Chapter 1

Tutorial
Classify each of the studies as either descriptive or
inferential. Explain your answers.

• 1. TV Viewing Times. The Nielsen Company collects and

publishes information on the television viewing habits of
Americans. Data from a sample of Americans yielded the
following estimates of average TV viewing time per month for
all Americans 2 years old and older. The times are in hours
and minutes (NA, not available). Inferential
Classify each of the studies as either descriptive or
inferential. Explain your answers.

• 2. Professional Athlete Salaries. In the Statistical

Abstract of the United States, average professional
athletes’ salaries in baseball, basketball, and football
were compiled and compared for the years 1995 and
2005. Descriptive
Classify each of the studies as either descriptive or
inferential. Explain your answers.
• 3. Drug Use. The U.S. Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration collects and publishes
data on nonmedical drug use, by type
of drug and age group, in National
Survey on Drug Use and Health. The
following table provides data for the
years 2002 and 2005. The percentages
shown are estimates for the entire
nation based on information obtained
from a sample (NA, not available).
Inferential
Classify each of the studies as either descriptive or
inferential. Explain your answers.

• 4. Dow J ones Industrial Aver ages. The following

table provides the closing values of the Dow Jones
Industrial Averages as of the end of December for the
years 2000–2008. Descriptive
Classify each of the studies as either descriptive or
inferential. Explain your answers.

• 5. Thoughts on Evolution. In an article titled “Who has

designs on your student’s minds?” Author postulated that
support for Darwinism increases with level of education. The
following table provides percentages of U.S. adults, by
educational level, who believe that evolution is a scientific
theory well supported by evidence. Descriptive
 Variables and Data
• 6. Earnings from the Crypt. From Forbes, we obtained a list of
the deceased celebrities with the top five earnings during the
12-month period ending October 2005. The estimates
measure pretax gross earnings before management fees and
other expenses. In some cases, proceeds from estate auctions
are included.
a. What type of data is presented in the first
column of the table? Descriptive

b. What type of data is provided by the

information in the third column of the table?
Inferential
 Variables and Data
• 7. Recording Industry Shipment Statistics. For the year 2007,
the Recording Industry Association of America reported the
following manufacturers’ unit shipments and retail dollar
value in 2007 Year-End Shipment Statistics.

Identify the type of data provided by

the information in each of the
following columns of the table:
a. first.
b. second
c. third
 Variables and Data
• 8. The 113th Boston Marathon At noon on April 20, 2009,
about 23,000 men and women set out to run 26 miles and
385 yards from rural Hopkinton to Boston. Thousands of
people lining the streets leading into Boston and millions
more on television watched this 113th running of the Boston
Marathon.

• The Boston Marathon provides examples of different types of

variables and data, try to identify them.