Question 1

Which of the following best describes the main purpose of statistics?

Accepted Answer

To collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data to make decisions.

Question 2

In a study, researchers surveyed 1,000 high school students about their social media usage. The group of all high school students in the country is called:

Accepted Answer

The population.

Question 3

A survey of 834 employees at a company found that 517 thought their jobs were prestigious. What is the sample in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

The 834 employees who responded to the survey.

Question 4

Which of the following is a parameter?

Accepted Answer

The average SAT math score of all freshmen at a university.

Question 5

A researcher calculates the mean time spent on athletics by a sample of 200 student-athletes as 50 hours per week. What is this value called?

Accepted Answer

A sample statistic.

Question 6

Which branch of statistics involves using sample data to make generalizations about a population?

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics.

Question 7

A company reports that the total salary paid to its employees last year was $5,150,694. This value is best described as:

Accepted Answer

A population parameter.

Question 8

Which of the following statements is an example of descriptive statistics?

Accepted Answer

23% of U.S. adults not using the Internet are from households earning less than $30,000 annually.

Question 9

Suppose you want to estimate the average age at which children open their first social media account. You survey 500 children and find the mean age is 11.4 years. What is the correct term for the value 11.4 years?

Accepted Answer

Sample statistic.

Question 10

Which of the following best illustrates inferential statistics?

Accepted Answer

Concluding that lower-income households cannot afford Internet access based on survey data.

Question 11

If $\mu$ represents the mean of a population and $\bar{x}$ represents the mean of a sample, which statement is true?

Accepted Answer

$\mu$ is a parameter and $\bar{x}$ is a statistic.

Question 12

A health organization wants to know the percentage of people in the U.S. who consider health a significant issue. They survey 1,228 people. What is the population in this study?

Accepted Answer

All people in the U.S.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a function of descriptive statistics?

Accepted Answer

Drawing conclusions about a population from a sample.

Question 14

A food safety inspector checks several hundred retail stores for proper fish storage temperature. The stores checked represent:

Accepted Answer

The sample.

Question 15

Which scenario best demonstrates the difference between a parameter and a statistic?

Accepted Answer

Calculating the mean age of all residents in a city (parameter) versus the mean age of 100 randomly selected residents (statistic).

Question 16

If a survey finds that 70% of Americans believe being a doctor is prestigious, and this percentage is based on a sample, what is 70% called?

Accepted Answer

A sample statistic.

Question 17

Which of the following is an example of data?

Accepted Answer

The number of social media accounts a child has.

Question 18

A researcher wants to know the average salary of all employees in a company. She collects salary data from 50 employees. What is the correct term for the group of 50 employees?

Accepted Answer

The sample.

Question 19

Which of the following best describes the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics?

Accepted Answer

Descriptive statistics summarize and display data; inferential statistics use sample data to make predictions about a population.

Question 20

A survey of several hundred stores finds that 60% store fish at the proper temperature. If the Food and Drug Administration wants to generalize this result to all stores, which branch of statistics are they using?

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics.

Section 1.1: An Overview of Statistics

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