Homework
Task 1. For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter,
d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.
1. A fitness center is interested in the mean amount of time a client exercises in the center each week.
2. Ski resorts are interested in the mean age that children take their first ski and snowboard lessons. They
need this information to plan their ski classes optimally.
3. A cardiologist is interested in the mean recovery period of their patients who have had heart attacks.
4. Insurance companies are interested in the mean health costs each year of their clients, so that they can
determine the costs of health insurance.
5. A politician is interested in the proportion of voters in their district who think the politician doing a
good job.
6. A marriage counselor is interested in the proportion of clients they counsel who stay married.
7. Political pollsters may be interested in the proportion of people who will vote for a particular cause.
8. A marketing company is interested in the proportion of people who will buy a particular product.
Task 2. For the following exercises, identify the type of data that would be used to describe a response
(quantitative discrete, quantitative continuous, or qualitative), and give an example of the data.
1. number of tickets sold to a concert
2. percent of body fat
3. favorite baseball team
4. time in line to buy groceries
5. number of students enrolled at Evergreen Valley College
6. most-watched television show
7. brand of toothpaste
8. distance to the closest movie theatre
9. age of executives in Fortune 500 companies
10. number of competing computer spreadsheet software packages
Task 3. Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the
age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose.
The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the
neighborhood around the park was interviewed.
1. “Number of times per week” is what type of data?
a. qualitative
b. quantitative discrete
c. quantitative continuous
2. “Duration (amount of time)” is what type of data?
a. qualitative
b. quantitative discrete
c. quantitative continuous
Task 4. Nineteen immigrants to the U.S were asked how many years, to the nearest year, they have lived in
the U.S. The data are as follows: 2; 5; 7; 2; 2; 10; 20; 15; 0; 7; 0; 20; 5; 12; 15; 12; 4; 5; 10. Calculate the
relative frequency and cumulative relative frequency.
Task 5. Sixty adults with gum disease were asked the number of times per week they used to floss before their
diagnosis. The (incomplete) results are shown in Table 1
Table 1. Flossing Frequency for Adults with Gum Disease
#Flossing per Relative Cumulative Relative
Week Frequency Frequency Freq.
0 27 0.4500
1 18
3 0.9333
6 3 0.0500
7 1 0.0167
a. Fill in the blanks in Table
b. What percent of adults flossed six times per week?
c. What percent flossed at most three times per week?
Task 6. A leading business magazine publishes data on small businesses (defined as businesses that have
been publicly traded for at least a year, have a stock price of at least $5 per share, and have reported
annual revenue between $5 million and $1 billion). Table 2 shows the ages of the chief executive officers for
the first 60 ranked small businesses.
Table 2
Age Frequency Relative Frequency Cumulative Relative Frequency
40–44 3
45–49 11
50–54 13
55–59 16
60–64 10
65–69 6
70–74 1
a. What is the frequency for CEO ages between 54 and 65?
b. What percentage of CEOs are 65 years or older?
c. What is the relative frequency of ages under 50?
d. What is the cumulative relative frequency for CEOs younger than 55?