Ch. 1 Statistics, Data, and Statistical Thinking
1.1 The Science of Statistics
1 Define Statistics
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) Which of the following is not the job of a statistician?
A) implementing new business practices based on the results of a study
B) determining what information is relevant in a given problem
C) collecting numerical information in the form of data
D) determining whether the conclusions drawn from a study are to be trusted
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
2) What is statistics?
3) Define statistical thinking.
1.2 Types of Statistical Applications in Business
1 Define Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) A recent report stated ʺBased on a sample of 250 truck drivers, there is evidence to indicate that, on average,
independent truck drivers earn more than company -hired truck drivers.ʺ This statement is an example of
__________.
A) inferential statistics B) descriptive statistics
2) A survey of high school teenagers reported that 89% of those sampled are interested in pursuing a college
education. This statement illustrates __________.
A) descriptive statistics B) inferential statistics
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
3) In a survey of 3000 high school students, 16% of those surveyed read at least one best-seller each month. Give
an example of a descriptive statement and an inferential statement that could be made based on this
information.
Page 1
,MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
4) Which of the following is not an element of descriptive statistical problems?
A) predictions are made about a larger set of data
B) information revealed in a data set is summarized
C) data are displayed visually in graphs
D) patterns in a data set are identified
Answer the question True or False.
5) When we take data obtained from a sample and make generalizations or predictions about the entire
population, we are utilizing inferential statistics.
A) True B) False
1.3 Fundamental Elements of Statistics
1 Identify Elements of Statistics
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the
average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator inconspicuously followed 160 students
and recorded how long it took each of them to find a parking spot. Identify the population of interest to the
university administration.
A) the entire set of students who park at the university
B) the 160 students about whom the data were collected
C) the entire set of faculty, staff, and students who park at the university
D) the students who park at the university between 9 and 10 AM on Wednesdays
2) Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the
average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator inconspicuously followed 220 students
and recorded the how long it took each of them to find a parking spot. Identify the variable of interest to the
university administration.
A) time to find a parking spot B) students who drive cars on campus
C) number of empty parking spots D) number of students who cannot find a spot
3) An assembly line is operating satisfactorily if fewer than 2% of the phones produced per day are defective. To
check the quality of a dayʹs production, the company randomly samples 40 phones from a dayʹs production to
test for defects. Define the population of interest to the manufacturer.
A) all the phones produced during the day in question
B) the 40 phones sampled and tested
C) the 40 responses: defective or not defective
D) the 2% of the phones that are defective
Page 2
, 4) An insurance company conducted a study to determine the percentage of cardiologists who had been sued for
malpractice in the previous four years. The sample was randomly chosen from a national directory of doctors.
What is the variable of interest in this study?
A) the responses: have been sued/have not been sued for malpractice in the last four years
B) the doctorʹs area of expertise (i.e., cardiology, pediatrics, etc.)
C) the number of doctors who are cardiologists
D) all cardiologists in the directory
5) A study published in 2000 attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend
more tax dollars on protecting the Florida coastline from environmental disasters. Twenty-six hundred Florida
residents were surveyed.Which of the following is the population used in the study?
A) all Florida residents
B) the 2600 Florida residents who were surveyed
C) Florida residents willing to spend more tax dollars protecting the coastline from environmental disasters
D) all Florida residents who lived along the coastline
6) A study published in 2000 attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend
more tax dollars on protecting the Florida beaches from environmental disasters. Forty-nine hundred Florida
residents were surveyed.Which of the following describes the variable of interest in the study?
A) the response to the question, ʺAre you willing to spend more tax dollars on protecting the Florida beaches
from environmental disasters?ʺ
B) the response to the question ʺDo you live along the beach?ʺ
C) the response to the question ʺDo you use the beach?ʺ
D) the 4900 Florida residents surveyed
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
7) Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the
average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator inconspicuously followed 260 students
and recorded how long it took each of them to find a parking spot. Identify the population, sample, and
variable of interest to the administrators.
8) A quality inspector tested 71 copiers in an attempt to estimate the average failure rate of the copier model. His
study indicated that the number of failures decreased from two years ago, indicating an increase in the
reliability of the copiers. Describe the variable of interest to the inspector.
9) A high school guidance counselor analyzed data from a sample of 300 community colleges throughout the
United States. One of his goals was to estimate the annual tuition costs of community colleges in the United
States. Describe the population and variable of interest to the guidance counselor.
10) Explain why it is not necessary to provide a measure of reliability when a census is used rather than a sample.
Page 3
, 1.4 Processes (Optional)
1 Describe Processes
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) When we study a process, what is generally the focus?
A) the input B) the input C) the subprocesses D) the black box
2) In the context of processes, what is a sample?
A) any set of output B) any subset of the population
C) any set of subprocesses D) any set of input
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
3) What do we call a process whose operations are unknown or unspecified?
4) In the context of processes, what is a sample?
5) A chain of coffee shops has 45 stores in one metropolitan area. For liability purposes, the chain is interested in
the average temperature of hot drinks served at the stores. Three stores were chosen and the temperature of
every fifth hot drink served at each of these stores was recorded during a two -week period. At the end of the
two-week period, the temperatures of 10,571 hot drinks had been recorded.
a. Identify the process of interest.
b. Identify the variable of interest.
c. Describe the sample.
d. Describe the inference of interest.
6) A department store receives customer orders through its call center and website. These orders as well as any
special orders received in the stores are forwarded to a distribution center where workers pull the items on the
orders from inventory, pack the items, and prepare the necessary paperwork for the shipping company that
will pick the orders up and deliver them to the customers. In order to monitor the subprocess of pulling the
items from inventory, every 15 minutes one order is checked to determine whether the worker has pulled the
correct items.
a. Identify the process of interest.
b. Identify the variable of interest.
c. Describe the sample.
d. Describe the inference of interest.
Page 4
1.1 The Science of Statistics
1 Define Statistics
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) Which of the following is not the job of a statistician?
A) implementing new business practices based on the results of a study
B) determining what information is relevant in a given problem
C) collecting numerical information in the form of data
D) determining whether the conclusions drawn from a study are to be trusted
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
2) What is statistics?
3) Define statistical thinking.
1.2 Types of Statistical Applications in Business
1 Define Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) A recent report stated ʺBased on a sample of 250 truck drivers, there is evidence to indicate that, on average,
independent truck drivers earn more than company -hired truck drivers.ʺ This statement is an example of
__________.
A) inferential statistics B) descriptive statistics
2) A survey of high school teenagers reported that 89% of those sampled are interested in pursuing a college
education. This statement illustrates __________.
A) descriptive statistics B) inferential statistics
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
3) In a survey of 3000 high school students, 16% of those surveyed read at least one best-seller each month. Give
an example of a descriptive statement and an inferential statement that could be made based on this
information.
Page 1
,MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
4) Which of the following is not an element of descriptive statistical problems?
A) predictions are made about a larger set of data
B) information revealed in a data set is summarized
C) data are displayed visually in graphs
D) patterns in a data set are identified
Answer the question True or False.
5) When we take data obtained from a sample and make generalizations or predictions about the entire
population, we are utilizing inferential statistics.
A) True B) False
1.3 Fundamental Elements of Statistics
1 Identify Elements of Statistics
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the
average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator inconspicuously followed 160 students
and recorded how long it took each of them to find a parking spot. Identify the population of interest to the
university administration.
A) the entire set of students who park at the university
B) the 160 students about whom the data were collected
C) the entire set of faculty, staff, and students who park at the university
D) the students who park at the university between 9 and 10 AM on Wednesdays
2) Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the
average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator inconspicuously followed 220 students
and recorded the how long it took each of them to find a parking spot. Identify the variable of interest to the
university administration.
A) time to find a parking spot B) students who drive cars on campus
C) number of empty parking spots D) number of students who cannot find a spot
3) An assembly line is operating satisfactorily if fewer than 2% of the phones produced per day are defective. To
check the quality of a dayʹs production, the company randomly samples 40 phones from a dayʹs production to
test for defects. Define the population of interest to the manufacturer.
A) all the phones produced during the day in question
B) the 40 phones sampled and tested
C) the 40 responses: defective or not defective
D) the 2% of the phones that are defective
Page 2
, 4) An insurance company conducted a study to determine the percentage of cardiologists who had been sued for
malpractice in the previous four years. The sample was randomly chosen from a national directory of doctors.
What is the variable of interest in this study?
A) the responses: have been sued/have not been sued for malpractice in the last four years
B) the doctorʹs area of expertise (i.e., cardiology, pediatrics, etc.)
C) the number of doctors who are cardiologists
D) all cardiologists in the directory
5) A study published in 2000 attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend
more tax dollars on protecting the Florida coastline from environmental disasters. Twenty-six hundred Florida
residents were surveyed.Which of the following is the population used in the study?
A) all Florida residents
B) the 2600 Florida residents who were surveyed
C) Florida residents willing to spend more tax dollars protecting the coastline from environmental disasters
D) all Florida residents who lived along the coastline
6) A study published in 2000 attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend
more tax dollars on protecting the Florida beaches from environmental disasters. Forty-nine hundred Florida
residents were surveyed.Which of the following describes the variable of interest in the study?
A) the response to the question, ʺAre you willing to spend more tax dollars on protecting the Florida beaches
from environmental disasters?ʺ
B) the response to the question ʺDo you live along the beach?ʺ
C) the response to the question ʺDo you use the beach?ʺ
D) the 4900 Florida residents surveyed
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
7) Parking at a university has become a problem. University administrators are interested in determining the
average time it takes a student to find a parking spot. An administrator inconspicuously followed 260 students
and recorded how long it took each of them to find a parking spot. Identify the population, sample, and
variable of interest to the administrators.
8) A quality inspector tested 71 copiers in an attempt to estimate the average failure rate of the copier model. His
study indicated that the number of failures decreased from two years ago, indicating an increase in the
reliability of the copiers. Describe the variable of interest to the inspector.
9) A high school guidance counselor analyzed data from a sample of 300 community colleges throughout the
United States. One of his goals was to estimate the annual tuition costs of community colleges in the United
States. Describe the population and variable of interest to the guidance counselor.
10) Explain why it is not necessary to provide a measure of reliability when a census is used rather than a sample.
Page 3
, 1.4 Processes (Optional)
1 Describe Processes
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Solve the problem.
1) When we study a process, what is generally the focus?
A) the input B) the input C) the subprocesses D) the black box
2) In the context of processes, what is a sample?
A) any set of output B) any subset of the population
C) any set of subprocesses D) any set of input
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
3) What do we call a process whose operations are unknown or unspecified?
4) In the context of processes, what is a sample?
5) A chain of coffee shops has 45 stores in one metropolitan area. For liability purposes, the chain is interested in
the average temperature of hot drinks served at the stores. Three stores were chosen and the temperature of
every fifth hot drink served at each of these stores was recorded during a two -week period. At the end of the
two-week period, the temperatures of 10,571 hot drinks had been recorded.
a. Identify the process of interest.
b. Identify the variable of interest.
c. Describe the sample.
d. Describe the inference of interest.
6) A department store receives customer orders through its call center and website. These orders as well as any
special orders received in the stores are forwarded to a distribution center where workers pull the items on the
orders from inventory, pack the items, and prepare the necessary paperwork for the shipping company that
will pick the orders up and deliver them to the customers. In order to monitor the subprocess of pulling the
items from inventory, every 15 minutes one order is checked to determine whether the worker has pulled the
correct items.
a. Identify the process of interest.
b. Identify the variable of interest.
c. Describe the sample.
d. Describe the inference of interest.
Page 4
