licensed driver is an example of a(n)______ numerical variable.

Question 70

The Dean of Students conducted a survey on campus. Number of credits currently enrolled for is an example of a(n)_______ numerical variable.

Question 71

The Dean of Students conducted a survey on campus. Class designation (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior) is an example of a(n) ________variable.

Question 72

A personal computer user survey was conducted. The number of computer magazine subscriptions is an example of a(n) ________ numerical variable.

Question 73

The Human Resources Director of a large corporation wishes to develop an employee benefits package and decides to select 500 employees from a list of all (N = 40,000) workers in order to study their preferences for the various components of a potential package. The Director will use the data from the sample to compute________ .

Question 74

The Human Resources Director of a large corporation wishes to develop an employee benefits package and decides to select 500 employees from a list of all (N = 40,000) workers in order to study their preferences for the various components of a potential package. In this study, methods that result in decisions concerning population characteristics based only on the sample results are called _________.

Question 75

Mediterranean fruit flies were discovered in California a few years ago and badly damaged the oranges grown in that state. Suppose the manager of a large farm wanted to study the impact of the fruit flies on the orange crops on a daily basis over a 6-week period. On each day a random sample of orange trees were selected from within a random sample of acres. The daily average number of damaged oranges per tree and the proportion of trees having damaged oranges were calculated. In this study, the presentation and characterization of the two main measures calculated each day (i.e., average number of damaged oranges per tree and proportion of trees having damaged oranges) is called_______

Question 76

An insurance company evaluates many numerical variables about a person before deciding on an appropriate rate for automobile insurance. A person's age is an example of a(n)______ numerical variable.

Question 77

In purchasing an automobile, there are a number of variables to consider. The classification of the car as a subcompact, compact, standard, or luxury size is an example of a(n)_______variable.

Question 78

Most colleges admit students based on their achievements in a number of different areas. The grade obtained in senior level English. (A, B, C, D, or
F) is an example of a(n) ______variable.

Question 79

The Dean of Students conducted a survey on campus. Grade point average (GPA) is an example of a(n)____ numerical variable.

Question 80

An insurance company evaluates many numerical variables about a person before deciding on an appropriate rate for automobile insurance. The distance a person drives in a year is an example of a(n)_______ variable.