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ISyE 6501 Final Exam — Introduction
to Analytics Modeling Questions With
Verified Solutions And Rationales
1. What do descriptive questions ask in analytics modeling?
A. What action(s) would be best?
B. What will happen?
C. What happened?
D. How should we optimize?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Descriptive questions ask "What happened?" Examples include which
customers are most alike, what factors are most important in determining
similarity, and whether a new treatment is better than the current one .
2. What do predictive questions ask in analytics modeling?
A. What happened?
B. What will happen?
C. What action(s) would be best?
D. How do we collect data?
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Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Predictive questions ask "What will happen?" Examples include
forecasting crude oil demand, predicting stock prices, or estimating the likelihood
that a customer will click on an ad .
3. What do prescriptive questions ask in analytics modeling?
A. What happened?
B. What will happen?
C. What action(s) would be best?
D. What data is available?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Prescriptive questions ask "What action(s) would be best?" Examples
include timing traffic lights to minimize delays or determining where oil tankers
should make pickups and deliveries .
4. What is a model in analytics?
A. A physical representation of a system
B. A real-life situation expressed as math
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C. A type of software program
D. A method for collecting data
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In analytics, modeling means taking a real-life situation and expressing
the key parts of that situation in terms of math, so we can analyze the math and
turn the analysis back into a real-life answer or recommendation .
5. What is time-series data?
A. Data recorded at a single point in time
B. The same data recorded over time, often at equal intervals
C. Data with no time component
D. Cross-sectional data
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Time-series data is the same data recorded over time, often at equal
intervals. Examples include the average cost of a house in the United States every
year since 1820 .
6. What is quantitative data?
A. Numbers without meaning, like zip codes
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B. Non-numeric data like hair color
C. Numbers with meaning: higher means more, lower means less
D. Binary data like male/female
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Quantitative data are numbers with meaning (age, sales, temperature,
income). Categorical data are numbers without meaning (zip codes) or non-
numeric data (hair color) .
7. What is a data point in a dataset?
A. All the information about one observation
B. The average of all observations
C. A single attribute across all observations
D. A type of model
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A data point is all the information about one observation. For example,
in a survey recording family size and car type, one person's family size and car
type together constitute a data point .
ISyE 6501 Final Exam — Introduction
to Analytics Modeling Questions With
Verified Solutions And Rationales
1. What do descriptive questions ask in analytics modeling?
A. What action(s) would be best?
B. What will happen?
C. What happened?
D. How should we optimize?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Descriptive questions ask "What happened?" Examples include which
customers are most alike, what factors are most important in determining
similarity, and whether a new treatment is better than the current one .
2. What do predictive questions ask in analytics modeling?
A. What happened?
B. What will happen?
C. What action(s) would be best?
D. How do we collect data?
,2|Page
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Predictive questions ask "What will happen?" Examples include
forecasting crude oil demand, predicting stock prices, or estimating the likelihood
that a customer will click on an ad .
3. What do prescriptive questions ask in analytics modeling?
A. What happened?
B. What will happen?
C. What action(s) would be best?
D. What data is available?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Prescriptive questions ask "What action(s) would be best?" Examples
include timing traffic lights to minimize delays or determining where oil tankers
should make pickups and deliveries .
4. What is a model in analytics?
A. A physical representation of a system
B. A real-life situation expressed as math
,3|Page
C. A type of software program
D. A method for collecting data
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In analytics, modeling means taking a real-life situation and expressing
the key parts of that situation in terms of math, so we can analyze the math and
turn the analysis back into a real-life answer or recommendation .
5. What is time-series data?
A. Data recorded at a single point in time
B. The same data recorded over time, often at equal intervals
C. Data with no time component
D. Cross-sectional data
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Time-series data is the same data recorded over time, often at equal
intervals. Examples include the average cost of a house in the United States every
year since 1820 .
6. What is quantitative data?
A. Numbers without meaning, like zip codes
, 4|Page
B. Non-numeric data like hair color
C. Numbers with meaning: higher means more, lower means less
D. Binary data like male/female
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Quantitative data are numbers with meaning (age, sales, temperature,
income). Categorical data are numbers without meaning (zip codes) or non-
numeric data (hair color) .
7. What is a data point in a dataset?
A. All the information about one observation
B. The average of all observations
C. A single attribute across all observations
D. A type of model
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A data point is all the information about one observation. For example,
in a survey recording family size and car type, one person's family size and car
type together constitute a data point .
