Business Statistics BBA 2nd semester 2022–Assignment-1

1.1 What was the primary use of statistics in ancient times?

1.2 In what ways can business statistics be useful in today’s business environment?

1.3 Jeff Bowlen, a labor relations expert, has collected information on strikes in various industries.
a. Jeff says, “Industry A has been harder hit by strikes than Industry B.” In what scale of measurement is this information? Why?
b. Industry C has lost 10.8 days per worker, while Industry D has lost 14.5 days per worker. In what scale of measurement is
this information? Why?

1.4 The Snowbird Ski Lodge attracts skiers from several New England states. For each of the following scales
of measurement, provide one example of information that might be relevant to the lodge’s business.

a. Nominal b. Ordinal
c. Interval d. Ratio

1.5 A research firm observes that men are twice as likely as women to watch the Super Bowl on television.
Does this information represent descriptive statistics or inferential statistics? Why?

1.6 For each of the following, indicate whether the appropriate variable would be qualitative or quantitative.
If you identify the variable as quantitative, indicate whether it would be discrete or continuous.
a. Whether you own a Panasonic television set
b. Your status as either a full-time or a part-time student
c. The number of people who attended your school’s graduation last year
d. The price of your most recent haircut
e. Sam’s travel time from his dorm to the student union
f. The number of students on campus who belong to a social fraternity or sorority

1.7 What kinds of statistical data play a role in an auto insurance firm’s decision on the annual premium you’ll pay for your
policy?

1.8 For each of the following, indicate the scale of measurement that best describes the information.
a. In 2008, Dell Corporation had approximately 78,000 sold items.
b. USA Today reports that the previous day’s highest temperature in the United States was 105 degrees in Death Valley,
California.
c. An individual respondent answers “yes” when asked if TV contributes to violence in the Pakistan.
d. In a comparison test of family sedans, a magazine rates the Toyota Camry higher than the VW Passat.

1.9 Most undergraduate business students will not go on to become actual practitioners of statistical research and analysis.
Considering this fact, why should such individuals bother to become familiar with business statistics?

1.20 Bill scored 1200 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and entered college as a physics major. As a freshman, he changed to
business because he thought it was more interesting. Because he made the dean’s list last semester, his parents gave him $30 to
buy a new Casio calculator. For this situation, identify at least one piece of information in the
a. nominal scale of measurement.
b. ordinal scale of measurement.
c. interval scale of measurement.
d. ratio scale of measurement.

1.21 Roger Amster teaches an English course in which 40 students are enrolled. After yesterday’s class, Roger
questioned the 5 students who always sit in the back of the classroom. Three of the 5 said “yes” when asked if
they would like A Tale of Two Cities as the next class reading assignment.
a. Identify the population and the sample in this situation.
b. Is this likely to be a representative sample? If not, why not?

1.22 In studying the performance of the company’s stock investments over the past year, the research manager of a mutual fund
company finds that only 43% of the stocks returned more than the rate that had been expected at the beginning of the year.
a. Could this information be viewed as representing the nominal scale of measurement? If so, explain your reasoning. If not,
why not?
b. Could this information be viewed as representing the ratio scale of measurement? If so, explain your reasoning. If not, why
not?