Deck 1: What Is Statistics

Question 1

The terms descriptive statistics and inferential statistics can be used interchangeably.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Categorizing voters as Democrats,Republicans,and Independents is an example of interval level measurement.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Statistics are used as a basis for making decisions.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

To infer something about a population,we usually take a sample from the population.

Question 5

A population is a collection of all individuals,objects,or measurements of interest.

Question 6

The CIA World Factbook cited these numbers for the United States:
• The birthrate is 13.66 births per 1,000 of the population.
• The average life expectancy for females is 81.17 years.
• Approximately 316.7 million persons reside in the United States.
Each of these numbers is referred to as a statistic.

Question 7

Data measured on a nominal scale can only be classified into categories.

Question 8

The ordinal level of measurement is considered the "lowest" level of measurement.

Question 9

Descriptive statistics are used to find out something about a population based on a sample.

Question 10

A store asks shoppers for their zip codes to identify market areas. Zip codes are an example of ratio data.

Question 11

The average number of passengers on commercial flights between Chicago and New York City is an example of a statistic.

Question 12

Statistics is defined as a body of techniques used to facilitate the collection,organization,presentation,analysis,and interpretation of information for the purpose of making better decisions.

Question 13

An ordinal level of measurement implies some sort of ranking.

Question 14

The Union of Electrical Workers of America with 9,128 members polled 362 members about a new wage package that will be submitted to management. The population is the 362 members.

Question 15

If we select 100 persons from 25,000 registered voters and question them about candidates and issues,the 100 persons are referred to as the population.

Question 16

A sample is a portion or part of the population of interest.

Question 17

A marketing research agency was hired to test a new DVD player. Consumers rated it outstanding,very good,fair,or poor. The level of measurement for this experiment is ordinal.

Question 18

Statistics is used to report the summary results of market surveys.

Question 19

A listing of 100 family annual incomes is an example of statistics.

Question 20

There are four levels of measurement: qualitative,quantitative,discrete,and continuous.

Question 21

What level of measurement is the Centigrade temperature scale?

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

Question 22

The principal difference between the interval and ratio scale is that the ratio scale has a meaningful zero point.

Question 23

Which word is NOT part of the definition of descriptive statistics?

A)Organizing
B)Summarizing
C)Presenting
D)Predicting

Question 24

The incomes of 50 loan applicants are obtained. Which level of measurement is income?

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

Question 25

The branch of mathematics used to facilitate the collection,organization,presentation,analysis,and interpretation of numerical information is referred to as statistics.

Question 26

The main purpose of descriptive statistics is to

A)summarize data in a useful and informative manner.
B)make inferences about a population.
C)determine if the data adequately represent the population.
D)gather or collect data.

Question 27

If Gallup,Harris,and other pollsters asked people to indicate their political party affiliations as Democrat,Republican,or independent,the data gathered would be an example of which scale of measurement?

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

Question 28

A marketing class of 50 students evaluated the instructor using the following scale: superior,good,average,poor,or inferior. The descriptive summary showed the following survey results: 2% superior,8% good,45% average,45% poor,and 0% inferior.

A)The instructor's performance was great!
B)The instructor's performance was inferior.
C)Most students rated the instructor as poor or average.
D)No conclusions can be made.

Question 29

The order in which runners finish in a race would be an example of continuous data.

Question 30

Based on a sample of 3,000 people,the civilian unemployment rate in the United States was 5.5%. 5.5% is referred to as a statistic.

Question 31

The reported unemployment is 5.5% of the population. What measurement scale is used to measure unemployment?

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

Question 32

A bank asks customers to evaluate its drive-through service as good,average,or poor. Which level of measurement is this classification?

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

Question 33

When TV advertisements report that "2 out of 3 dentists surveyed indicated they would recommend Brand X toothpaste to their patients," an informed consumer may question the conclusion because

A)the sample was only 5 dentists.
B)the sample of dentists is clearly explained.
C)the advertisement does not include the total number of dentists surveyed.
D)the conclusion is not illustrated with a graph.

Question 34

The number of children in a family is a discrete variable.

Question 35

Respondents were asked,"Do you now earn more than or less than you did five years ago?" What is this level of measurement?

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

Question 36

A survey includes a question about marital status that has the following responses: single,married,divorced,separated,or widowed. What is the scale of measurement for this question?

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

Question 37

The members of each basketball team wear numbers on their jerseys. What scale of measurement are these numbers considered?

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

Question 38

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act requires employers to classify their employees by gender and national origin. Which level of measurement is this?

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

Question 39

A portion or part of a population is called a

A)random survey.
B)sample.
C)tally.
D)frequency distribution.

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of a continuous variable?

A)Tons of concrete to complete a parking garage
B)Number of students in a statistics class
C)Zip codes of shoppers
D)Rankings of baseball teams in a league

Question 41

The general process of gathering,organizing,summarizing,analyzing,and interpreting data is called

A)statistics.
B)descriptive statistics.
C)inferential statistics.
D)levels of measurement.

Question 42

A university wishes to conduct a student survey. In one of the questions students are asked to mark their gender as either male or female. Gender is an example of the

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

Question 43

The names of the positions in a corporation,such as chief operating officer or controller,are examples of what type of variable?

A)Qualitative
B)Quantitative
C)Interval
D)Ratio

Question 44

Your height and weight are examples of which level of measurement?

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

Question 45

What level of measurement is a person's "favorite sport"?

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

Question 46

When statisticians analyze sample data in order to draw conclusions about the characteristics of a population,this is referred to as

A)descriptive statistics.
B)statistical inference.
C)data analysis.
D)data summarization.

Question 47

A group of women tried five brands of fingernail polish and ranked them according to preference. What level of measurement is this?

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

Question 48

What type of variable is the number of auto accidents reported in a given month?

A)Interval
B)Ratio
C)Continuous
D)Discrete

Question 49

The performance of personal and business investments is measured as a percentage called "return on investment." What type of variable is "return on investment"?

A)Qualitative
B)Continuous
C)Attribute
D)Discrete

Question 50

An example of a qualitative variable is

A)number of children in a family.
B)weight of a person.
C)color of ink in a pen.
D)miles between oil changes.

Question 51

The Nielsen Ratings break down the number of people watching a particular television show by age. What level of measurement is age?

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

Question 52

Which one of the following is NOT an example of discrete data?

A)Number of households watching the Home Shopping Network
B)Number of employees reporting in sick
C)Number of miles between New York City and Chicago
D)Number of members of the Denver Lions Club

Question 53

What type of variable is "pounds of popcorn" served at a movie theater?

A)Interval
B)Ratio
C)Discrete
D)Continuous

Question 54

What type of variable is the number of robberies reported in your city?

A)Attribute
B)Continuous
C)Quantitative
D)Qualitative

Question 55

Income is a variable often used in business and economics. Income is an example of a variable that uses the

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

Question 56

What type of variable is the number of gallons of gasoline pumped by a filling station during a day?

A)Qualitative
B)Continuous
C)Attribute
D)Discrete

Question 57

Shoe style is an example of what level of measurement?

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

Question 58

The length of a bridge,measured in meters,is an example of

A)categorical data.
B)either categorical or quantitative data.
C)measurement data.
D)quantitative data.

Question 59

The final rankings of the top 20 NCAA college basketball teams are an example of which level of measurement?

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