WGU D772 Statistical Data Literacy:
Complete 200-Question Objective
Assessment Test Bank plus Answers
With Rationales (Latest 2026) MOST
RECENT!!
Q1: A researcher collects the zip codes of survey participants. What
level of measurement are zip codes?
• A) Nominal
• B) Ordinal
• C) Interval
• D) Ratio
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Zip codes are categories with no inherent order or
meaningful numeric difference. They are labels, making them
nominal data.
Q2: A school measures students' grade-point averages (GPAs) on a
4.0 scale. What type of data is GPA?
• A) Nominal
• B) Ordinal
• C) Interval
• D) Ratio
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: GPA has a true zero point (0.0) and equal intervals
between values, and ratios are meaningful (a 3.0 is twice as high as
a 1.5). Therefore, it is ratio data.
Q3: Which of the following is an example of quantitative continuous
data?
, • A) Number of children in a family
• B) Eye color of students
• C) Time it takes to run 100 meters
• D) Type of car owned
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Time is measured on a continuum and can take any value
within a range (e.g., 12.34 seconds). It is quantitative continuous.
Q4: A dataset records the finishing positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...) of
runners. This variable is:
• A) Nominal
• B) Ordinal
• C) Interval
• D) Ratio
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Finishing positions have a clear order (1st is better than
2nd), but the differences between positions are not necessarily equal.
Q5: A psychologist splits participants into four groups and gives
each a maze with a different color. The time to solve the maze is
recorded. What is the explanatory variable?
• A) The time to solve the maze
• B) The specific maze color
• C) The participants' ages
• D) The difficulty of the maze
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The explanatory variable (independent variable) is the one
manipulated by the researcher to see if it causes an effect on the
response variable (solve time).
Q6: In a study on a new plant fertilizer, what is an example of a
control group?
• A) Plants that receive a high dose of the fertilizer
• B) Plants that receive a low dose of the fertilizer
• C) Plants that do not receive the fertilizer
, • D) Plants that are kept in a dark room
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The control group does not receive the experimental
treatment. It provides a baseline to compare against the groups that
do receive the treatment.
Q7: The director of campus food services calls 500 random students.
What is the sample in this study?
• A) All students on campus
• B) The food preferences of students
• C) The 500 students called by the director
• D) The director of food services
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A sample is a smaller, more manageable group selected
from the population to represent the larger group.
Q8: A company wants to show the percentage of employees in each
department. Which graph is appropriate?
• A) Histogram
• B) Pie chart
• C) Scatterplot
• D) Stem-and-leaf plot
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Bar charts or pie charts are appropriate for showing parts
of a whole (proportions) for categorical data.
Q9: In a boxplot, the "box" represents:
• A) The full range of the data
• B) The middle 50% of the data (interquartile range, IQR)
• C) The mean + one standard deviation
• D) The most frequent values
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The box in a boxplot spans the first quartile (Q1) to the
third quartile (Q3), containing the middle 50% of the observations.
, Q10: In a boxplot, points plotted beyond the whiskers are typically
considered:
• A) The maximum and minimum values
• B) Potential outliers
• C) The median values
• D) The mode of the distribution
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Points outside the whiskers (usually defined as 1.5 X IQR
beyond Q1 or Q3) are commonly flagged as potential outliers.
Q11: Which measure of central tendency is most affected by
extreme outliers?
• A) Median
• B) Mode
• C) Mean
• D) All are equally affected
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The mean uses every data value, so a very large or small
outlier will pull the mean toward that extreme value. The median
and mode are more resistant to outliers.
Q12: A dataset has a strong positive skew. Which statement is likely
true?
• A) Mean > median
• B) Mean < median
• C) Mean = median
• D) No relationship between mean and median
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In a positively skewed distribution, the tail on the right
pulls the mean to be greater than the median (mean > median).
Q13: A pollster selects every 10th name from an alphabetical list of
registered voters. This technique is called:
• A) Simple random sampling
• B) Stratified sampling
Complete 200-Question Objective
Assessment Test Bank plus Answers
With Rationales (Latest 2026) MOST
RECENT!!
Q1: A researcher collects the zip codes of survey participants. What
level of measurement are zip codes?
• A) Nominal
• B) Ordinal
• C) Interval
• D) Ratio
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Zip codes are categories with no inherent order or
meaningful numeric difference. They are labels, making them
nominal data.
Q2: A school measures students' grade-point averages (GPAs) on a
4.0 scale. What type of data is GPA?
• A) Nominal
• B) Ordinal
• C) Interval
• D) Ratio
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: GPA has a true zero point (0.0) and equal intervals
between values, and ratios are meaningful (a 3.0 is twice as high as
a 1.5). Therefore, it is ratio data.
Q3: Which of the following is an example of quantitative continuous
data?
, • A) Number of children in a family
• B) Eye color of students
• C) Time it takes to run 100 meters
• D) Type of car owned
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Time is measured on a continuum and can take any value
within a range (e.g., 12.34 seconds). It is quantitative continuous.
Q4: A dataset records the finishing positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, ...) of
runners. This variable is:
• A) Nominal
• B) Ordinal
• C) Interval
• D) Ratio
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Finishing positions have a clear order (1st is better than
2nd), but the differences between positions are not necessarily equal.
Q5: A psychologist splits participants into four groups and gives
each a maze with a different color. The time to solve the maze is
recorded. What is the explanatory variable?
• A) The time to solve the maze
• B) The specific maze color
• C) The participants' ages
• D) The difficulty of the maze
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The explanatory variable (independent variable) is the one
manipulated by the researcher to see if it causes an effect on the
response variable (solve time).
Q6: In a study on a new plant fertilizer, what is an example of a
control group?
• A) Plants that receive a high dose of the fertilizer
• B) Plants that receive a low dose of the fertilizer
• C) Plants that do not receive the fertilizer
, • D) Plants that are kept in a dark room
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The control group does not receive the experimental
treatment. It provides a baseline to compare against the groups that
do receive the treatment.
Q7: The director of campus food services calls 500 random students.
What is the sample in this study?
• A) All students on campus
• B) The food preferences of students
• C) The 500 students called by the director
• D) The director of food services
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A sample is a smaller, more manageable group selected
from the population to represent the larger group.
Q8: A company wants to show the percentage of employees in each
department. Which graph is appropriate?
• A) Histogram
• B) Pie chart
• C) Scatterplot
• D) Stem-and-leaf plot
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Bar charts or pie charts are appropriate for showing parts
of a whole (proportions) for categorical data.
Q9: In a boxplot, the "box" represents:
• A) The full range of the data
• B) The middle 50% of the data (interquartile range, IQR)
• C) The mean + one standard deviation
• D) The most frequent values
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The box in a boxplot spans the first quartile (Q1) to the
third quartile (Q3), containing the middle 50% of the observations.
, Q10: In a boxplot, points plotted beyond the whiskers are typically
considered:
• A) The maximum and minimum values
• B) Potential outliers
• C) The median values
• D) The mode of the distribution
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Points outside the whiskers (usually defined as 1.5 X IQR
beyond Q1 or Q3) are commonly flagged as potential outliers.
Q11: Which measure of central tendency is most affected by
extreme outliers?
• A) Median
• B) Mode
• C) Mean
• D) All are equally affected
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The mean uses every data value, so a very large or small
outlier will pull the mean toward that extreme value. The median
and mode are more resistant to outliers.
Q12: A dataset has a strong positive skew. Which statement is likely
true?
• A) Mean > median
• B) Mean < median
• C) Mean = median
• D) No relationship between mean and median
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: In a positively skewed distribution, the tail on the right
pulls the mean to be greater than the median (mean > median).
Q13: A pollster selects every 10th name from an alphabetical list of
registered voters. This technique is called:
• A) Simple random sampling
• B) Stratified sampling
