Deck 1: What Is Statistics

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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

Answer 2

False

Question 3

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

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The CIA World Factbook cited these numbers for the United States:
• The birthrate is 14.14 births per 1,000 population.
• The average life expectancy for females is 80 years.
• Approximately 290 million persons reside in the United States.
Each of these numbers is referred to as a statistic.

Question 5

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

Question 6

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 7

Statistics are used as a basis for making decisions.

Question 8

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

Question 9

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

Question 10

An ordinal level of measurement implies some sort of ranking.

Question 11

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

Question 12

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

Question 13

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

Question 14

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

Question 15

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 16

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

Question 17

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 18

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

Question 19

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

Question 20

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 21

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 22

A marketing class of 50 students evaluated the instructor using the following scale: superior, good, average, poor, and 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 23

A survey includes a question regarding 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 24

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 25

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 26

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

Question 27

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 28

If Gallup, Harris, and other pollsters asked people to indicate their political party affiliation 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 29

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

Question 30

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

A)Nominal
B)Ordinal
C)Interval or ratio
D)Descriptive

Question 31

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

Question 32

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

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

Question 33

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 represents the population.
D)Gather or collect data.

Question 34

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

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

Question 35

What level of measurement is the Centigrade temperature scale?

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

Question 36

A portion or part of a population is called a

A)Random survey
B)Sample
C)Tally
D)Frequency distribution

Question 37

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

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

Question 38

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

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

Question 39

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 40

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

Question 41

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 42

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 43

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

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

Question 44

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

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

Question 45

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 46

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

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

Question 47

The monthly consumer price index is called a(n) ______________.

Question 48

Ranked data is an example of a(n) ____________ level of measurement.

Question 49

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

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

Question 50

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 51

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

Question 52

A variable such as eye color is also referred to as a(n) _____________ variable.

Question 53

A scale used to measure a quantitative variable is either _______________ or ______________.

Question 54

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

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

Question 55

Shoe style is an example of what level of measurement?

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

Question 56

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 57

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

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

Question 58

The prime rate of interest is an example of a(n) ______________ level of measurement.

Question 59

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 60

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 61

Describe the difference between a population and a sample.

Question 62

The "highest" level of measurement is ______________.

Question 63

The branch of statistics that uses sample information to make conclusions about a population is called _________________ statistics.

Question 64

The major advantage of ordinal data over nominal data is that it allows for _________________.

Question 65

The number of workers calling in sick during any particular week is considered to be _______________ data.

Question 66

A company was studying the demographics of their customers. As part of the study, they collected the following variables: gender, marital status, credit rating (low, medium, high), annual income, and age. Label each variable as qualitative or quantitative, discrete or continuous, and nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio.

Question 67

The lowest level of measurement that has some sort of ranking is __________.

Question 68

The science of collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting data is called __________________.

Question 69

Among the many classes held at your college or university, your statistics class has been selected for a study. This one class is referred to as a ____________.

Question 70

The "lowest" level of measurement is ___________.

Question 71

Categorizing students as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors is an example of the ______________ level of measurement.

Question 72

A New York newspaper reported the average gasoline prices in four metropolitan areas and used a bar chart to illustrate the differences. What type of statistics was shown? What activities did the newspaper use to make the report?

Question 73

The branch of statistics that collects, analyzes, and presents data is called _____________ statistics.

Question 74

If we test a small number of light bulbs from a large group, the small group is called a ____________.

Question 75

A variable that can have any value within a specific range is called _______________.

Question 76

The principal difference between the interval and ratio scale of measurement is that the ratio scale has a __________________.

Question 77

When we make an estimate or prediction, we use _______________.

Question 78

The branch of statistics that does not involve generalizations is called ______________.

Question 79

The collection of all possible objects of interest is referred to as the ____________.