Elementary Statistical Reasoning—Online

If the question is a fill in the blank, just put in the appropriate word(s) as follows:

Q7 statistics
Q8 dependent variable, etc.
Q1:
The goal(s) of statistical procedures are to
predict or infer what might happen in the future
describe what has happened
neither A nor B is correct
both A and B are correct
Q2:
Parameter is to population as _________ is to sample
descriptive
statistic
margin of error
inferential
Q3:
The concept of generalizing from a few observations to an entire group is central to the area of A. inferential statistics
B. descriptive statistics
Q4:
Statistical questions tend to fall into what two main categories?
samples or populations
relationships or categories
relationships or differences
differences or categories
none of the above
Q5: An example of descriptive statistics would be
based on previous data, prediction of the expected number of fans who will show up to a Tuesday night professional baseball game
calculating the number of people who actually showed up to a professional baseball game

For the following 4 questions (Q6 to Q9) identify the scale of measurement. Use the following system:
nominal
ordinal
C. interval
D. ratio

Q6:
Gender
Q7:
The amount of time it takes you to shower
Q8:
The Fahrenheit temperature scale
Q9: Students voting for their preferred professors by ranking them

For the following 2 questions (Q10 to Q11) identify the following variables as either measurement or categorical.
Use the following system:
measurement
categorical

Q10: Academic letter grade (i.e. A, A-, B+, B, and so forth)

Q11: The number of points earned on a statistics exam

For the following 2 questions (Q12 to Q13) identify the following variables as either discrete or continuous. Use the following system:
discrete
continuous

Q12: The time elapsed since last Christmas

Q13: The number of cats you own

The following 4 questions (Q14 to Q17) are based on the following situation:
A biologist was investigating the number of eggs laid by snakes. She believes there is a difference between Rattlesnakes and King Cobras.

Q14:
What is the dependent variable? __________
Q15:
What is the independent variable? __________
Q16:
Is the dependent variable discrete or continuous? __________
Q17:

What is the scale of measurement of the dependent variable? __________
Q18: A researcher was investigating whether gender, age of the student, and GPA of the
student had a bearing on how much alcohol the average Ohio University student would drink on a typical weekend. How many dependent variables are involved with this research?
one
two
three
four

The following 2 questions (Q19 to Q20) are based on the following situation:
A quality control supervisor measures the quality of steel ingot on a scale from 0 to 10. He designs an experiment in which three different temperatures and five different pressures are utilized, with 20 ingots produced at each Temperature-Pressure combination.

Q19:
What is/are the dependent variable(s)?
quality of steel
temperature
pressure
two of the above are correct
Q20: What is/are the independent variable(s)?
quality of steel
temperature
pressure
two of the above are correct

The following 4 questions (Q21 to Q24) are based on the following article:

PER CAPITA INCOME OF U.S. SPRINKS RELATIVE TO OTHER COUNTRIES (from UTTS, 2005, page 24)
An independent research group, the Institute for Foreign Investment, has noted that the per capita income of Americans has been shrinking relative to some other countries. Using per capita income figures from the World Almanac and exchange rates from last Friday’s financial pages, the organization warned that per capita income for the United States has risen only 10% during the past 5 years, whereas per capita income for certain other countries has risen 50%. The researchers concluded that more foreign investment should be allowed in the United States to bolster the sagging economy.

Use the following system to answer Q21 to Q24:
Component 1
Component 2
G. Component 7

Q21: What is one of the three components that (according to Utts) was BOTH relevant and NOT properly discussed within the article?

Q22: What is the second of the three components that (according to Utts) was BOTH relevant and NOT properly discussed within the article?

Q23: What is the third of the three components that (according to Utts) was BOTH relevant and NOT properly discussed within the article?

Q24: According to Utts, which of the components was considered a ‘major problem’?

For the following 3 questions (Q25 to Q27) identify which one of the seven pitfalls when asking a question applies to each of the following potential survey questions.
Use the following system:
Deliberate bias
Unintentional bias
Desire to please
Asking the uninformed
Unnecessary complexity
Ordering of questions
Confidentiality and anonymity

Q25: Do you agree that this huge win tonight has to be the biggest win of your 25-year collegiate coaching career?

Q26: Do you use drugs?

Q27: Don’t you think that Ohio University students shouldn’t receive consequences from the university for illegal behavior that doesn’t occur on campus?

Q28: “Please list the most important factors associated with academic success here at Ohio
University”. This is an example of
a closed-ended question/statement
an open-ended question/statement
a common pitfall when asking survey questions/statements D. deliberate bias