Chapter 1

What is Statistics?

True/False

1. A population is a collection of all individuals, objects, or measurements of interest.

2. A sample is a portion or part of the population of interest.

3. To infer something about a population, we usually take a sample from the population.

4. The techniques used to find out something about a population, such as their average weight,
based on a sample are referred to as descriptive statistics.

5. There are four levels of measurement-qualitative, quantitative, discrete, and continuous.

6. Ordinal level of measurement is considered the "lowest" level of measurement.

8. Ordinal level of measurement implies some sort of ranking.

9. Data that can only be classified into categories is nominal data.

10. The words descriptive statistics and inferential statistics can be used interchangeably.

11. A marketing research agency was hired to test a new DVD player. Consumers rated it
outstanding, very good, fair or poor. The level of measurement for this experiment is ordinal.

12. The Union of Electrical Workers of America with 9,128 members polled 362 members
regarding a new wage package to be submitted to management. The population is the 362
members.

13. The CIA World Factbook cited these numbers for the U.S:
•Birthrate is 14.14 births per 1,000 population
•Average life expectancy for females is 80 years
•Approximately 290 million persons residing in the United States

Each of these numbers is referred to as statistic.

Statistical Techniques in Business & Economics Lind/Marchal/Wathen, 13/e 1

14. If we select 100 persons out of 25,000 registered voters and question them about candidates
and issues, the 100 persons are referred to as the population.

15. Statistics is defined as a body of techniques used to facilitate the collection, organization,
presentation, analysis and interpretation of information for the purpose of making better
decisions.

16. Another name for inductive statistics is descriptive statistics.

17. Categorizing voters as Democrats, Republicans and Independents is an example of interval

level measurement.

18. The order that runners finish in a race would be an example of continuous data.

19. Based on a sample of 3,000 people, the civilian unemployment rate in the United States
was 5.5%. 5.5% is referred to as a statistic.

21. The branch of mathematics used to facilitate the collection, organization, presentation,
analysis and interpretation of numerical data is referred to as a statistic.

22. The number of children in a family is a discrete variable.

Multiple Choice
23. The main purpose of descriptive statistics is to:
A) Summarize data in a useful and informative manner.
B) Make inferences about a population.
C) Determine if the data adequately represents the population.
D) Gather or collect data.

24. Which of the following is an example of a continuous variable?

A) Family income
B) Number of students in a statistics class
C) Zip codes of shoppers
D) Rankings of baseball teams in a league
E) None of the above

25. The incomes of a group of 50 loan applicants are obtained. Which level of measurement is
income?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above
2 Test Bank, Chapter 1
26. When TV advertisements report "2 out of 3 dentists surveyed indicated they would
recommend Brand X toothpaste to their patients," an informed consumer may question the
conclusion because:
A) The sample was only 5 dentists.
B) The sample of dentists is clearly explained.
C) The advertisement does not include the total number of dentists surveyed.
D) The conclusion is not illustrated with a graph

27. A bank asks customers to evaluate the drive-thru service as good, average, or poor. Which
level of measurement is this classification?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

28. What is a portion or part of a population called?

A) Random survey
B) Sample
C) Tally
D) Frequency distribution
E) None of the above

29. If Gallup, Harris and other pollsters asked people to indicate their political party affiliation
- Democrat, Republican or Independent, the data gathered would be an example of which scale
of measurement?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

30. The members of each basketball team wear numbers on the back of their jerseys. What
scale of measurement are these numbers considered?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

Statistical Techniques in Business & Economics Lind/Marchal/Wathen, 13/e 3

31. A marketing class of 50 students evaluated the instructor using the following scale:
superior, good, average, poor, and inferior. The descriptive summary showed the following
survey results: 2% superior, 8% good, 45% average, 45% poor, and 0% inferior.
A) The instructor's performance was great!!!
B) The instructor's performance was inferior.
C) Most students rated the instructor as poor or average.
D) No conclusions can be made.

32. A questionnaire contained a question regarding marital status. The respondent checked
either single, married, divorced, separated or widowed. What is the scale of measurement for
this question?
A) Ratio
B) Interval
C) Ordinal
D) Nominal
E) None of the above

33. Respondents were asked, "Do you now earn more than or less than you did five years ago?"
What is this level of measurement?
A) Interval
B) Ratio
C) Nominal
D) Ordinal
E) None of the above

34. Which word is NOT part of the definition of descriptive statistics?

A) Organizing
B) Analyzing
C) Presenting
D) Predicting
E) None of the above

36. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act requires employers to classify their employees by
gender and national origin. Which level of measurement is this?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

37. What level of measurement are the Centigrade and Fahrenheit temperature scales?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
4 Test Bank, Chapter 1
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

38. What type of variable is the number of gallons of gasoline pumped by a filling station
during a day?
A) Qualitative
B) Continuous
C) Attribute
D) Discrete
E) None of the above

39. What type of variable is "projected return on an investment"?

A) Qualitative
B) Continuous
C) Attribute
D) Discrete
E) None of the above

40. What type of variable is the number of robberies reported in your city?
A) Attribute
B) Continuous
C) Discrete
D) Qualitative
E) None of the above

41. What level of measurement is the number of auto accidents reported in a given month?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

42. The names of the positions on a hockey team, such as forward and defense, are examples of
what level of measurement?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

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44. The final rankings of the top 20 NCAA college basketball teams are an example of which
level of measurement?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

45. Your height and weight are examples of which level of measurement?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above

47. The general process of gathering, organizing, summarizing, analyzing, and interpreting data
is called
A) Statistics.
B) Descriptive statistics.
C) Inferential statistics.
D) Levels of measurement.
E) None of the above.

49. Which of the following is an example of attribute data?

A) Number of children in a family
B) Weight of a person
C) Color of ink in a pen
D) Miles between oil changes
E) None of the above

50. Which one of the following is NOT an example of discrete data?

A) Number of households watching the Home Shopping Network.
B) Number of employees reporting in sick.
C) Number of miles between New York City and Chicago.
D) Number of members of the Denver Lions Club.
E) Number of family members.

52. A group of women tried five brands of hair spray and ranked them according to preference.
What level of measurement is this?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
E) None of the above
6 Test Bank, Chapter 1
Fill-in-the-Blank

53. The monthly Consumer Price Index is called a(n) ________________.

54. A qualitative variable such as eye color is also referred to as a(n) _____________ variable.

56. Ranked data is an example of what level of measurement? ________________

58. The branch of statistics that does not involve generalizations is called ________________.

59. When we make an estimate or prediction, we use ________________ techniques.

60. The branch of statistics in which data is collected, analyzed and presented in a concise
format is called _____________ statistics.

61. The branch of statistics from which we draw conclusions from sample data is called
_________________ statistics.

62. The number of workers reporting sick in any particular week is considered to be
_______________ data.

63. If we test a small number of light bulbs from a large group, the small group is called a
______________.

64. Among the many classes held at your college or university, your statistics class has been
selected for a study. This one class is referred to as a ______________.

65. Another name for inferential statistics is ______________ statistics.

70. Categorizing students as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors is an example of the
______________ level of measurement.

71. The collection of all possible objects of interest is referred to as the ______________.

73. A variable that can have any value within a specific range is called _________________.

74. The science of collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting of data is
called ____________________.

Statistical Techniques in Business & Economics Lind/Marchal/Wathen, 13/e 7

Essay

75. Describe the difference between a population and a sample.

76. A New York newspaper reported the average gasoline prices in four metropolitan areas and
used a bar chart to illustrate the differences. What type of statistics was shown? What activities
did the newspaper use to make the report?

77. A company was studying the demographics of their customers. As part of the study they
collected the following variables: gender, marital status and credit rating (low, medium, high),
Label each variable as qualitative or quantitative, discrete or continuous, and nominal, or
ordinal.

8 Test Bank, Chapter 1