Unit 3 – Collecting Data

Unit 3 Test Review Key

Name: ______________________________

Multiple Choice Practice

E
______ 1) Why do we use control groups in experiments?

(A) To eliminate confounding variables

(B) To control the subjects to make sure everyone participates equally
(C) To control how the experiment is conducted and make sure that the results are what we expect
(D) To ensure that randomized assignment is achieved
(E) To reduce the variability in the response variable between the two groups so that any difference is due to the
treatment alone

C
_______ 2) To gather base line data for a new standardized test for 8th grade students in the state of Wisconsin,
a random sample of 15 middle schools were selected. The new test was administered to every 8th grade student
in the selected schools. What kind of sample is this?

(A) A simple random sample

(B) A stratified random sample Pop All 8th gradestudents in WI
(C) A cluster sample
(D) A systematic random sample Clusters All middle schools
Randomly selected 15 clusters
(E) A voluntary response sample

cluster
gave test to every8thgrader in
E
_______ 3) Suppose that 35% of the registered voters in a state are registered as Republicans, 40% as
Democrats, and 25% as Independents. A newspaper wants to select a sample of 1000 registered voters to predict
the outcome of the next election. If they randomly selected 350 Republicans, randomly selected 400 Democrats,
and randomly select 250 Independents, did this sampling procedure result in a simple random sample of
registered voters from this district?

(A) Yes, because each registered voter had the same chance of being chosen. this is a
(B) Yes, because random chance was involved.
(C) No, because not all registered voters had the same chance of being chosen.
stratified
(D) No, because there were a different number of registered voters from each party. randomsample
(E) No, because not all possible groups of 1000 registered voters had the same chance of being chosen.

D
______ 4) Dave is an avid gardener and has a self-proclaimed "green thumb". He wants to increase the yield of
his habanero pepper plants and wishes to test four different combinations of fertilizer (none, Fertilizer A, 4
Fertilizer B, and both) also with three different types of soil (sand, silt, and clay). How many different treatment
groups will Dave have in his experiment?

(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 7 (D) 12 (E) 64

43 12
 A
______ 5) Researchers wish to design a matched pairs experiment to determine the effects of a medication on
reducing LDL cholesterol levels in 400 adults in the 65 and older age group who have elevated levels of LDL.
Which of the following represents such a design?

(A) They compare the cholesterol levels of each patient before he/she begins a daily regimen of the medicine to
the patient’s cholesterol level after six weeks of using the medication.
(B) They compare the cholesterol levels of the 400 patients using the medicine for six weeks with the
cholesterol levels of 400 other adults who are 65 and older who exhibited elevated cholesterol levels and did not
take the medicine.
(C) They compare the mean cholesterol level of the 400 patients six weeks after using the medicine with a
published national mean cholesterol level for all adults who are 65 and older.
(D) They compare the cholesterol levels of the 400 patients using the medicine for six weeks with the
cholesterol levels of 400 adults in the 65 and older age group who were taking a placebo.
(E) All of the above are representative of a matched pairs design.

B
_______ 6) Proactive has developed a new treatment for acne. You think the age of the participant might
influence their reaction to the new treatment, so you separate them into two groups: one group of 18 – 25 year
olds and one group of 26 and older year olds. Within the group, half of them are given the new treatment, and
the other half are given a placebo treatment. The basic design of this study is

(A) completely randomized

(B) blocked by age group
(C) completely randomized, blocked by age group
(D) randomized, blocked by age group and type of medication
(E) a matched pairs design

D
______ 7) As an environmentalist, Diana is appauled at the recent report that states the chemical factory in her
town has no influence on the quality of river life. She strongly objects and creates an experiment to measure the
oxygen level at various points along the river, suspecting that the checmical plant decreases the oxygen level in
the river, causing wildlife disruption. She takes sites 100, 200, and 300 meters along the river, down from the
plant. At each site, she measures the surface oxygen level, the oxygen level at mid-depth, and the oxygen level
at the bottom of the river. What type of study was conducted, and what is the response variable of the study?

(A) An experiment was conducted, and the response variable is the oxygen level.
(B) An experiment was conducted, and the response variable is the depth of the water.
(C) An experiment was conducted, and the response variable is the three different site locations.
(D) An observational study was conducted, and the response variable is the oxygen level.
(E) An observational study was conducted, and the response variable is the depth of the water.

A
______ 8) Your football coach finds a new exercise program that will increase upper-body strength better than
lifting weights. He wants to start this new program in the off season with the team. He lets his players choose
which of the two treatments they will undergo for 3 weeks – exercise or weight lifting. He will use the number
of push-ups a player can do at the end of the experiment as the response variable. Which principle of
experimental design does his plan violate?

(A) Randomization
(B) Control
(C) Replication
(D) Comparison
(E) Blocking
 C
______ 9) The booster club needs volunteers to sign up to work the concession stand for the home games. They
have a low participation rate, so they want to see if a new incentivie would help. They randomly select 50
numbers from a list of all parents of the student athletes. From the 50 numbers they called, 8 of them picked up
and 6 of them said that they would volunteer with an incentive. What is the correct conclusion that can be
drawn?

(A) We can conclude that 75% of athlete parents would volunteer at the concession stand if there was an
incentive.
(B) We can conclude that 12% of athlete parents would volunteer at the concession stand if there was an
incentive.
(C) No conclusion can be drawn because this survey suffers from nonresponse bias
(D) No conclusion can be drawn because this survey suffers from voluntary response bias
(E) No conclusion can be drawn because 50 is too low of a sample size

B
______ 10) A psychologist plans a study to determine if high school students read faster with their right eye or
left eye alone. Fifty high school students are randomly selected for the study. Which of the following correctly
describes a matched pairs design?

(A) Label each student 1 – 50 and use a random number generator (ignoring repeats), and choose 25 numbers.
Those students assigned to those 25 numbers will be part of the treatment that reads with their right eye. The
rest of the students will be assigned to read with their left eye.
completely randomized
(B) Each student will read with each eye, one at a time. To decide which eye they will read with first, a coin
will be flipped for each student. If the coin is heads, the student will read with their right eye first and their left
eye second. If the coin is tails, the student will read with their left eye first and their right eye second.

(C) Split the 50 students up into males and females. Then, within each gender group, randomly assign half of
the subjects to read with their right eye and half the subjects to read with their left eye.
blocking
(D) Split the 50 students up into males and females. To decide which group will read with each eye, a coin will
be flipped. If the coin is heads, the males will read with their left eye and the females will read with their right
eye. If the coin is tails, the males will read with their right eye and the females will read with their left eye.
bloc
(E) Label each student 1 – 50 and use a random number generator (ignoring repeats), and choose 25 numbers.
Those students assigned to those 25 numbers will be the group that reads with their right eye first. Then, those
same 25 students will read with their left eye. The 25 students that were not chosen will read with their left eye
first, and then again with their right eye. At the end, a comparison between the group that reads with their right
eye first and the group that reads with their left eye first will be examined.

even though this

sounds like a matched
a comparison is
pair
not being done btwn
left ofeach
right eye
subject
 Free Response Practice

1) Migraines are headaches that cause severe throbbing pain (among other symptoms), and can severely disrupt
life for those that suffer chronically with them. New research suggest that a specific type of antidepressant
might be the key to reducing the frequency and severity of migraines. Another research institute suggests that a
diet change might also prompt less frequent and severe migraines. Do one of these alone reduce migraines? Do
both together do a better job at reducing them than one alone? Researchers want to compare four treatments:
antidepressant alone, placebo alone, antidepressant plus diet, and placebo plus diet. Describe and design a
completely randomized experiment involving 36 headache sufferers who are willing to participate in this
experiment.

Label each subject 00 to 35 use a random digit

table to select 2 digit numbers ignoring repeats
and 36 99 The first animbers will be assigned
alone Repeat the process to assign
to antidepressant
to placebo alone antidepressant diet andplacebo diet
compare the results
from each treatment
group to
each other
2) For the problem above, you run the experiment again, this time with 100 volunteers, 50 males and 50
females. Describe and design a block experiment.

Block subjects by gender male and female

each block label each subject 00 49
Within gender
numbers
use a random digit table to select 2 digit
and 50 99 Select 12 uniquenumbers
ignoring repeats
to be antidepressant alone Repeat the process
assigned
diet
to assign 12 to placebo alone 13 to antidepressant
from each
and 13 to placebo diet Compare the results
treatment group to each other withineachblock
 3) After the State of the Union address, a poll comes on the screen and asks the watcher to go to the website
opinions.com/matters to let the station know what you thought of the State of the Union address. Of those who
responded, 89% of them said that they were not happy with the State of the Union address. Explain why this
opinion poll is almost certainly biased.

This is a voluntary responsesample and such samples

tend to overrepresent people with strong opinions
4) Comment on each of the following as a potential survey question. Is the question clear? Is it slanted toward a
desired response?

(a) “Moms who do not properly install their car seats are putting their infants at risk in an automobile accident.
Do you think that they should be a mandatory training for moms before they leave the hospital on the proper
installation of their car seats?"

This question is trying to get the responder to

say yes by stating an emotionally charged fact
(b) "Do you believe in a national system of health care, because it would cover all the medical costs for anyone
who needs a procedure?"

This question is trying to get the responder to

benefit to national
say yes by explaining a having the
system
(c) "Anticoagulation for VTE increases the risk of ICH in subjects with malignant brain tumors. Do you support
using VTE in glioma patients?"

This question is unclear because of all the medical

jargon which will lead to people guessing their opinion
5) Dr. Statie wanted to conduct an experiment to see which diet trend allowed the volunteers in his study to lose
the most weight. There are 2450 volunteers who are ready to commit to a diet plan to lose weight. Half of the
participants were randomly assigned to the paleo diet (A paleo diet is a dietary plan based on foods similar to
what might have been eaten during the Paleolithic era) and the other half to a keto diet (ketogenic diet, which is
the strictest form of a low-carb diet, is to force the body into ketosis, which occurs when the body doesn’t
consume enough carbohydrates and breaks down fat to use as energy instead). Researchers measured each
participant’s change in weight and cholesterol level after six months and again after one year. Explain how each
of the four principles of experimental design was used in this study.

Comparison
Theweight loss and Control only difference betweenthe 2
cholesterol levels werecomparedtreatments is the diet participants
betweenthe 2 diet groups
Randomization weight
Replication
chol ismeasuredsoeachperson
participants were 2450 volunteers were used
randomly assigned to one which is enoughto assure
of the treatments replication is controlled
for