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WGU C784 APPLIED HEALTHCARE STATISTICS
STUDY GUIDE | LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027 |
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | EXAM
REVIEW | 100% CORRECT ANSWERS |
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
This practice examination is designed for students preparing for the WGU C784
Applied Healthcare Statistics Objective Assessment. It serves as a comprehensive
study guide and exam review, reflecting the latest update for 2026/2027. The
questions are crafted to mirror the difficulty, applied healthcare scenarios, and
scope of the assessment, covering all essential domains including descriptive
statistics, probability, probability distributions, sampling distributions, confidence
intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, and statistical applications in
healthcare. By engaging with these practice questions and answers, candidates
can assess their readiness, identify knowledge gaps, and reinforce their
understanding of critical statistical concepts applied to healthcare settings. The
detailed rationales provide verified solutions, ensuring a deep comprehension of
the material and enhancing the effectiveness of your preparation for this
competency-based assessment.
Table of Contents
1. Descriptive Statistics and Data Types
2. Probability and Probability Rules
3. Discrete Probability Distributions
4. Continuous Probability Distributions
5. Sampling Distributions and the Central Limit Theorem
6. Confidence Intervals
7. Hypothesis Testing
8. Correlation and Regression
9. Statistical Applications in Healthcare
, 2
Question 1: A nurse researcher collects data on patient satisfaction scores ranging
from 1 to 10. What type of data is this?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
Correct Answer: B
Patient satisfaction scores from 1 to 10 represent ordered categories where the
difference between values may not be equal, making it ordinal data. Nominal data
has no order, interval data has equal intervals but no true zero, and ratio data has
equal intervals and a true zero.
Question 2: A hospital records the number of patients admitted each day for a
month. What type of variable is this?
A) Continuous
B) Discrete
C) Nominal
D) Ordinal
Correct Answer: B
The number of patients admitted is a count that can only take whole numbers,
making it a discrete variable. Continuous variables can take any value within a
range. Nominal and ordinal are categorical data types.
Question 3: The mean of a dataset is 50, and the median is 60. What can be
concluded about the distribution?
A) The distribution is symmetric
B) The distribution is skewed to the left
C) The distribution is skewed to the right
D) The distribution is uniform
Correct Answer: B
When the mean is less than the median, the distribution is typically skewed to the
left (negatively skewed) due to extreme low values pulling the mean down. A
, 3
symmetric distribution would have mean equals median. Skewed right would have
mean greater than median. Uniform distribution has no skew.
Question 4: Which measure of central tendency is most affected by outliers?
A) Mean
B) Median
C) Mode
D) Range
Correct Answer: A
The mean is highly sensitive to outliers because it uses all data points in its
calculation. The median and mode are resistant to outliers. Range is a measure of
spread, not central tendency.
Question 5: A dataset has a standard deviation of 0. What does this indicate?
A) All values are different
B) All values are the same
C) The data is normally distributed
D) The data is skewed
Correct Answer: B
A standard deviation of 0 means there is no variability in the data; all values are
identical. A normal distribution can have any standard deviation. Skewness relates
to asymmetry, not zero variability.
Question 6: What is the interquartile range (IQR) of a dataset with Q1 = 25 and
Q3 = 55?
A) 25
B) 30
C) 55
D) 80
, 4
Correct Answer: B
The IQR is calculated as Q3 - Q1 = 55 - 25 = 30. Options A, C, and D are
incorrect calculations.
Question 7: A researcher calculates a z-score of 2.0 for a patient's blood pressure.
What does this mean?
A) The value is 2 standard deviations below the mean
B) The value is 2 standard deviations above the mean
C) The value is twice the mean
D) The value is 2 units above the median
Correct Answer: B
A positive z-score indicates the value is above the mean by that many standard
deviations. A z-score of 2.0 means the value is 2 standard deviations above the
mean. Negative z-scores indicate values below the mean.
Question 8: Which graphical representation is best for showing the distribution of
a continuous variable?
A) Bar chart
B) Histogram
C) Pie chart
D) Scatterplot
Correct Answer: B
A histogram is used to display the distribution of continuous data by grouping
values into bins. Bar charts are for categorical data. Pie charts show proportions
of a whole. Scatterplots show relationships between two variables.
Question 9: In a study of 100 patients, 40 have diabetes. What is the probability
that a randomly selected patient has diabetes?
A) 0.04
B) 0.40
C) 0.60
D) 0.80
WGU C784 APPLIED HEALTHCARE STATISTICS
STUDY GUIDE | LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027 |
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | EXAM
REVIEW | 100% CORRECT ANSWERS |
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
This practice examination is designed for students preparing for the WGU C784
Applied Healthcare Statistics Objective Assessment. It serves as a comprehensive
study guide and exam review, reflecting the latest update for 2026/2027. The
questions are crafted to mirror the difficulty, applied healthcare scenarios, and
scope of the assessment, covering all essential domains including descriptive
statistics, probability, probability distributions, sampling distributions, confidence
intervals, hypothesis testing, correlation, regression, and statistical applications in
healthcare. By engaging with these practice questions and answers, candidates
can assess their readiness, identify knowledge gaps, and reinforce their
understanding of critical statistical concepts applied to healthcare settings. The
detailed rationales provide verified solutions, ensuring a deep comprehension of
the material and enhancing the effectiveness of your preparation for this
competency-based assessment.
Table of Contents
1. Descriptive Statistics and Data Types
2. Probability and Probability Rules
3. Discrete Probability Distributions
4. Continuous Probability Distributions
5. Sampling Distributions and the Central Limit Theorem
6. Confidence Intervals
7. Hypothesis Testing
8. Correlation and Regression
9. Statistical Applications in Healthcare
, 2
Question 1: A nurse researcher collects data on patient satisfaction scores ranging
from 1 to 10. What type of data is this?
A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio
Correct Answer: B
Patient satisfaction scores from 1 to 10 represent ordered categories where the
difference between values may not be equal, making it ordinal data. Nominal data
has no order, interval data has equal intervals but no true zero, and ratio data has
equal intervals and a true zero.
Question 2: A hospital records the number of patients admitted each day for a
month. What type of variable is this?
A) Continuous
B) Discrete
C) Nominal
D) Ordinal
Correct Answer: B
The number of patients admitted is a count that can only take whole numbers,
making it a discrete variable. Continuous variables can take any value within a
range. Nominal and ordinal are categorical data types.
Question 3: The mean of a dataset is 50, and the median is 60. What can be
concluded about the distribution?
A) The distribution is symmetric
B) The distribution is skewed to the left
C) The distribution is skewed to the right
D) The distribution is uniform
Correct Answer: B
When the mean is less than the median, the distribution is typically skewed to the
left (negatively skewed) due to extreme low values pulling the mean down. A
, 3
symmetric distribution would have mean equals median. Skewed right would have
mean greater than median. Uniform distribution has no skew.
Question 4: Which measure of central tendency is most affected by outliers?
A) Mean
B) Median
C) Mode
D) Range
Correct Answer: A
The mean is highly sensitive to outliers because it uses all data points in its
calculation. The median and mode are resistant to outliers. Range is a measure of
spread, not central tendency.
Question 5: A dataset has a standard deviation of 0. What does this indicate?
A) All values are different
B) All values are the same
C) The data is normally distributed
D) The data is skewed
Correct Answer: B
A standard deviation of 0 means there is no variability in the data; all values are
identical. A normal distribution can have any standard deviation. Skewness relates
to asymmetry, not zero variability.
Question 6: What is the interquartile range (IQR) of a dataset with Q1 = 25 and
Q3 = 55?
A) 25
B) 30
C) 55
D) 80
, 4
Correct Answer: B
The IQR is calculated as Q3 - Q1 = 55 - 25 = 30. Options A, C, and D are
incorrect calculations.
Question 7: A researcher calculates a z-score of 2.0 for a patient's blood pressure.
What does this mean?
A) The value is 2 standard deviations below the mean
B) The value is 2 standard deviations above the mean
C) The value is twice the mean
D) The value is 2 units above the median
Correct Answer: B
A positive z-score indicates the value is above the mean by that many standard
deviations. A z-score of 2.0 means the value is 2 standard deviations above the
mean. Negative z-scores indicate values below the mean.
Question 8: Which graphical representation is best for showing the distribution of
a continuous variable?
A) Bar chart
B) Histogram
C) Pie chart
D) Scatterplot
Correct Answer: B
A histogram is used to display the distribution of continuous data by grouping
values into bins. Bar charts are for categorical data. Pie charts show proportions
of a whole. Scatterplots show relationships between two variables.
Question 9: In a study of 100 patients, 40 have diabetes. What is the probability
that a randomly selected patient has diabetes?
A) 0.04
B) 0.40
C) 0.60
D) 0.80
