Biased (Yes) or Unbiased (No)?

1) Eight citizens are asked their opinions about what trash should be collected.

2) A phone-in survey is taken by a radio station to see how many listeners enjoy jazz
in the morning.

3) Every fortieth student who enters the school is asked to name their favorite sport.

4) Ten students are randomly selected to participate in a survey about home

computer usage.

5) Each math class randomly selects two students do represent their class on an
advisory panel being assembled by the principal.

6) A shirt manufacturer wants to check quality control of their products. The plant
manager decides to check every 5th shirt inspected by Inspector D. There are 15
inspectors in the plant.

7) A survey is conducted at the local shopping mall about household products used
on a daily basis.

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 24

Biased (Yes) or Unbiased (No)? Answer Key

1) Eight citizens are asked their opinions about what trash should be collected.

Yes, Biased, sample size too small

2) A phone-in survey is taken by a radio station to see how many listeners enjoy jazz
in the morning.

Yes, Biased, response are only from listeners who decide to call in
3) Every fortieth student who enters the school is asked to name their favorite sport.

No, Unbiased, systematic

4) Ten students are randomly selected to participate in a survey about home
computer usage.

No, Unbiased, random

5) Each math class randomly selects two students do represent their class on an
advisory panel being assembled by the principal.

No, Unbiased, random

6) A shirt manufacturer wants to check quality control of their products. The plant
manager decides to check every 5th shirt inspected by Inspector D. There are 15
inspectors in the plant.

Yes, Biased, only Inspector D’s shirts are being checked

7) A survey is conducted at the local shopping mall about household products used
on a daily basis.

Yes, Biased, only customers at the shopping mall have an

opportunity to be surveyed

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 25

Representative Sample Scenarios

Are these samples representative?

1. To determine the percentage of teenage girls with long hair, Teen magazine
published a mail-in questionnaire. Of the 500 respondents, 85% had hair shoulder
length or longer (USA Today, July 1, 1985).

2. A college psychology professor needs subjects for a research project to determine

which colors average American adults find restful. From the list of all 743
students taking introductory psychology at her school, she selects 25 students
using a random number table.

3. To evaluate the reliability of cars owned by its subscribers, Consumer Reports

magazine publishes a yearly list of automobiles and their frequency-of-repair
records. The magazine collects the information by mailing a questionnaire to
subscribers and tabulating the results from those who return it.

4. Oranges from an orchard need to be samples to see if they are sweet enough for
juice. The orchard has 25,000 orange trees. Each tree has at least 500 oranges.
Claire decides to randomly choose 800 trees and test one orange from each tree.

5. For a survey of student opinions about school athletic programs, a member of the
school board obtains a sample of students by listing all students in the school and
using a random number table to select 30 of them. Six of the students say that
they don’t have time to participate, and they are eliminated from the sample.

6. There are fifteen boys and fifteen girls in a math class. Each student’s
name is placed in a hat and the names are thoroughly mixed. Seven names are
drawn and all names correspond to the boys in the class.

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 26

Representative Sample Scenarios Answer Key

1. To determine the percentage of teenage girls with long hair, Teen magazine
published a mail-in questionnaire. Of the 500 respondents, 85% had hair shoulder
length or longer (USA Today, July 1, 1985).

No (only teenagers who read Teen and choose to write would represent al
teens)

2. A college psychology professor needs subjects for a research project to determine

which colors average American adults find restful. From the list of all 743
students taking introductory psychology at her school, she selects 25 students
using a random number table.

No (only includes students which would not include many “average

American adults”; students are often young so many ages would not be
represented)

3. To evaluate the reliability of cars owned by its subscribers, Consumer Reports

magazine publishes a yearly list of automobiles and their frequency-of-repair
records. The magazine collects the information by mailing a questionnaire to
subscribers and tabulating the results from those who return it.

No (men would probably be better represented than women; only people

who read Consumer Reports and choose to respond would be represented)

4. Oranges from an orchard need to be samples to see if they are sweet enough for
juice. The orchard has 25,000 orange trees. Each tree has at least 500 oranges.
Claire decides to randomly choose 800 trees and test one orange from each tree.

yes

5. For a survey of student opinions about school athletic programs, a member of the
school board obtains a sample of students by listing all students in the school and
using a random number table to select 30 of them. Six of the students say that
they don’t have time to participate, and they are eliminated from the sample.

No (1/6 of the chosen sample was eliminated which is not representative to

the entire school)

6. There are fifteen boys and fifteen girls in a math class. Each student’s
name is placed in a hat and the names are thoroughly mixed. Seven names are
drawn and all names correspond to the boys in the class.

No (only boys are represented)

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 27

Simple random sample:
1. Each member of the population is equally likely to be chosen and
2. The members of the sample are chosen independently of one another

Does this sampling method produce a simple random sample from a class of 30 students?

1. A teacher selects the first five students that enter the room.

2. A teacher wants to select ten students from the class. She lists students in
alphabetical order, then selects every third student.

3. A teacher wants to select five students from the class. Suppose that the classroom
has six rows of chairs with five chairs in each row. The teacher assigns the rows
the digits 1 through 6. She throws a die and selects all the students in the row
corresponding to the number on the die in the sample.

4. Assign each student a number from 1 to 30. The girls get the numbers 1 to 15 and
the boys the numbers from 16 to 30. Use a random number table to select six
two-digit numbers between 1 and 30, and select the corresponding students in the
sample.

5. There are fifteen boys and fifteen girls in a math class. Each student’s name is
placed in a hat and the names are thoroughly mixed. Seven names are drawn and
all names correspond to the boys in the class.

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 28

Simple Random Sample Answer Key

1. A teacher selects the first five students that enter the room.

No (each student does not have an equally likely chance of being chosen)

2. A teacher wants to select ten students from the class. She lists students in
alphabetical order, then selects every third student.

No (every student does not have a chance to be chosen)

3. A teacher wants to select five students from the class. Suppose that the classroom
has six rows of chairs with five chairs in each row. The teacher assigns the rows
the digits 1 through 6. She throws a die and selects all the students in the row
corresponding to the number on the die in the sample.

No (each student does not have an equally likely chance to be chosen and the
students picked on dependent on each other)

4. Assign each student a number from 1 to 30. The girls get the numbers 1 to 15 and
the boys the numbers from 16 to 30. Use a random number table to select six
two-digit numbers between 1 and 30, and select the corresponding students in the
sample.

yes

5. There are fifteen boys and fifteen girls in a math class. Each student’s name is
placed in a hat and the names are thoroughly mixed. Seven names are drawn and
all names correspond to the boys in the class.

yes

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 29

More Practice with Samples Name: _______________________

I. Read each scenario and determine if each sample is biased or unbiased. If the sample
is biased, explain why it is biased.

1) A company is interested in opening a gym on its premises for all employees.

They ask all 3rd shift workers (11 pm – 7 am) if they would use the gym, and what
hours they would like the gym to be open.

2) Republicans send out a survey to 500 registered republicans in 3 states to

determine the issues that should be focused on for the next election..

3) Each week a teacher randomly selects one student from each class to review
homework answers with the rest of the class.

II. Read each scenario and determine if each sample is a representative sample. If the
sample is not representative, explain why it is not representative.

4) To obtain a sample of households, a television rating service dials numbers taken

at random from telephone directories.

5) In 1984, Ann Landers conducted a poll on the marital happiness of women by

asking women to write to her.

6) A clothing company wants to know what color leggings teenagers will buy. The
company decides to spend one day in the junior departments of five randomly
selected stores in randomly selected cities and ask every teenager who enters what
color leggings they buy.

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 30

III. Read each scenario and determine if each sample is a simple random sample. If the
sample is not a simple random sample, explain why it is not a simple random sample.

7) A teacher selects those students whose phone numbers end with the digit 4.

8) There are fifteen boys and fifteen girls in a history class. A teacher selects a
sample of six students by using a random number table to choose 1 of the 15
boys, then 1 of the 15 girls, then a boy, then a girl, and so on until she has chosen
6 students.

9) A teacher wants to select six students from the class. She writes each student’s
name on an index card, places the index cards in a box, mixes the cards, then
chooses six cards from the box.

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 31

More Practice with Samples Name: _Answer Key____________

I. Read each scenario and determine if each sample is biased or unbiased. If the sample
is biased, explain why it is biased.

1) A company is interested in opening a gym on its premises for all employees.

They ask all 3rd shift workers (11 pm – 7 am) if they would use the gym, and what
hours they would like the gym to be open.

Biased, convenient, not all workers have a chance to give their input.

2) Republicans send out a survey to 500 registered republicans in 3 states to

determine the issues that should be focused on for the next election.

Biased, voluntary. There is not a sample from every state.

3) Each week a teacher randomly selects one student from each class to review
homework answers with the rest of the class.

Unbiased, simple random sample.

II. Read each scenario and determine if each sample is a representative sample. If the
sample is not representative, explain why it is not representative.

4) To obtain a sample of households, a television rating service dials numbers taken

at random from telephone directories.

No (some households may have unlisted telephone numbers)

5) In 1984, Ann Landers conducted a poll on the marital happiness of women by

asking women to write to her.

No (only women who read Ann Landers and choose to write would represent
all women)

6) A clothing company wants to know what color leggings teenagers will buy. The
company decides to spend one day in the junior departments of five randomly
selected stores in randomly selected cities and ask every teenager who enters what
color leggings they buy.

Yes

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 32

III. Read each scenario and determine if each sample is a simple random sample. If the
sample is not a simple random sample, explain why it is not a simple random sample.

7) A teacher selects those students whose phone numbers end with the digit 4.

No (every student doe not have a chance to be chosen)

8) There are fifteen boys and fifteen girls in a history class. A teacher selects a
sample of six students by using a random number table to choose 1 of the 15
boys, then 1 of the 15 girls, then a boy, then a girl, and so on until she has chosen
6 students.

No (one event depends on the previous event)

9) A teacher wants to select six students from the class. She writes each student’s
name on an index card, places the index cards in a box, mixes the cards, then
chooses six cards from the box.

Yes

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 33

Biased/Unbiased Extension Activity Name: ____________________

For each scenario below:

• Determine the sample and population you would need to survey to obtain a
representative sample.
• Determine how you would survey the population to obtain a simple random
sample.
• Design two survey questions which are free of bias.

1) Suppose you want to know if a manufacturing plant is discharging contaminants

into the Chesapeake Bay.

2) Suppose you want to know the issues most important to teachers at your school.

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 34

Warm-Up #2

1. Find the mean, median, and mode for the data set

5, 12, 7, 14, 8, 9, 5

2. A survey of 20 students was conducted to find out how

many books they had read during the past four months.
The results from those 20 students are shown below.
Find the mean, median and mode for this data.

3, 4, 6, 1, 2, 2, 5, 6, 1, 3, 4, 3, 5, 11, 12, 10, 2, 9, 6, 7

3. Movies R Us keeps a record of how many movies are

rented on each day of the week.

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

420 260 220 430 700 660 410
Find the mean, median, and mode for this data (rounded to the nearest whole number).

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 35

Warm-Up #2 Answer Key

1. Find the mean, median, and mode for the data set

5, 12, 7, 14, 8, 9, 5

Mean = 8.6, Median = 8, Mode = 5

2. A survey of 20 students was conducted to find out how

many books they had read during the past four months.
The results from those 20 students are shown below.
Find the mean, median and mode for this data.

3, 4, 6, 1, 2, 2, 5, 6, 1, 3, 4, 3, 5, 11, 12, 10, 2, 9, 6, 7

Mean = 5.1, Median = 4.5, Mode = 2, 3, 6

(none because more than 2 values)

3. Movies R Us keeps a record of how many movies are

rented on each day of the week.

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

420 260 220 430 700 660 410
Find the mean, median, and mode for this data (rounded to the nearest whole number).

Mean = 443, Median = 420, Mode = none

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 36

Misleading Advertising Name: _______________________

Advertisers, who want you to buy their products, present information about their products
in ways that make their product more appealing than it might actually be. They are very
persuasive with their facts, manipulating data reports to their advantage. They use the
measures of central tendency that best represent their product, rather than the one that
may more accurately represent their product.

Nutrition is currently an important trend. Eating right makes you feel good, and it
reduces your risk for some diseases. Americans are trying to eat healthier. To eat
healthier, we avoid fats, added sugars, and salt. We also try to limit the number of
calories we consume.

Sunshine’s Brilliant Bistro is opening in one week. The owner, Mr. Sunshine, wants to
advertise so that he has a successful opening week. Mr. Sunshine thinks his restaurant
will be successful if he advertises that his food is healthy and low in cost.

The table below displays the calories, fat, and cost of the entrees.

Entrees Calories Total Fat (g) Cost

Hamburger 375 10 $7.95
Cheeseburger 475 14 $8.95
Grilled Chicken Sandwich 450 13 $8.95
Asian Salad with Vinegrette Dressing 130 6 $8.00
Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken 380 24 $8.95
Vegetarian Delight 300 3 $6.50
Meatball Marinara Sub 610 28 $6.95
Grilled Tuna Sandwich 450 10 $12.95

1. Calculate the mean, median, and mode of the calories and total fat for the entrees.

Total Fat
Calories (g)

Mean __________ __________

Median __________ __________

Mode __________ __________

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 37

 2. Based on calories, which measure of central tendency should Mr. Sunshine use to
demonstrate that his restaurant is a healthy choice? Justify your answer.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3. Based on total fat, which measure of central tendency should Mr. Sunshine use to
demonstrate that his restaurant is a healthy choice? Justify your answer.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Mr. Sunshine’s advertising group created the ad below to demonstrate that the restaurant
is low in cost.

GRAND OPENING: June 21

A healthful bistro at a reasonable cost.

Eat for a bargain.
Entrees average less than $8.50 per person!

4. Is this ad correct?

5. Which measure of central tendency allows the advertising group to honestly use
this ad? Justify your answer.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 38

Misleading Advertising Name: _Answer Key____________

Advertisers, who want you to buy their products, present information about their products
in ways that make their product more appealing than it might actually be. They are very
persuasive with their facts, manipulating data reports to their advantage. They use the
measures of central tendency that best represent their product, rather than the one that
may more accurately represent their product.

Nutrition is currently an important trend. Eating right makes you feel good, and it
reduces your risk for some diseases. Americans are trying to eat healthier. To eat
healthier, we avoid fats, added sugars, and salt. We also try to limit the number of
calories we consume.

Sunshine’s Brilliant Bistro is opening in one week. The owner, Mr. Sunshine, wants to
advertise so that he has a successful opening week. Mr. Sunshine thinks his restaurant
will be successful if he advertises that his food is healthy and low in cost.

The table below displays the calories, fat, and cost of the entrees.

Entrees Calories Total Fat (g) Cost

Hamburger 375 10 $7.95
Cheeseburger 475 14 $8.95
Grilled Chicken Sandwich 450 13 $8.95
Asian Salad with Vinegrette Dressing 130 6 $8.00
Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken 380 24 $8.95
Vegetarian Delight 300 3 $6.50
Meatball Marinara Sub 610 28 $6.95
Grilled Tuna Sandwich 450 10 $12.95

1. Calculate the mean, median, and mode of the calories and total fat for the entrees.

Calories Total Fat (g)

Mean ___396.25___ ___13.5___

Median ____415___ ____11.5____

Mode ____450___ _____10_____

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 39

 2. Based on calories, which measure of central tendency should Mr. Sunshine use to
demonstrate that his restaurant is a healthy choice? Justify your answer.

Mr. Sunshine should use the mean to demonstrate that his restaurant is a
healthy choice because the mean is the smallest average. A healthy
restaurant should serve food that is low in calories.

3. Based on total fat, which measure of central tendency should Mr. Sunshine use to
demonstrate that his restaurant is a healthy choice? Justify your answer.

Mr. Sunshine should use the mode to demonstrate that his restaurant is a
healthy choice because the mode is the smallest average. A healthy
restaurant should serve food that is low in fat.

Mr. Sunshine’s advertising group created the ad below to demonstrate that the restaurant
is low in cost.

GRAND OPENING: June 21

A healthful bistro at a reasonable cost.

Eat for a bargain.
Entrees average less than $8.50 per person!

4. Is this ad correct? Mean = 8.65, mode = 8.95, median = 8.48

yes

5. Which measure of central tendency allows the advertising group to honestly use
this ad? Justify your answer.

The advertising group is using the median is an average for the ad. The median is
$8.48, which is less than $8.50. (The mean is $8.65 and the mode is $8.95).

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 40

Representative Central Tendency Name: _______________________

Mr. Sunshine sent his restaurant manager, Clark Cloudy, to poll people about food costs.
Clark visited various cities and multiple restaurants in each city. He asked every 10th
customer: “What do you think is a reasonable price for a tasty and healthy meal?” The
results from Clark’s inquiry are below:

$9.50 $6.50 $6.50 $7.00 $5.50

$5.50 $6.50 $7.50 $4.50 $5.00
$7.00 $6.00 $7.00 $20.00 $9.00
$8.50 $6.00 $6.00 $7.50 $7.50
$7.00 $9.50 $8.00 $6.50 $8.00

1. Find the mean, median, and mode of the prices.

2. Create a frequency table from the data above.

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 41

 3. Look at your frequency table. The sum of which column determines the total
number of data values?

4. What is the total number of data values?

5. Calculate the mean without using the lists on your calculator.

a) Calculate the sum of all the data values:

b) Divide the sum by the total number of data values. This will be the mean.

c) Compare your answer with the mean you calculated in problem #1. Did
you get the same answer?

6. Find the median without using the lists on your calculator.

a) To find the placement of the median (the “middle” number) take the
total number of data values and divide by two.

b) The median is located in place __________.

c) Find the data value located in the middle spot. This is your median.

d) Compare your answer with the median you calculated in problem #1. Did
you get the same answer?

Misleading or Not – Communicating Data Effectively 42