Pg 18

29 Which of the following statements is false?

A) Relative frequencies are often useful in a presentation because nearly everybody

understands fractional parts when expressed as percents.
B) Relative frequencies are particularly useful when comparing the frequency distributions of
two different size sets of data.
C) The histogram of a sample should have a distribution shape that is skewed.
D) A stem-and-leaf display contains all the information needed to create a histogram.
ANSWER: C
A histogram of a sample shouldn’t necessarily be asymmetrical. The
shape of a histogram shows you the shape of the distribution. Skewed
shapes sometimes have a logical reason for existing.
(Not sure about this one)

30. Numerical variables can be subdivided into which two types?

A) Diverse and categorical

B) Discrete and continuous
C) Nominal and progressive
D) Cross-sectional and discrete
ANSWER: B

Numerical variables include both discrete and continuous variables.

Nominal and Ordinal are for categorical variables and cross section
is a framework.
31. Gender and State are examples of which type of data?

A) Discrete data
B) Continuous data
C) Categorical data
D) Ordinal data
ANSWER: C

Gender and State are examples of categorical data, because they

are not numbers. These are labels that can describe groups, or as
the name implies, categories.
32. Which of the following is the graphical analog of a frequency table?

A) The histogram
B) The scatterplot
C) The time series plot
D) The contingency table
ANSWER: A
A histogram is displays on adjacent bars the frequency of
occurrence for data. This is the easiest way to visualize a frequency
table.
33. A variable is classified as ordinal if:

A) there is a natural ordering of categories

B) there is no natural ordering of categories
C) the data arise from continuous measurements
D) we track the variable through a period of time
ANSWER: A
As the name implies, an ordinal variable is a categorical variable for
which the possible values are ordered. Some examples include:
educational level ( Elementary school, High school graduat, College
graduate); socio-economic status (low, middle, high), etc.

34. A time series plot is essentially a:

A) histogram.
B) scatter plot.
C) Pareto diagram.
D) pie chart.
ANSWER: B.

A scatter plot is a diagram that graphs pairs of numerical data,

with one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship between
them. The only difference between a scatter plot and a time series
plot is that the time series connects the data in order with a line,
while a scatter plot displays the data unordered and unconnected.
True-False Questions pg 19
35. A histogram is the best graphical tool to display qualitative data.
ANSWER: F

A histogram is used to display quantitative data, numbers that can be measured and
we can extract meaning from, after computations. We can’t derive meaning from use
of arithmetic computations on Qualitative data.

36. It is necessary for a discrete numerical variable to have a finite number of values.
ANSWER: F
Discrete variables count the number of objects in a collection. This number can be
infinite, for example, imagine counting the decimals of pi.

37. Ordinal data indicate the rank ordering of items, and similar to nominal data – the values are
words that describe responses.
ANSWER: T

Ordinal data, where data appear in categories, but the categories have a meaningful
order, such as ratings from 1 to 5, or class ranks of freshman through senior.

38. An interval scale indicates rank and distance from a natural zero measured in unit intervals.
ANSWER: F

An interval scale indicates rank and distance from an arbitrary zero measured in unit intervals.

39. Ratio scale data do indicate both rank and distance from a natural zero, with ratios of two
measures having meaning.
ANSWER: T

A ratio scale is a quantitative scale where there is a true zero and equal intervals between
neighboring points.

40. Bar charts and pie charts are commonly used to describe categorical data.
ANSWER: T

If our intent is to draw attention to the frequency of each category, then we will most likely draw a bar
chart.

41. A line chart is also called a time-series plot.

ANSWER: T

A time series is a set of measurements, ordered over time, on a particular quan- tity of interest.
In a time series the sequence of the observations is important. A line chart, also called a time
series plot, is a series of data plotted at various time intervals.

42. A line chart is also called a scatter plot.

ANSWER: F
We can prepare a scatter plot by locating one point for each pair of two variables that
represent an observation in the data set. A line chart is also called a time-series plot.
43. An ogive is also called a cumulative line graph.
ANSWER: T
An ogive, sometimes called a cumulative line graph, is a line that connects points that are the
cumulative percent of observations below the upper limit of each interval in a cumulative
frequency distribution.

44. Histograms may not be “mathematically correct” since they often cannot be scaled on the
vertical axis.
ANSWER: T
In general, when a variable contains some frequent values, we need to be aware of it. However,
histograms don't allow to do that, because they are based on intervals, and intervals “hide”
individual values. These hidden values can only be revealed by expanding the histogram
vertically.

45. A stem-and-leaf displays an exploratory data analysis (EDA) graph that is an alternative to the
line graph.
ANSWER: F
A stem-and-leaf display is an EDA graph that is an alternative to the histogram.

46. In real life, there are not situations in which we need to describe relationships between
categorical or ordinal variables.
ANSWER: F

47. All graphic representations of sets of data need to be completely self-explanatory. That
includes a descriptive meaningful title, and identification of the vertical and horizontal scales.
ANSWER: T
A chart without graphs is hard to read at a glance, we need to know what we are looking at in
order to find what we are looking for.

48. The stem-and-leaf display for summarizing numerical data is a combination of a graphic
technique and a sorting technique.
ANSWER: T

The 'stem' is on the left displays the first digit or digits. The 'leaf' is on the right and
displays the last digit