HOMEWORK 1
For each of the following 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.
Ans a) Population: All the clients who exercise in the center
b) Sample: A portion of clients that exercise in the center
c) Parameter: Mean amount of the time all clients exercise in the center
d) Statistic: Mean amount of time a portion of clients exercise in the center
e) Variable: The amount of time each client exercises in the center each week.
f) Data: Time spent by clients exercising at the center.
2. A cardiologist is interested in the mean recovery period of her patients who have had
heart attacks.
Ans a) Population: All the patients who have had heart attacks.
b) Sample: A portion of patients who have had heart attacks
c) Parameter: Mean recovery period of all patients who have had heart attacks.
d) Statistic: Mean recovery period of a portion of patients who have had heart attack.
e) Variable: Recovery period of each patient who has had attack.
f) Data: The actual recorded recovery period of the patients who have had heart
attacks.
3. A politician is interested in the proportion of voters in his district who think he is doing a
good job.
Ans a) Population: All the voters in his district.
b) Sample: Portion of voters in his district.
c) Parameter: All voters in his district think he is doing good.
d) Statistic: A portion of voters in his district think he is doing a good job.
e) Variable: if each voter in his district thinks he is doing good.
f) Data: Responses of the voters think he is doing good or not.
4. Political pollsters may be interested in the proportion of people who will vote for a
particular cause.
Ans a) Population: All the people who will vote.
b) Sample: A portion of people who will vote.
c) Parameter: The portion of All the people who will vote for a particular cause
d) Statistic: A portion of the sample of people who will vote for a particular cause.
e) Variable: which cause each person individually will vote for.
f) Data: Responses of people who will vote for a particular cause or not.
Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A Lake Tahoe Community
College instructor is interested in the mean number of days Lake Tahoe Community College
math students are absent from class during a quarter.
5. What is the population she is interested in?
a. all Lake Tahoe Community College students
b. all Lake Tahoe Community College English students
c. all Lake Tahoe Community College students in her classes
d. all Lake Tahoe Community College math students. ✅
6. The instructor’s sample produces a mean number of days absent of 3.5 days. This value is an
example of a:
a. parameter.
b. data.
c. statistic. ✅
d. variable.
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.
7. percent of body fat
Ans : quantitative continuous
Example: 12%, 14%
8. time in line to buy groceries
Ans: quantitative continuous
Example: 15.5mins, 20.2mins
9. most-watched television show
Ans: qualitative( categorical)
Example: Doraemon
10. distance to the closest movie theatre
Ans: quantitative continuous
Example: 700.50 m, 850 m
11. number of competing computer spreadsheet software packages
Ans: quantitative discrete
Example: 4 software packages
Use the following information to answer the next exercise: 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.
12. “Duration (amount of time)” is what type of data?
a. qualitative (categorical)
b. quantitative discrete
c. quantitative continuous C)
13. Suppose you want to determine the mean number of students per statistics class in your state.
Describe a possible sampling method in three to five complete sentences. Make the description
detailed.
Ans : Stratified sampling method … explain it
14. List some practical difficulties involved in getting accurate results from a telephone survey.
Ans: some people might not pick up the calls creating gaps in our data and the connection might
not be reliable , Language Barriers, Response Accuracy: Respondents might provide inaccurate
responses
15. With your classmates, brainstorm some ways you could overcome these problems if you
needed to conduct a phone or mail survey.
Ans We can schedule the meeting at their appropriate time. I would provide the survey in
multiple languages based on the area of the target population. I would also design survey
questions that are clear concise and easy to understand.
16. A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount
of time) of residents using a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around
the park was selected randomly and then every eighth house in the neighborhood around the park
was interviewed. The sampling method was:
a. simple random
b. systematic ✅
c. stratified
d. cluster
17. A “random survey” was conducted of 3,274 people of the “microprocessor generation”
(people born since 1971, the year the microprocessor was invented). It was reported that 48% of
those individuals surveyed stated that if they had $2,000 to spend, they would use it for computer
equipment. Also, 66% of those surveyed considered themselves relatively savvy computer users.
a. Do you consider the sample size large enough for a study of this type? Why or why not?
Yes its enough ….
b. Based on your “gut feeling,” do you believe the percents accurately reflect the U.S.
population for those individuals born since 1971? If not, do you think the percents of the
population are actually higher or lower than the sample statistics? Why?
Additional information: The survey, reported by Intel Corporation, was filled out by
individuals who visited the Los Angeles Convention Center to see the Smithsonian
Institute's road show called “America’s Smithsonian.”
Based on my “gut feeling,” It doesn’t reflect the US population for those individuals
borm after 1971 as the survey, was filled out by individuals who visited a particular
event.
c. With this additional information, do you feel that all demographic and ethnic groups were
equally represented at the event? Why or why not?
Ans : No it is not likely that all demographic and ethnic groups were equally represented
at the event as as the survey, was filled out by individuals who visited a particular event
d. With the additional information, comment on how accurately you think the sample
statistics reflect the population parameters.
Ans: With the additional information, according to me the accuracy of the sample
statistics the population parameters is pretty low as the sampling of the population wasn’t
done in the correct method.
18. In advance of the 1936 Presidential Election, a magazine titled Literary Digest released the
results of an opinion poll predicting that the republican candidate Alf Landon would win by a
large margin. The magazine sent post cards to approximately 10,000,000 prospective voters.
These prospective voters were selected from the subscription list of the magazine, from
automobile registration lists, from phone lists, and from club membership lists. Approximately
2,300,000 people returned the postcards.
a. Think about the state of the United States in 1936. Explain why a sample chosen from
magazine subscription lists, automobile registration lists, phone books, and club
membership lists was not representative of the population of the United States at that
time.
b. What effect does the low response rate have on the reliability of the sample?
c. Are these problems examples of sampling error or non sampling error?
d. During the same year, George Gallup conducted his own poll of 30,000 prospective
voters. These researchers used a method they called "quota sampling" to obtain survey
answers from specific subsets of the population. Quota sampling is an example of which
sampling method described in this module?
19. YouPolls is a website that allows anyone to create and respond to polls. One question posted
April 15 asks:
“Do you feel happy paying your taxes when members of the Obama administration are allowed
to ignore their tax liabilities?” (lastbaldeagle. 2013. On Tax Day, House to Call for Firing
Federal Workers Who Owe Back Taxes. Opinion poll posted online at:
[Link] (accessed May 1, 2013).)
As of April 25, 11 people responded to this question. Each participant answered “NO!”
Which of the potential problems with samples discussed in this module could explain this
connection?
20. Fifty part-time students were asked how many courses they were taking this term. The
(incomplete) results are shown below:
# of courses Frequency Relative frequency Cumulative relative frequency
1 30 0.6
2 15
3
Table: Part-time Student Course Loads
a. Fill in the blanks in Table.
b. What percent of students take exactly two courses?
c. What percent of students take one or two courses?
21. Forbes magazine published data on the best small firms in 2012. These were firms which had
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 shows the ages of the chief
executive officers for the first 60 ranked firms.
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?
Categor Number of direct Relative Cumulative
c. y hits frequency frequency
Total = 273
1 109 0.3993 0.3993
2 72 0.2637 0.6630
3 71 0.2601
4 18 0.9890
5 3 0.0110 1.0000
What is the relative frequency of ages under 50?
d. What is the cumulative relative frequency for CEOs younger than 55?
e. Which graph shows the relative frequency and which shows the cumulative relative
frequency?
Figure 1.11
Use the following information to answer the next exercise: Table contains data on hurricanes that
have made direct hits on the U.S. Between 1851 and 2004. A hurricane is given a strength
category rating based on the minimum wind speed generated by the storm.
Table: Frequency of Hurricane Direct Hits
22. What is the relative frequency of direct hits that were AT MOST a category 3 storm?
a. 0.3480
b. 0.9231
c. 0.2601
d. 0.3370