Assignment 1

1. To monitor campus security, the campus police office is conducting a survey of the number of students
in a parking lot each 30 minutes of a 24-hour period with the goal of determining when patrols of the
lot would serve the most students. If X is the number of students in the lot each period of time, then X
is an example of
a) a categorical variable.
b) a discrete variable.
c) a continuous variable.
d) statistics.

2. Researchers are concerned that the weight of the average American school child is increasing implying,
among other things, that children’s clothing should be manufactured and marketed in larger sizes. If X
is the weight of school children sampled in a nationwide study, then X is an example of
a) a categorical variable.
b) a discrete variable.
c) a continuous variable.
d) a table of random numbers.

3. An insurance company evaluates many numerical variables about a person before deciding on an
appropriate rate for automobile insurance. How long a person has been a licensed driver is an example
of a continuous numerical variable.

4. An insurance company evaluates many numerical variables about a person before deciding on an
appropriate rate for automobile insurance. The number of tickets a person has received in the last 3 years
is an example of a discrete numerical variable.

5. In purchasing an automobile, there are a number of variables to consider. The body style of the car
(sedan, coupe, wagon, etc.) is an example of a categorical variable.

6. Most colleges admit students based on their achievements in a number of different areas. Whether a
student has taken any advanced placement courses is an example of a discreet variable.
Continuous or discreet?

7. The brand of TV one owns is an example of an ordinal scaled variable. True/False

8. A study is under way in Yosemite National Forest to determine the adult height of American
pine trees. Specifically, the study is attempting to determine what factors aid a tree in
reaching heights greater than 60 feet tall. It is estimated that the forest contains 25,000 adult
American pines. The study involves collecting heights from 250 randomly selected adult
American pine trees and analyzing the results. Identify the population from which the study
was sampled.
 a) The 250 randomly selected adult American pine trees.
b) The 25,000 adult American pine trees in the forest.
c) All the adult American pine trees taller than 60 feet.
d) All American pine trees, of any age, in the forest.

9. Tim was planning for a meeting with his boss to discuss a raise in his annual salary. In
preparation, he wanted to use the Consumer Price Index to determine the percentage increase
in his real (inflation-adjusted) salary over the last three years. Which of the 4 methods of data
collection was involved when he used the Consumer Price Index?
a) Published sources
b) Experimentation
c) Surveying
d) Observation

10. Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when a person counts the number of cars
passing designated locations on the Los Angeles freeway system?
a) Published sources
b) Experimentation
c) Surveying
d) Observation

11. A study attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend
more tax dollars on protecting the beaches from environmental disasters. Twenty-five hundred
Florida residents were surveyed. What type of data collection procedure was most likely used
to collect the data for this study?
a) An experiment designed
b) A published source
c) A random sample
d) Observational data

12. To obtain a sample of 10 books in the store, the manager walked to the first shelf next to the
cash register to pick the first 10 books on that shelf. This is an example of a
a) systematic sample
b) simple random sample
c) stratified sample
d) convenience sample

13. To demonstrate a sampling method, the instructor in a class picked the first 5 students sitting
in the last row of the class. This is an example of a
a) systematic sample
b) simple random sample
c) stratified sample
d) convenience sample

14. The evening host of a dinner dance reached into a bowl, mixed all the tickets around, and
selected the ticket to award the grand door prize. What sampling method was used?
a) Simple random sample
b) Systematic sample
c) Stratified sample
d) Cluster sample

15. Which of the following yields a systematic sample?

a) All students in a class are divided into groups of 15. One student is randomly chosen from the
1st group, the remaining observations are every 15th student thereafter.
b) The best 15 students, according to the opinion of the instructor, in a class are selected.

c) All students in a class are grouped according to their gender. A random sample of 8 is selected
from the males and a separate random sample of 7 is drawn from the females.
d) A random sample of 15 students is selected from a class without replacement.