Question 1

Which of the following best describes the difference between a population and a sample in statistics?

Accepted Answer

A population includes all individuals of interest, while a sample is a subset selected from the population.

Question 2

In the study about Joy Milne detecting Parkinson’s disease by smell, what is the explanatory variable?

Accepted Answer

The presence or absence of Parkinson’s disease in the shirt wearer.

Question 3

Which type of graph is most appropriate for displaying the frequency of categorical data, such as survey responses about seatbelt use?

Accepted Answer

Bar Graph

Question 4

Given the data set: 20, 13, 4, 8, 19, calculate the sample mean. Use the formula $\bar{x} = \frac{\sum x_i}{n}$.

Accepted Answer

$\bar{x} = 13.2$

Question 5

Which of the following is a quantitative variable?

Accepted Answer

Height in centimeters

Question 6

A study compares health outcomes between men who eat bacon and those who do not. What type of study is this?

Accepted Answer

Observational Study

Question 7

Which sampling method involves dividing the population into groups and randomly selecting some groups to include all their members?

Accepted Answer

Cluster Sampling

Question 8

If Joy Milne was just guessing, what is the expected number of correct identifications out of 12 shirts? (Assume a 50% chance for each guess.)

Accepted Answer

6

Question 9

Which of the following best describes the placebo effect?

Accepted Answer

A change in the response variable due to participants believing they are receiving treatment, even if they are not.

Question 10

Which formula is used to calculate the z-score for a value $x$ in a data set with mean $\mu$ and standard deviation $\sigma$?

Accepted Answer

$z = \frac{x - \mu}{\sigma}$

Question 11

Which measure of center is most appropriate for a highly skewed distribution?

Accepted Answer

Median

Question 12

A dot plot is used in a classroom simulation to record the number of correct guesses in an experiment. What does each dot represent?

Accepted Answer

The frequency of a specific number of correct guesses

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of undercoverage bias?

Accepted Answer

Surveying only students who are present in class on a given day.

Question 14

Given the five-number summary: 19.95, 26.06, 30.95, 37.24, 54.63, what is the interquartile range (IQR)? Use the formula $IQR = Q_3 - Q_1$.

Accepted Answer

$IQR = 37.24 - 26.06 = 11.18$

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a step in the four-step process for statistics?

Accepted Answer

Ignore outliers

Question 16

Which type of variable is 'number of cars owned'?

Accepted Answer

Quantitative

Question 17

If a histogram of exam scores is symmetric and bell-shaped, which measure of center and spread should be used?

Accepted Answer

Mean and standard deviation

Question 18

A survey asks students how many hours they study per week. Which type of variable is this?

Accepted Answer

Quantitative

Question 19

Which of the following best describes a double-blind experiment?

Accepted Answer

Neither the subjects nor the experimenters know which treatment is being administered.

Question 20

Which of the following is a parameter?

Accepted Answer

The mean height of all students in a university.

Foundations of Statistics: Data Collection, Organization, and Summarization

Study Guide - Practice Questions