1. The U.S.

Department of Energy provides fuel economy information for a variety

of motor vehicles. A sample of 10 automobiles is shown in Table 1.6 (Fuel Economy
website, February 22, 2008). Data show the size of the automobile (compact,
midsize, or large), the number of cylinders in the engine, the city driving miles per
gallon, the highway driving miles per gallon, and the recommended fuel (diesel,
premium, or regular).
a. How many elements are in this data set? 10
5
b. How many variables are in this data set?
c. Which variables are categorical and which variables are quantitative?
2. Table 1.7 shows data for seven colleges and universities. The endowment (in
billions of dollars) and the percentage of applicants admitted are shown (USA
Today, February 3, 2008). The state each school is located in, the campus setting,
and the NCAA Division for varsity teams were obtained from the National Center
of Education Statistics website, February 22, 2008.
a. How many elements are in the data set?
b. How many variables are in the data set?
c. Which of the variables are qualitative and which are quantitative?
3. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel used a customer opinion questionnaire to obtain
performance data about its dining and entertainment services (The Ritz-Carlton
Hotel, Naples, Florida, February 2006). Customers were asked to rate six factors:
Welcome, Service, Food, Menu Appeal, Atmosphere, and Overall Experience. Data
were recorded for each factor with 1 for Fair, 2 for Average, 3 for Good, and 4 for
Excellent. The customer responses provided data for six variables. Are the variables
qualitative or quantitative?

4. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) subscriber survey (October 13, 2003) asked 46
questions about subscriber characteristics and interests. State whether each of the
following questions provided qualitative or quantitative data.
a. What is your age?
b. Are you male or female?
c. When did you first start reading the WSJ? High school, college, early career,
midcareer, late career, or retirement?
d. How long have you been in your present job or position?
e. What type of vehicle are you considering for your next purchase? Nine response
categories include sedan, sports car, SUV, minivan, and so on.

5. State whether each of the following variables is qualitative or quantitative.

a. Annual sales
b. Soft drink size (small, medium, large)
c. Employee classification (GS1 through GS18)
d. Earnings per share
e. Method of payment (cash, check, credit card)
6. For each, identify the population and sample in the study.
a. A polling organization contacts 2141 male university graduates who have a white-
collar job and asks whether or not they had received a raise at work during the past
4 months.
b. A quality-control manager randomly selects 70 bottles of ketchup that were filled
on July 17 to assess the calibration of the filling machine.
c. A farmer interested in the weight of his soybean crop randomly samples 100 plants
and weighs the soybeans on each plant.
d. Every year the U.S. Census Bureau releases the Current Population Report based
on a survey of 50,000 households. The goal of this report is to learn the demographic
characteristics, such as income, of all households within the United States.

7. Gallup News Service conducted a survey of 1017 American adults aged 18 years
or older, September 4–7, 2014. The respondents were asked, “Of every tax dollar
that goes to the federal government in Washington, D.C., how many cents of each
dollar would you say are wasted?” Of the 1017 individuals surveyed, 35% indicated
that 51 cents or more is wasted. Gallup reported that 35% of all adult Americans 18
years or older believe the federal government wastes at least 51 cents of each dollar
spent, with a margin of error of 4% and a 95% level of confidence.
(a) What is the research objective?
(b) What is the population?
(c) What is the sample?

8. The Gallup Organization conducted a survey of 1018 adults, aged 18 and older,
living in the United States and asked, “If you had a thousand dollars to spend, do
you think investing it in the stock market would be a good or bad idea?” Of the 1018
adults, 46% said it would be a bad idea. The Gallup Organization reported that 46%
of all adults, aged 18 and older, living in the United States thought it was a bad idea
to invest $1000 in the stock market with a 4% margin of error with 95% confidence.
(a) What is the research objective?
(b) What is the population?
(c) What is the sample?