Elementary Statistics Chapter 1 Test - Form A
Name:___________________________ Course Number: __________ Section Number: _____
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
Provide an appropriate response.
1) Define the terms population, sample, parameter and statistic. How does a census compare to a
sample?
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
Identify the number as either continuous or discrete.
2) The total number of phone calls a sales representative makes in a month is 425.
A) Continuous B) Discrete
3) The number of limbs on a 2-year-old oak tree is 21.
A) Continuous B) Discrete
Determine which of the four levels of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) is most appropriate.
4) The subjects in which college students major.
A) Ratio B) Ordinal C) Nominal D) Interval
5) Amount of fat (in grams) in cookies.
A) Nominal B) Interval C) Ordinal D) Ratio
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
Identify the sample and population. Also, determine whether the sample is likely to be representative of
the population.
6) In a poll of 50,000 randomly selected college students, 74% answered "yes" when asked "Do you
have a television in your dorm room?".
Use critical thinking to develop an alternative conclusion.
7) A study shows that adults who work at their desk all day weigh more than those who do not.
Conclusion: Desk jobs cause people to gain weight.
Use critical thinking to address the key issue.
8) A questionnaire is sent to 10,000 persons. 5,000 responded to the questionnaire. 3,000 of the
respondents say that they "love chocolate ice cream". We conclude that 60% of people love
chocolate ice cream. What is wrong with this survey?
9) A researcher wished to gauge public opinion on gun control. He randomly selected 1000 people
from among registered voters and asked them the following question: "Do you believe that gun
control laws which restrict the ability of Americans to protect their families should be
eliminated?". Identify the abuse of statistics and suggest a way the researcher's methods could be
improved.
1
1
,Elementary Statistics Chapter 1 Test - Form A
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
Perform the requested conversions. Round decimals to the nearest thousandth and percents to the nearest
tenth of a percent, if necessary.
10) Convert 0.34 to an equivalent fraction and percent.
8 8 17 17
A) , 34% B) , 3.4% C) , 3.4% D) , 34%
25 25 50 50
Solve the problem.
11) A gardener has 28 clients, 25% of whom are businesses. Find the number of business clients.
A) 7000 clients B) 700 clients C) 7 clients D) 70 clients
Is the study experimental or observational?
12) A marketing firm does a survey to find out how many people use a product. Of the one hundred
people contacted, fifteen said they use the product.
A) Experimental B) Observational
13) A clinic gives a drug to a group of ten patients and a placebo to another group of ten patients to
find out if the drug has an effect on the patients' illness.
A) Observational B) Experimental
Identify the type of observational study.
14) A statistical analyst obtains data about ankle injuries by examining a hospital's records from the
past 3 years.
A) Retrospective B) Cross-sectional C) Prospective D) None of these
Identify which of these types of sampling is used: random, stratified, systematic, cluster, convenience.
15) A tax auditor selects every 1000th income tax return that is received.
A) Random
B) Systematic
C) Convenience
D) Cluster
E) Stratified
16) A pollster uses a computer to generate 500 random numbers, then interviews the voters
corresponding to those numbers.
A) Stratified
B) Cluster
C) Convenience
D) Systematic
E) Random
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
Provide an appropriate response.
17) Define random sample. Explain why this is important in design of experiments.
2
,Elementary Statistics Chapter 1 Test - Form A
18) Define sampling error and nonsampling error. Give examples of nonsampling error.
19) A market researcher obtains a sample of 50 people by standing outside a store and asking every
20th person who enters the store to fill out a survey until she has 50 people. What sampling
method is being used here? Will the resulting sample be a random sample? Will it be a simple
random sample? Explain your thinking.
20) Explain the difference between stratified and cluster sampling.
3
, Answer Key
Testname: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS CHAPTER 1 TEST FORM A
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
1) A population is the complete collection of all elements. A sample is a subset of elements drawn from a
population. A parameter is a numerical measurement describing some characteristic of a population. A
statistic is a numerical measurement describing some characteristic of a sample. A census is the
collection of data from every element in a population; a sample is a subset of a population.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
2) B
3) B
4) C
5) D
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
6) Sample: the 50,000 selected college students; population: all college students; representative
7) Desk job workers are confined to their chairs for most of their work day. Other jobs require standing or
walking around which burns calories. It is probably the lack of exercise that causes higher weights, not
the desk job itself. Avoid causality altogether by saying lack of walking and exercise is associated with
higher weights.
8) This is not a random sample. The survey is based on voluntary, self-selected responses and therefore
has serious potential for bias.
9) The question is loaded. A more neutral way to phrase the question would be, for example, "Do you
believe that gun control laws should be strengthened, weakened, or left in their current form?".
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
10) D
11) C
12) B
13) B
14) A
15) B
16) E
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
17) In random sampling, each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Random
sampling provides us with the best representative sample in which all groups of the population are
approximately proportionately represented. Careless sampling can easily result in a biased sample
which may be useless.
18) Sampling error is the difference between a sample result and the true population result. Such an error
results from chance sample fluctuations. A nonsampling error occurs when the sample data are
incorrectly collected, recorded, or analyzed. Examples include nonrandom samples, defective
measuring instruments, biased survey questions, a large number of refusals, copying sample data
incorrectly.
19) This is systematic sampling. The sample obtained will be a random sample because everyone has the
same chance of being chosen but will not be a simple random sample as different samples of 50 people
have different chances of being chosen. Specifically, the sample is random because each person has one
chance in twenty of being selected. The sample is not simple random because different samples of size
50 by this design have different chances of being selected due to the numbers of people arriving at the
store at different times.
1
Name:___________________________ Course Number: __________ Section Number: _____
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
Provide an appropriate response.
1) Define the terms population, sample, parameter and statistic. How does a census compare to a
sample?
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
Identify the number as either continuous or discrete.
2) The total number of phone calls a sales representative makes in a month is 425.
A) Continuous B) Discrete
3) The number of limbs on a 2-year-old oak tree is 21.
A) Continuous B) Discrete
Determine which of the four levels of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) is most appropriate.
4) The subjects in which college students major.
A) Ratio B) Ordinal C) Nominal D) Interval
5) Amount of fat (in grams) in cookies.
A) Nominal B) Interval C) Ordinal D) Ratio
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
Identify the sample and population. Also, determine whether the sample is likely to be representative of
the population.
6) In a poll of 50,000 randomly selected college students, 74% answered "yes" when asked "Do you
have a television in your dorm room?".
Use critical thinking to develop an alternative conclusion.
7) A study shows that adults who work at their desk all day weigh more than those who do not.
Conclusion: Desk jobs cause people to gain weight.
Use critical thinking to address the key issue.
8) A questionnaire is sent to 10,000 persons. 5,000 responded to the questionnaire. 3,000 of the
respondents say that they "love chocolate ice cream". We conclude that 60% of people love
chocolate ice cream. What is wrong with this survey?
9) A researcher wished to gauge public opinion on gun control. He randomly selected 1000 people
from among registered voters and asked them the following question: "Do you believe that gun
control laws which restrict the ability of Americans to protect their families should be
eliminated?". Identify the abuse of statistics and suggest a way the researcher's methods could be
improved.
1
1
,Elementary Statistics Chapter 1 Test - Form A
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
Perform the requested conversions. Round decimals to the nearest thousandth and percents to the nearest
tenth of a percent, if necessary.
10) Convert 0.34 to an equivalent fraction and percent.
8 8 17 17
A) , 34% B) , 3.4% C) , 3.4% D) , 34%
25 25 50 50
Solve the problem.
11) A gardener has 28 clients, 25% of whom are businesses. Find the number of business clients.
A) 7000 clients B) 700 clients C) 7 clients D) 70 clients
Is the study experimental or observational?
12) A marketing firm does a survey to find out how many people use a product. Of the one hundred
people contacted, fifteen said they use the product.
A) Experimental B) Observational
13) A clinic gives a drug to a group of ten patients and a placebo to another group of ten patients to
find out if the drug has an effect on the patients' illness.
A) Observational B) Experimental
Identify the type of observational study.
14) A statistical analyst obtains data about ankle injuries by examining a hospital's records from the
past 3 years.
A) Retrospective B) Cross-sectional C) Prospective D) None of these
Identify which of these types of sampling is used: random, stratified, systematic, cluster, convenience.
15) A tax auditor selects every 1000th income tax return that is received.
A) Random
B) Systematic
C) Convenience
D) Cluster
E) Stratified
16) A pollster uses a computer to generate 500 random numbers, then interviews the voters
corresponding to those numbers.
A) Stratified
B) Cluster
C) Convenience
D) Systematic
E) Random
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
Provide an appropriate response.
17) Define random sample. Explain why this is important in design of experiments.
2
,Elementary Statistics Chapter 1 Test - Form A
18) Define sampling error and nonsampling error. Give examples of nonsampling error.
19) A market researcher obtains a sample of 50 people by standing outside a store and asking every
20th person who enters the store to fill out a survey until she has 50 people. What sampling
method is being used here? Will the resulting sample be a random sample? Will it be a simple
random sample? Explain your thinking.
20) Explain the difference between stratified and cluster sampling.
3
, Answer Key
Testname: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS CHAPTER 1 TEST FORM A
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
1) A population is the complete collection of all elements. A sample is a subset of elements drawn from a
population. A parameter is a numerical measurement describing some characteristic of a population. A
statistic is a numerical measurement describing some characteristic of a sample. A census is the
collection of data from every element in a population; a sample is a subset of a population.
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
2) B
3) B
4) C
5) D
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
6) Sample: the 50,000 selected college students; population: all college students; representative
7) Desk job workers are confined to their chairs for most of their work day. Other jobs require standing or
walking around which burns calories. It is probably the lack of exercise that causes higher weights, not
the desk job itself. Avoid causality altogether by saying lack of walking and exercise is associated with
higher weights.
8) This is not a random sample. The survey is based on voluntary, self-selected responses and therefore
has serious potential for bias.
9) The question is loaded. A more neutral way to phrase the question would be, for example, "Do you
believe that gun control laws should be strengthened, weakened, or left in their current form?".
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the
question.
10) D
11) C
12) B
13) B
14) A
15) B
16) E
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question.
17) In random sampling, each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Random
sampling provides us with the best representative sample in which all groups of the population are
approximately proportionately represented. Careless sampling can easily result in a biased sample
which may be useless.
18) Sampling error is the difference between a sample result and the true population result. Such an error
results from chance sample fluctuations. A nonsampling error occurs when the sample data are
incorrectly collected, recorded, or analyzed. Examples include nonrandom samples, defective
measuring instruments, biased survey questions, a large number of refusals, copying sample data
incorrectly.
19) This is systematic sampling. The sample obtained will be a random sample because everyone has the
same chance of being chosen but will not be a simple random sample as different samples of 50 people
have different chances of being chosen. Specifically, the sample is random because each person has one
chance in twenty of being selected. The sample is not simple random because different samples of size
50 by this design have different chances of being selected due to the numbers of people arriving at the
store at different times.
1
