Deck 14: Censuses, Surveys, Polls, and Studies: the Joys of Collecting Data

Question 1

New Voting Machines Get Towns' Vote
Associated Press - Vermont has long been known as being very stubborn and slow to
change. However, in lieu of the voting scandals that erupted after the two most recent
presidential elections, registered voters in Vermont were demanding something new. State
voting officials have installed high-tech electronic voting machines in every region across the
state, and people couldn't be happier. From a list of all individuals filing a Vermont State
Income tax form, a total of 1000 individuals were randomly selected and contacted by state
officials to take part in a survey on the new machines. Of the 845 who responded to the
survey, 636 gave favorable reviews while the remaining 209 were still skeptical. "Times are a
changing, and for some people it may take a little longer than others!" exclaimed one
enthusiastic supporter.
Refer to the situation described above ; how large was the sample?

Answer 1

1000

Question 2

A factory that produces taco-shells makes a total of 20,000 shells in a batch. A batch is successful and
can be shipped to a customer if no more than 2000 of the shells are broken. The quality control agent
for the company randomly picks 400 shells from the batch and finds that 60 are broken. Based on the
technique of single-estimation, is the batch successful? Explain using statistics.

Answer 2

No. During the single-estimation
sampling, it is found that 15% of the
sample is broken, where-as no more
than 10% of a batch can be broken.

Question 3

In order to approximate the average size of a perch in Lake Champlain, a biologist captures and
analyzes 65 perch from 12 different regions of the lake. The researcher finds that on average, a perch
is 23.6 cm in length from head to tail. Is the value of 23.6 cm a statistic or a parameter? Explain.

Answer 3

Statistic, because it was drawn from a
sample of perch in Lake Champlain.

Question 4

Explain the difference between blind and double blind in regards to case-controlled studies.

Question 5

A randomized controlled study is done to determine whether or not taking a specific herbal supplement causes stress levels to decrease. Sixty individuals are broken into two groups of size thirty. The first group receives a 10 mg dose of an herbal supplement each day while the second group receives a 10 mg dose of a sugar pill made to resemble the herbal supplement each day. After two months the stress levels of each group are measured. The 10 mg sugar pill is an example of a what?

Question 6

Every faculty member at Glasgow College is polled and it is found that 75% are in favor of requiring
that all students must study abroad as part of the general education degree requirements. Is the result
of 75% a statistic or a parameter? Explain.

Question 7

Refer to the following article.
Freshmen Not So Fresh When It Comes To Study Habits
Associated Press - A recent study of all US college students has shown that first-year
students spend less time in the library when compared to non-first-year students. This study was conducted by the Student Life Department on the campus of Essex University in Fowler, New Jersey. The university has a total of 8245 undergraduate students of whom 2316 are first year students. The Student Life Department randomly selected 1600 students consisting of 800 first-year students and 800 non-first-year students and sent out email questionnaires to each. Of the 800 students first-year students, 718 replied to the survey, and of the 800 non-first-year students, 659 replied to the survey. On average, the first-year students reported spending 18.2 hours at the library during a typical week of the academic semester whereas
non-first-year students reported spending 21.5 hours, on average.
What is the population of interest in this study?

Question 8

Explain the difference between a census and a survey.

Question 9

A math student is interested in counting the number of jelly beans in a jar. The student opens the jar and removes 45 jelly beans. She places a distinctive mark on each bean and places it back in the jar. After thoroughly shaking the jar, she reaches in and removes 30 jelly beans of which 5 are marked. Using the techniques of capture-mark-recapture, estimate the number of jelly beans in the jar. Give your answer rounded to the nearest whole number.

Question 10

A factory that produces flour tortillas makes a total of 50,000 tortillas in a batch. A batch is successful and can be shipped to a customer if no more than 8000 of the tortillas are torn. The quality control
agent for the company randomly picks 600 tortillas from the batch and finds that 90 are torn. Based on the technique of single-estimation, is the batch successful? Explain using statistics.

Question 11

students spend less time in the library when compared to non-first-year students. This study was conducted by the Student Life Department on the campus of Essex University in Fowler, New Jersey. The university has a total of 8245 undergraduate students of whom 2316 are first year students. The Student Life Department randomly selected 1600 students consisting of 800 first-year students and 800 non-first-year students and sent out email questionnaires to each. Of the 800 students first-year students, 718 replied to the survey, and of the 800 non-first-year students, 659 replied to the survey. On average, the first-year students reported spending 18.2 hours at the library during a typical week of the academic semester whereas
non-first-year students reported spending 21.5 hours, on average.
Refer to the situation described above ; what is the sampling frame for this study?

Question 12

New Voting Machines Get Towns' Vote
Associated Press - Vermont has long been known as being very stubborn and slow to
change. However, in lieu of the voting scandals that erupted after the two most recent
presidential elections, registered voters in Vermont were demanding something new. State
voting officials have installed high-tech electronic voting machines in every region across the
state, and people couldn't be happier. From a list of all individuals filing a Vermont State
Income tax form, a total of 1000 individuals were randomly selected and contacted by state
officials to take part in a survey on the new machines. Of the 845 who responded to the
survey, 636 gave favorable reviews while the remaining 209 were still skeptical. "Times are a
changing, and for some people it may take a little longer than others!" exclaimed one
enthusiastic supporter.
Refer to the situation described above ; what is the sampling frame for this study?

Question 13

A researcher was interested in whether different types of music have different effects on an
individual's appetite. The researcher randomly breaks his psychology class into two groups each
containing 100 students. The first group is told to arrive at the testing facility at 9:00 AM, right after
breakfast has ended. The students in the first group are placed in a room with snacks and instructed sit quietly and listen to rock-n-roll music. The second group is told to arrive at the testing facility at 11:00 AM, right before lunch starts. The students in the second group are placed in a room with snacks and instructed sit quietly and listen to hip-hop music. The researchers measure the amount of food eaten by each group and they find that the group listening to the hip-hop music ate significantly more food than the group listening to rock-n-roll music. What variable is most likely confounding this study's results?

Question 14

students spend less time in the library when compared to non-first-year students. This study was conducted by the Student Life Department on the campus of Essex University in Fowler, New Jersey. The university has a total of 8245 undergraduate students of whom 2316 are first year students. The Student Life Department randomly selected 1600 students consisting of 800 first-year students and 800 non-first-year students and sent out email questionnaires to each. Of the 800 students first-year students, 718 replied to the survey, and of the 800 non-first-year students, 659 replied to the survey. On average, the first-year students reported spending 18.2 hours at the library during a typical week of the academic semester whereas
non-first-year students reported spending 21.5 hours, on average.
Refer to the situation described above ; how large was the sample?

Question 15

A Vermont farmer has four different types of cows on his farm, Ayrshire, Friesian, Galloway, and
Jersey. The farmer wants to determine the average amount of milk produced by her cows, so she
chooses the first ten cows that she sees when she enters her barn and records the amount of milk that each produces in a week. Is this an example of random sampling? Explain.

Question 16

During a police line-up, the arresting police officer places the suspect under custody in a room with
five other individuals. The arresting police officer then enters a room where a witness waits and opens
a one-way window to reveal the lined-up individuals. The arresting officer then asks the witness to
identify which of the individuals he or she recognizes as the perpetrator. This is an example of a blind
situation, because the witness doesn't know which individual is the actual suspect. How could this
situation be made double blind?

Question 17

Forty college students take part in a study on exercise and lung capacity. Twenty of the students are members of the college's swim team who exercise daily while the other twenty members are student volunteers who do not exercise on a regular basis. Two students on the swim team state that they smoke cigarettes on a regular basis while eight of the students who do not exercise state the same. The study finds that the lung capacity of the students who exercise is almost two times greater than the lung capacity of the students who do not exercise. What variable is most likely confounding this study's results?

Question 18

Refer to the following article.
New Voting Machines Get Towns' Vote
Associated Press - Vermont has long been known as being very stubborn and slow to
change. However, in lieu of the voting scandals that erupted after the two most recent
presidential elections, registered voters in Vermont were demanding something new. State
voting officials have installed high-tech electronic voting machines in every region across the
state, and people couldn't be happier. From a list of all individuals filing a Vermont State
Income tax form, a total of 1000 individuals were randomly selected and contacted by state
officials to take part in a survey on the new machines. Of the 845 who responded to the
survey, 636 gave favorable reviews while the remaining 209 were still skeptical. "Times are a
changing, and for some people it may take a little longer than others!" exclaimed one
enthusiastic supporter.
What is the population of interest in this study?

Question 19

A Vermont farmer has four different types of cows on his farm, Aryshire, Friesian, Galloway, and
Jersey. The farmer wants to determine the average amount of milk produced by his cows, so he
randomly selects ten cows from each of the four different types and records their production for one
week. Is this an example of quota-sampling? Explain.

Question 20

A math student is interested in counting the number of jelly beans in a jar. The student opens the jar
and removes 40 jelly beans. She places a distinctive mark on each bean and places it back in the jar.
After thoroughly shaking the jar, she reaches in and removes 65 jelly beans of which 10 are marked.
Using the techniques of capture-recapture, estimate the number of jelly beans in the jar. Give your answer rounded to the nearest whole number.

Question 21

Some of the students at your university who live in the dorm buildings are asked to fill out a room questionnaire before they return their dorm key. After all of the questionnaires have been collected,
The director of Student Life announces that 94% of students who lived on campus are happy with the Current conditions of the dorm rooms. This study is an example of a

A) survey.
B) census.
C) controlled study.
D) clinical study.
E) None of the above.

Question 22

8% of college students smoke cigarettes. You make this conclusion after spending 4 weeks observing students coming and going from the student-recreation center. This value of 8% is called a what?

A) Statistic
B) Parameter
C) Placebo
D) Double Blind
E) None of the above.

Question 23

determine the effects of a new high carbohydrate diet intended to treat Depression of prisoners at maximum security prisons, a researcher conducts a study. Five hundred inmates at the Burlington Maximum Security Penitentiary are selected
To participate in the study. The researcher puts the 400 inmates not in solitary Confinement on the new diet. The 100 inmates in solitary confinement are given their Regular meals. The 400 inmates on the new diet are not aware that they being Studied or that their diet has been modified, but have many fewer reported cases of
Depression after 30 days.
Refer to the situation described above ; how large was the sample?

A) 30
B) 100
C) 400
D) 500
E) None of the above.

Question 24

Associated Press - In order to determine how American undergraduate college
Students feel about eliminating spring break in order to finish spring term a week Early, a survey was conducted. Two hundred undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL) were interviewed. Both of the interviewers hired to conduct The survey were told to interview 25 freshmen, 25 sophomores, 25 juniors, and 25
Seniors. Of the 200 students interviewed, 20% were in favor of the elimination of
Spring break, 70% were opposed, and 10% had no opinion
Refer to the situation describedabove 1; what is the sampling frame for this study?

A) Two hundred undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL)
B) All undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL)
C) American undergraduate college students
D) 25 Freshman, 25 Sophomores, 25 Juniors, and 25 Seniors.
E) None of the above.

Question 25

Associated Press - In order to determine how American undergraduate college
Students feel about eliminating spring break in order to finish spring term a week Early, a survey was conducted. Two hundred undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL) were interviewed. Both of the interviewers hired to conduct The survey were told to interview 25 freshmen, 25 sophomores, 25 juniors, and 25
Seniors. Of the 200 students interviewed, 20% were in favor of the elimination of
Spring break, 70% were opposed, and 10% had no opinion
Refer to the situation described above ; how large was the sample?

A) 25
B) 100
C) 200
D) 70%
E) None of the above.

Question 26

Associated Press - In order to determine how American undergraduate college
Students feel about eliminating spring break in order to finish spring term a week Early, a survey was conducted. Two hundred undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL) were interviewed. Both of the interviewers hired to conduct The survey were told to interview 25 freshmen, 25 sophomores, 25 juniors, and 25
Seniors. Of the 200 students interviewed, 20% were in favor of the elimination of
Spring break, 70% were opposed, and 10% had no opinion
Refer to the situation described above; what type of sampling method was used to gather the sample?

A) Simple Random Sampling
B) Stratified Sampling
C) Biased Sampling
D) Convenience Sampling
E) None of the above.

Question 27

75% of Toyota automobiles come equipped with side curtain airbags. This conclusion was made after observing production data regarding all Toyota automobiles. This value of 75% is called a what?

A) Statistic
B) Parameter
C) Placebo
D) Double Blind
E) None of the above.

Question 28

A consumer reports group is interested in which medicine works the best. The researchers take 100 volunteers who experience regular head-aches and who are currently not taking any medications. The Researcher split them into four groups of 25 individuals. Group 1 receives four 100-mg doses of Excedrin each day, group 2 receive four 100-mg doses of Tylenol each day, group 3 receives four 100-Mg doses of Advil each day, and group 4 receives four 100-mg doses of a sugar pill each day. After One week, the researchers compare the number of reported head-aches. If the individuals in each group Were unaware of which drug they were receiving, but the researchers knew which group were paired With which drug, then this study is said to be

A) a placebo study.
B) a double blind study.
C) a blind study.
D) a census survey.
E) None of the above.

Question 29

A consumer reports group is interested in which medicine works the best. The researchers take 100 volunteers who experience regular head-aches and who are currently not taking any medications. The Researcher split them into four groups of 25 individuals. Group 1 receives four 100-mg doses of Excedrin each day, group 2 receive four 100-mg doses of Tylenol each day, group 3 receives four 100-Mg doses of Advil each day, and group 4 receives four 100-mg doses of a sugar pill each day. After One week, the researchers compare the number of reported head-aches. If both the individuals in each Group and the researchers monitoring them were unaware of who was receiving which drug, then this Study is said to be

A) a placebo study.
B) a double blind study.
C) a blind study.
D) a census survey.
E) None of the above.

Question 30

The local government in your town is interested in building a new youth recreation facility at taxpayers expense. The local government sends out surveys to every town resident who has at least one child Registered in the town school system. Of the 2567 questionnaires sent out, the paper receives 2485 Back, and most are in favor of the new facility. The data drawn from these surveys would most likely Suffer from

A) sample error.
B) confounding variables.
C) selective bias.
D) Non-response bias.
E) None of the above.

Question 31

To perform a statistical study on whether or not local business have a Facebook webpage, your Statistics class uses a local phonebook to contact 200 randomly picked business. You ask each
Business if they have a Facebook page that you could visit. Your class finds that 45% of the sampled Businesses have Facebook pages. In this study, the sampling frame is what?

A) The list of business names in the local phonebook.
B) The 200 randomly picked businesses.
C) The 45% of businesses that had a Facebook webpage.
D) The students and teacher in the Statistics class.
E) None of the above.

Question 32

Every student who lives on campus at your university is required to fill out a room questionnaire before he or she is allowed to return his or her dorm key. After all of the data is collected, the director Of Student Life announces that 94% of students who lived on campus are happy with the current Conditions of the dorm rooms. This study is an example of a

A) controlled study.
B) clinical study.
C) survey.
D) census.
E) None of the above.

Question 33

In order to get the opinions of residents of the village of Essex Junction, Vermont, the Village Office on Voting Standards sends a questionnaire to 1000 individuals randomly chosen from the list of all registered voters in the village. Of the 1000 questionnaires sent, 480 are returned. The sample frame for this survey is
(a) the 1000 individuals chosen randomly from the list of all registered voters.
(b) the list of all registered voters in the village.
(c) all residents of the village.
(d) the Village Office on Voting Standards.
(e) None of the above.

Question 34

Refer to the following article. Spring Is Still The In Thing
Associated Press - In order to determine how American undergraduate college
Students feel about eliminating spring break in order to finish spring term a week Early, a survey was conducted. Two hundred undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL) were interviewed. Both of the interviewers hired to conduct The survey were told to interview 25 freshmen, 25 sophomores, 25 juniors, and 25
Seniors. Of the 200 students interviewed, 20% were in favor of the elimination of
Spring break, 70% were opposed, and 10% had no opinion.What is the population of interest in this study?

A) Two hundred undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL)
B) All undergraduate students from the University of Miami (FL)
C) American undergraduate college students
D) 25 Freshman, 25 Sophomores, 25 Juniors, and 25 Seniors.
E) None of the above.

Question 35

Refer to the following situation. In order to determine the effects of a new high carbohydrate diet intended to treat Depression of prisoners at maximum security prisons, a researcher conducts a study. Five hundred inmates at the Burlington Maximum Security Penitentiary are selected
To participate in the study. The researcher puts the 400 inmates not in solitary Confinement on the new diet. The 100 inmates in solitary confinement are given their Regular meals. The 400 inmates on the new diet are not aware that they being Studied or that their diet has been modified, but have many fewer reported cases of
Depression after 30 days. What is the population of interest in this study?

A) Five hundred inmates at Burlington Maximum Security Penitentiary
B) All inmates at Burlington Maximum Security Penitentiary
C) Maximum security prisoners
D) 400 inmates not in solitary confinement
E) None of the above.

Question 36

A math student is interested in counting the number of jelly beans in a jar. The student opens the jar and removes 32 jelly beans. She places a distinctive mark on each bean and places it back in the jar. After thoroughly shaking the jar, she reaches in and removes 54 jelly beans of which 17 are marked. Using the techniques of capture-mark-recapture, estimate the number of jelly beans in the jar. Give Your answer rounded to the nearest whole number.

A) 102
B) 270
C) 286
D) 29376
E) None of the above.

Question 37

A math student is interested in counting the number of jelly beans in a jar. The student opens the jar and removes 45 jelly beans. She places a distinctive mark on each bean and places it back in the jar. After thoroughly shaking the jar, she reaches in and removes 80 jelly beans of which 12 are marked. Using the techniques of capture-recapture, estimate the number of jelly beans in the jar. Give your Answer rounded to the nearest whole number.

A) 226
B) 300
C) 541
D) 29376
E) None of the above.

Question 38

A factory that produces corn tortillas makes a total of 40,000 tortillas in a batch. A batch is successful and can be shipped to a customer if no more than 5,000 of the tortillas are torn. The quality control
Agent for the company randomly picks 400 tortillas from the batch and finds that X are torn. Based on The technique of single-estimation, what value of X would make the batch not successful?

A) 0
B) 20
C) 40
D) 60
E) None of the above.

Question 39

determine the effects of a new high carbohydrate diet intended to treat Depression of prisoners at maximum security prisons, a researcher conducts a study. Five hundred inmates at the Burlington Maximum Security Penitentiary are selected
To participate in the study. The researcher puts the 400 inmates not in solitary Confinement on the new diet. The 100 inmates in solitary confinement are given their Regular meals. The 400 inmates on the new diet are not aware that they being Studied or that their diet has been modified, but have many fewer reported cases of
Depression after 30 days.
Refer to the situation described above ; what is the control group for this study?

A) Five hundred inmates at Burlington Maximum Security Penitentiary
B) All inmates at Burlington Maximum Security Penitentiary
C) 400 inmates not in solitary confinement
D) 100 inmates in solitary confinement
E) None of the above.

Question 40

A glass of wine a day is often said to be beneficial to the health and well being of women over 55 years old. Suppose that a study is done which has 2000 participants. Half of the participants are women Who are over 55 years old who drink between one and two glasses of expensive wine each day, while The other half of the participants are women who are over 55 years old who do not drink wine. The Researchers find that after two months of monitoring these women, the group that drinks wine on aDaily basis has significantly fewer health problems than the other group. What variable is most likely Confounding the results of this study?

A) age of the participants
B) gender of the participants
C) socio-economic status
D) placebo effect
E) None of the above.