CHAP.

11 INTRODUCTION 11

Supplementary Problems
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AND INFERENTIAL STATISTICS: POPULATION AND SAMPLE

1.16 Classify each of the following as descriptive statistics or inferential statistics.

( a ) The Nielsen Report on Television utilizes data from a sample of viewers to give estimates of average
viewing time per week per viewer for all television viewers.
(6) The U.S. National Center for Health Statistics publication entitled Vital Statistics of the United
States lists the leading causes of death in a given year. The estimates are based upon a sampling of
death certificates.
( c ) The Omaha World Herald lists the low and high temperatures for several American cities.
(d) The number of votes a presidential candidate receives are given for each state following the
presidential election.
( e ) The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse gives the current percentage of young adults using
different types of drugs. The percentages are based upon national samples.

Ans. ( a ) inferential statistics ( b ) inferential statistics (c) descriptive statistics

(d)descriptive statistics ( e ) inferential statistics

1.17 Classify each of the following as a sample or a population.

(a) all diabetics in the United States

(6) a group of 374 individuals selected for a New York TinzedCBS news poll
(c) all owners of Ford trucks
( d ) all registered voters in the state of Arkansas
( e ) a group of 22,000 physicians who participate in a study to determine the role of aspirin in preventing
heart attacks

Am. ( a ) population ( b ) sample ( c ) population ( d ) population (e) sample

VARIABLE, OBSERVATION, AND DATA SET

1.18 Changes in systolic blood pressure readings were recorded for 325 hypertensive patients who were
participating in a study involving a new medication to control hypertension. Larry Doe is a patient in the
study and he experienced a drop of 15 units in his systolic blood pressure. What statistical term is used to
describe the change in systolic blood pressure readings? What does the number 325 represent? What term
is used for the 15-unit drop is systolic blood pressure'?

Arts. The change in blood pressure is the variable, 325 is the number of observations in the data set, and
15-unit drop in blood pressure is an observation.

1.19 Table 1.8 gives the fasting blood sugar reading for five patients at a small medical clinic. What is the
variable? Give the observations that comprise this data set.

Table 1.8
Patient name Fasting blood sugar reading
Sam Alcorn 135
Susan Collins I57
Larry Halsey 168
Bill Samuels 120
Lana Williams 160
12 INTRODUCTION [CHAP. 1

Ans. The variable is the fasting blood sugar reading for a patient. The observations are 135, 157, 168,
120, and 160.

1.20 A sociological study involving a minority group recorded the educational level of the participants. The
educational level was coded as follows: less than high school was coded as 1, high school was coded as 2,
college graduate was coded as 3, and postgraduate was coded as 4. The results were:

1 1 2 3 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 3 3 2 2 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 3

What is the variable'? How many observations are in the data set?

Am. The variable is the educational level of a participant. There are 46 observations in the data set.

QUANTITATIVE VARIABLE: DISCRETE AND CONTINUOUS VARIABLE

1.21 Classify the variables in problems I . 18, 1.19, and 1.20as discrete or continuous.

Ans. The variables in problems 1.18 and 1.19 are continuous. The variable in problem 1.20 is not a
quantitative variable.

1.22 A die is tossed until the face 6 turns up on a toss. The variable x equals the toss upon which the face 6
first appears. What are the possible values that x may assume? Is x discrete or continuous?

Am. x may equal any positive integer, and it is therefore a discrete variable.

1.23 Is it possible for a variable to be both discrete and continuous?

Ans. no

QUALITATIVE VARIABLE

1.24 Give five examples of a qualitative variable.

Ans. I. Classification of government employees 4. Medical specialty of doctors

2. Motion picture ratings 5. ZIP code
3. College student classification

1.25 Which of the following is not a qualitative variable? hair color, eye color, make of computer, personality
type, and percent of income spent on food

Am. percent of income spent on food

NOMINAL, ORDINAL, INTERVAL, AND RATIO LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT

1.26 Indicate the scale of measurement for each of the following variables: religion classification; movie
ratings of 1, 2, 3, or 4 stars; body temperature; weights of runners; and consumer product ratings given
as poor, average, or excellent.

Ans. religion: nominal weights of runners: ratio

movie ratings: ordinal consumer product ratings: ordinal
body temperature : interval

1.27 Which scales of measurement would usually apply to quantitative data?

CHAP. I ] INTRODUCTION 13

Ans. interval or ratio

SUMMATION NOTATION

1.28 The following values are recorded for the variable x: x1 = 15, x2 = 25, x3 = 10, and x4 = 5. Evaluate the
following summations: Cx, Ex2, ( C X ) ~ and
, C(x - 5).

Ans. E x = 55, Cx’ = 975, ( C X ) ~= 3025, C(x - 5) = 35

1.29 The following values are recorded for the variables x and y: xi =17, x2 = 28, x3 = 35, y 1 = 20, y2 = 30,
and y3 = 40. Evaluate the following summations: Zxy, Cx2y2,and Cxy - ZxCy.

Ans. Cxy = 2580, Cx2y2= 2,78 1,200, CXY- CXCY= -4,620

1.30 Given that xI = 5 , x2 = 10, y1 = 20, and Cxy = 200, find y2.

Ans. y2 = 10
 Chapter 2

Organizing Data

RAW DATA
Information obtained by observing values of a variable is called raw data. Data obtained by
observing values of a qualitative variable are referred to as qualitative dafa. Data obtained by
observing values of a quantitative variable are referred to as quantitative data. Quantitative data
obtained from a discrete variable are also referred to as discrete data and quantitative data obtained
from a continuous variable are called continuous data.

EXAMPLE 2.1 A study is conducted in which individuals are classified into one of sixteen personality types
using the Myers-Briggs type indicator. The resulting raw data would be classified as qualitative data.

EXAMPLE 2.2 The cardiac output in liters per minute is measured for the participants in a medical study. The
resulting data would be classified as quantitative data and continuous data.

EXAMPLE 2.3 The number of murders per 100,000 inhabitants is recorded for each of several large cities for
the year 1994. The resulting data would be classified as quantitative data and discrete data.

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION FOR QUALITATIVE DATA

A frequencv distributiou for qualitative data lists all categories and the number of elements that
belong to each of the categories.

EXAMPLE 2.4 A sample of rural county arrests gave the following set of offenses with which individuals were
charged:

rape robbery burglary arson murder robbery rape manslaughter

arson theft arson burglary theft robbery theft theft
theft burglary murder murder theft theft theft manslaughter
manslaughter

The variable, type of offense, is classified into the categories: rape, robbery, burglary, arson, murder, theft, and
manslaughter. As shown in Table 2.1, the seven categories are listed under the column entitled Offense, and each
occurrence of a category is recorded by using the symbol / in order to tally the number of times each offense
occurs. The number of tallies for each offense is counted and listed under the column entitled Frequency.
Occasionally the term absolute frequency is used rather than frequency.

Table 2.1
Offense Tally Frequency
Rape I/ 2
Robbery I// 3
Bur glary /I/ 3
Arson I// 3
Murder /I/ 3
Theft )xl/ I// 8
MansI augh te r //I 3

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