M1 Drop Box: Textbook Assignment

Section 1.1

6. Interpretation (Lucy’s survey)

Lucy’s observations do not apply to all adults because her survey is not based on a random or
representative sample of the general adult population. Since she surveyed only her friends, the group is
likely to share common characteristics, making it non-generalizable. From the description of the survey
group, we cannot draw any conclusions regarding the age, gender, or education level of the participants
unless Lucy specifically gathered and shared that information.

8. Advertising: Auto Mileage

(a) The variable is the miles per gallon (mpg) for new cars.
(b) The variable is quantitative because it represents a measurable quantity (miles per gallon).
(c) The implied population is all new cars available for sale at the time the sample was taken.

12. Business: Levels of Measurement

(a) Salesperson’s performance: Ordinal (because it ranks performance levels).
(b) Price of company’s stock: Ratio (because the price is a measurable quantity with a true zero point).
(c) Names of new products: Nominal (because names are labels without an inherent order).
(d) Temperature in CEO’s private office: Interval (temperature is measurable, but there is no true zero
for temperature in Fahrenheit).
(e) Gross income for each of the past 5 years: Ratio (income is measurable, with a true zero point).
(f) Color of product packaging: Nominal (color is a categorical label without inherent order).

14. Education: Teacher Evaluation

Form B would be better for applying statistical methods. It uses a quantitative scale (1–5), which allows
for easier analysis of the data, such as calculating averages and performing statistical tests. Form A, on
the other hand, is qualitative and open-ended, making it harder to analyze statistically.

Section 1.2

2. Statistical Literacy: Difference between a Simple Random Sample and a Systematic

Sample

 A simple random sample ensures that every member of the population has an equal
chance of being selected. This is usually done by assigning a number to each individual
in the population and then randomly selecting numbers using a random number generator
or a lottery method.
 A systematic sample involves selecting every kth individual from a list of the
population. The first individual is selected randomly, and then every kth individual after
that is chosen. While the process has randomness in selecting the first participant, the rest
of the sample follows a set pattern.
8. Critical Thinking: Students in a Statistics Class
(a) Does every student have an equal chance of being selected for the sample?
No, not every student has an equal chance of being selected. Only students in the first two rows
or the last two rows can be selected, depending on the coin toss. Students in rows 3 and 4 (if the
coin lands heads) or rows 1 and 2 (if it lands tails) have no chance of being selected.

 (b) Is it possible to include students sitting in row 3 with students sitting in row 2 in
your sample? Is your sample a simple random sample?
No, it is not possible to include students from row 3 with students from row 2 because the
sampling process only allows for selecting the first two rows or the last two rows as
separate groups. This is not a simple random sample because not every individual has
an equal chance of being included in the sample, and the selection is based on fixed rows.
 (c) Describe a process you could use to get a simple random sample of size 20 from a
class of size 40.
To get a simple random sample of 20 students from a class of 40, assign each student a
unique number from 1 to 40. Then, use a random number generator to select 20 numbers
between 1 and 40 without replacement. The students corresponding to those numbers will
be included in the sample.
 20. Sampling Methods: Health Care
(a) Obtain a list of patients discharged from all MMH facilities. Divide the patients
according to length of hospital stay (2 days or less, 3–7 days, 8–14 days, more than
14 days). Draw simple random samples from each group.
This is a stratified sample because the population is divided into groups (strata) based on
hospital stay length, and a random sample is taken from each group.
 (b) Obtain lists of patients discharged from all MMH facilities. Number these
patients, and then use a random-number table to obtain the sample.
This is a simple random sample because all patients are numbered, and a random
process is used to select the sample.
 (c) Randomly select some MMH facilities from each of five geographic regions, and
then include all the patients on the discharge lists of the selected hospitals.
This is a cluster sample because entire hospitals (clusters) are selected randomly, and all
patients within the selected hospitals are included in the sample.
 (d) At the beginning of the year, instruct each MMH facility to survey every 500th
patient discharged.
This is a systematic sample because every 500th patient is selected from a list in a
systematic manner.
 (e) Instruct each MMH facility to survey 10 discharged patients this week and send
in the results.
This is a convenience sample because it is based on the ease of obtaining 10 patients
discharged that week without using a random selection method.

Section 1.3

2. Statistical Literacy: Double-Blind Procedure

In a double-blind procedure, neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving
the placebo or the new drug. In this experiment, participants in both the control group and
treatment group would be randomly assigned to receive either the placebo or the new drug. Both
groups would take pills that look identical in appearance, so participants cannot tell which one
they are taking. Similarly, the researchers administering the pills or collecting data would not
know which group a participant belongs to.

Benefits of a double-blind procedure include:

 Reducing bias: Since neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving
the treatment, there is less chance of bias influencing the results.
 Improved reliability: It eliminates the placebo effect, where participants' expectations
may affect outcomes, and prevents researchers from unintentionally influencing the study
through their behavior or expectations.

6. Interpretation: Echo Generation’s Classification of Luxuries vs. Necessities

The results from 2006 may not fully reflect how the Echo generation would classify items in
2016. Reasons include:

 Economic changes: Over a decade, inflation, income levels, and economic conditions
change, which may influence how people perceive luxuries and necessities.
 Technological advances: New products and services that didn’t exist or weren’t as
widespread in 2006 (e.g., smartphones, streaming services) could be considered
necessities in 2016, affecting the classification.
 Social changes: The Echo generation’s values and lifestyle may evolve over time,
shifting their perception of what constitutes a luxury or necessity.

8. General: Gathering Data

(a) An analysis of a sample of 31,000 patients from New York hospitals suggests that the
poor and the elderly sue for malpractice at one-fifth the rate of wealthier patients
(Journal of the American Medical Association).
This study uses sampling because it analyzes a sample (31,000 patients) from the larger
population.

 (b) The effects of wind shear on airplanes during both landing and takeoff were
studied by using complex computer programs that mimic actual flight.
This study uses simulation since it involves using computer programs to mimic the
behavior of airplanes in response to wind shear.
 (c) A study of all league football scores attained through touchdowns and field goals
was conducted by the National Football League to determine whether field goals
account for more scoring events than touchdowns (USA Today).
This study uses a census because it involves analyzing all football scores from the
league.
 (d) An Australian study included 588 men and women who already had some
precancerous skin lesions. Half got a skin cream containing a sunscreen with a sun
protection factor of 17; half got an inactive cream. After 7 months, those using the
sunscreen with the sun protection had fewer new precancerous skin lesions (New
England Journal of Medicine).
 This study is an experiment because it involves manipulating variables (the use of
sunscreen vs. inactive cream) and observing the effects on the participants’ skin lesions.

Section 2.1

2. Statistical Literacy: What’s wrong with using the class limits 10–19, 20–29, 30–39, 40–49?
The problem with using these class limits is that they do not cover the entire range of the data. The
highest value in the data set is 52, but the last class only goes up to 49. Therefore, the values between
50 and 52 will not be included in the frequency table. To fix this, you should extend the class limits to
cover the full range, like 50–59 or higher.

6. Basic Computation: Finding Class Width and Class Limits

To create a frequency table with 5 classes from a data set with a low value of 10 and a high value
of 120:

1. Class width formula:

Class width=High value−Low valueNumber of classes=120−105=1105=22\text{Class

width} = \frac{\text{High value} - \text{Low value}}{\text{Number of classes}} = \
frac{120 - 10}{5} = \frac{110}{5} =
22Class width=Number of classesHigh value−Low value=5120−10=5110=22

2. Class limits:
The first class will start at 10 and extend for a width of 22. The limits would be:
o Class 1: 10–31
o Class 2: 32–53
o Class 3: 54–75
o Class 4: 76–97
o Class 5: 98–120

8. Critical Thinking: Shape of Histogram for College Rankings

Since the colleges are ranked from 1 (best) to 100 (worst), with no ties, the shape of the histogram will
likely be uniform. This is because each rank is equally likely, assuming the colleges are evenly distributed
across the rankings.

10. Critical Thinking: Salary Data

(a) Histogram using class boundaries 53.5, 99.5, 145.5, 191.5, 237.5, 283.5:
The histogram would show that most of the salaries are clustered between 53.5 and 99.5, with
one value (280) falling in the last class (237.5–283.5).

(b) Outlier and Possible Owner’s Salary:

Yes, the last data value of 280 thousand dollars appears to be an outlier because it is significantly
higher than the other salaries. It could potentially be the owner's salary.

(c) New histogram after eliminating the 280 thousand dollar salary:
With the new class boundaries (53.5, 62.5, 71.5, 80.5, 89.5, 98.5), the new histogram will reflect
the salary distribution of most employees more accurately because it excludes the outlier and
focuses on the typical range of salaries (between 54 and 98 thousand dollars).

16. Medical: Glucose Testing (Using Six Classes)

The data set ranges from 45 to 109, so let's determine the class width and class limits.

1. Class width formula:

Class width=109−456=646≈10.67≈11\text{Class width} = \frac{109 - 45}{6} = \

frac{64}{6} \approx 10.67 \approx 11Class width=6109−45=664≈10.67≈11

(Round up to the nearest whole number for convenience.)

2. Class limits:
The class limits would be:
o Class 1: 45–55
o Class 2: 56–66
o Class 3: 67–77
o Class 4: 78–88
o Class 5: 89–99
o Class 6: 100–110

These class limits and widths will allow you to create a frequency table and a histogram to
represent the glucose levels.

Section 2.2

6.

Here is the cluster bar graph showing the influence of advertising on large purchases by age
group. The percentages of people in the 18–34 and 45–54 age groups who reported being
influenced or not influenced by ads are clearly displayed.

For part (a) of the question: Jenna was misled because the vertical scales of the original graphs
were different. By using the same scale for both age groups, the difference becomes more
noticeable. You can easily observe that a higher percentage of the 45–54 age group reported
being influenced by ads compared to the 18–34 age group.
10.

Here is the pie chart showing the allocation of professional time for college professors based on the data
provided. The largest portion of time is dedicated to teaching (51%), followed by research (16%), with
smaller percentages for professional growth, community service, service to the college, and consulting
outside the college.

Section 2.3

6. Stem-and-Leaf Displays for Golf Scores

(a) First-Round Scores:

Stem Leaves
6 567
6 99
7 011123
7 111234455
7 6667
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(b) Fourth-Round Scores:

Stem Leaves
6 899
6 999
7 00111122
7 11112334
7 24
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(c) Interpretation:

 Lowest Scores: The lowest first-round score was 65, while the lowest fourth-round score
was 68. So, the lowest scores were lower in the first round.
 Highest Scores: The highest first-round score was 75, and the highest fourth-round score
was also 75. Therefore, the highest scores were the same in both rounds.

Overall, the fourth-round scores tended to be higher than the first-round scores, with a slight shift
towards higher numbers. This might indicate that the course was more challenging in the fourth
round, or the players were fatigued.