NUMERICAL DESCRIPTIVE TECHNIQUES

TRUE/FALSE

1. The mean is affected by extreme values but the median is not.

ANS: T

2. The mean is a measure of variability.

ANS: F

3. In a histogram, the proportion of the total area which must be to the left of the median is more than
0.50 if the distribution is positively skewed.

ANS: F

4. A data sample has a mean of 107, a median of 122, and a mode of 134. The distribution of the data is
positively skewed.

ANS: F

5.  is a population parameter and is a sample statistic.

ANS: T

6. In a bell-shaped distribution, there is no difference in the values of the mean, median, and mode.

ANS: T

7. Lily has been keeping track of what she spends to eat out. The last week's expenditures for meals eaten
out were $5.69, $5.95, $6.19, $10.91, $7.49, $14.53, and $7.66. The mean amount Lily spends on
meals is $8.35.

ANS: T

8. In a negatively skewed distribution, the mean is smaller than the median and the median is smaller
than the mode.

ANS: T

9. The median of a set of data is more representative than the mean when the mean is larger than most of
the observations.

ANS: T

10. The value of the mean times the number of observations equals the sum of the observations.

ANS: T

11. In a histogram, the proportion of the total area which must be to the left of the median is less than 0.50
if the distribution is negatively skewed.
 ANS: F

12. In a histogram, the proportion of the total area which must be to the right of the mean is exactly 0.50 if
the distribution is symmetric and unimodal.

ANS: T

13. Suppose a sample of size 50 has a sample mean of 20. In this case, the sum of all observations in the
sample is 1,000.

ANS: T

14. The median of an ordered data set with 30 items would be the average of the 15th and the 16th
observations.

ANS: T

15. If the mean, median, and mode are all equal, the histogram must be symmetric and bell shaped.

ANS: T

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following statistics is a measure of central location?

a. The mean c. The mode
b. The median d. All of these choices are true.
ANS: D

2. Which measure(s) of central location is/are meaningful when the data are ordinal?
a. The mean and median
b. The mean and mode
c. The median and mode
d. Only mean
ANS: C

3. Which of the following statements about the mean is not always correct?
a. The sum of the deviations from the mean is zero.
b. Half of the observations are on either side of the mean.
c. The mean is a measure of the central location.
d. The value of the mean times the number of observations equals the sum of all
observations.
ANS: B

4. Which of the following statements is true for the following observations: 9, 8, 7, 9, 6, 11, and 13?
a. The mean, median, and mode are all equal.
b. Only the mean and median are equal.
c. Only the mean and mode are equal
d. Only the median and mode are equal.
ANS: A
 5. In a histogram, the proportion of the total area which must be to the left of the median is:
a. exactly 0.50.
b. less than 0.50 if the distribution is negatively skewed.
c. more than 0.50 if the distribution is positively skewed.
d. unknown.
ANS: A

6. Which measure of central location can be used for both interval and nominal variables?
a. The mean c. The mode
b. The median d. All of these choices are true.
ANS: C

7. Which of these measures of central location is not sensitive to extreme values?

a. The mean c. The mode
b. The median d. All of these choices are true.
ANS: B

8. In a positively skewed distribution:

a. the median equals the mean.
b. the median is less than the mean.
c. the median is larger than the mean.
d. the mean can be larger or smaller than the median.
ANS: B

9. Which of the following statements about the median is not true?

a. It is more affected by extreme values than the mean.
b. It is a measure of central location.
c. It is equal to Q2.
d. It is equal to the mode in a bell shaped distribution.
ANS: A

10. Which of the following summary measures is sensitive to extreme values?

a. The median c. The mean
b. The interquartile range d. The first quartile
ANS: C

11. In a perfectly symmetric bell shaped "normal" distribution:

a. the mean equals the median. c. the mean equals the mode.
b. the median equals the mode. d. All of these choices are true.
ANS: D

12. Which of the following statements is true?

a. When the distribution is positively skewed, mean < median < mode.
b. When the distribution is negatively skewed, mean > median > mode.
c. When the distribution is symmetric and unimodal, mean = median = mode.
d. When the distribution is symmetric and bimodal, mean = median = mode.
ANS: C
 13. In a histogram, the proportion of the total area which must be to the right of the mean is:
a. less than 0.50 if the distribution is negatively skewed.
b. exactly 0.50.
c. more than 0.50 if the distribution is positively skewed.
d. exactly 0.50 if the distribution is symmetric and unimodal.
ANS: D

14. The average score for a class of 30 students was 75. The 15 male students in the class averaged 70.
The 15 female students in the class averaged:
a. 85. c. 75
b. 80 d. 70
ANS: B

COMPLETION

1. Another word for the mean of a data set is the ____________________.

ANS: average

2. The size of a sample is denoted by the letter ____________________ and the size of a population is
denoted by the letter ____________________.

ANS: n; N

3. The sample mean is denoted by ____________________ and the population mean is denoted by
____________________.

ANS: ;

4. There are three measures of central location; the mean, the ____________________, and the
____________________.

ANS:
median; mode
mode; median

5. The ____________________ is calculated by finding the middle of the data set, when the data are
ordered from smallest to largest.

ANS: median

6. The ____________________ is the least desirable of all the measures of central location.

ANS: mode
 7. The ____________________ is not as sensitive to extreme values as the ____________________.

ANS:
median; mean
median; average

8. The ____________________ mean is used whenever we wish to find the "average" growth rate, or
rate of change, in a variable over time.

ANS: geometric

9. The ____________________ mean of n returns (or growth rates) is the appropriate mean to calculate
if you wish to estimate the mean rate of return (or growth rate) for any single period in the future.

ANS: arithmetic

10. If a data set contains an even number of observations, the median is found by taking the
____________________ of these two numbers.

ANS:
average
arithmetic mean

11. If a data set is composed of 5 different numbers, there are ____________________ modes.

ANS:
0
no
zero

SHORT ANSWER

Strip Mall Rent

Monthly rent data in dollars for a sample of 10 stores in a small town in South Dakota are as follows:
220, 216, 220, 205, 210, 240, 195, 235, 204, and 250.

1. {Strip Mall Rent Narrative} Compute the sample monthly average rent.

ANS:
= $219.50

2. {Strip Mall Rent Narrative} Compute the sample median.

ANS:
 $218

3. {Strip Mall Rent Narrative} What is the mode?

ANS:
$220

Pets Survey

A sample of 36 families were asked how many pets they owned. Their responses are summarized in
the following table.

Number of Pets 0 1 2 3 4 5
Number of Families 3 20 5 4 2 2

4. {Pets Survey Narrative} Determine the mean, the median, and the mode of the number of pets owned
per family.

ANS:
= [(0  3) + (1  20) + (2  5) + (3  4) + (4  2) + (5  2)]/36 = 1.67 pets, median = 1 pet, mode = 1
pet.

5. {Pets Survey Narrative} Explain what the mean, median, and mode tell you about this particular data
set.

ANS:
The "average" number of pets owned was 1.67 pets. (This represents the overall average, rather than
the number of pets for the average family.) Half the families own at most one pet, and the other half
own at least one pet. The most frequent number of pets owned was one pet.

6. How do the mean, median, and mode compare to each other when the distribution is:

a. symmetric?
b. negatively skewed?
c. positively skewed?

ANS:

a. mean = median = mode

b. mean < median < mode
c. mean > median > mode

7. A basketball player has the following points for seven games: 20, 25, 32, 18, 19, 22, and 30. Compute
the following measures of central location:

a. mean
b. median
c. mode
 ANS:

a. = 23.714
b. median = 22.0
c. There is no mode.

Computers

The following data represent the number of computers owned by a sample of 10 families from
Chicago: 4, 2, 1, 1, 5, 3, 0, 1, 0, and 2.

8. {Computers Narrative} Compute the mean number of computers.

ANS:
= 1.90

9. {Computers Narrative} Compute the median number of computers.

ANS:
Median = 1.5

10. {Computers Narrative} Is the distribution of the number of computers symmetric or skewed? Why?

ANS:
The distribution is positively skewed because the mean is larger than the median.

Weights of Workers

The following data represent the number of employees of a sample of 25 companies: 164, 148, 137,
157, 173, 156, 177, 172, 169, 165, 145, 168, 163, 162, 174, 152, 156, 168, 154, 151, 174, 146, 134,
140, and 171.

11. {Weights of Workers Narrative} Construct a stem and leaf display for the number of workers.

ANS:

Stem Leaf
13 47
14 0568
15 124667
16 2345889
17 123447

12. {Weights of Workers Narrative} Find the median number of workers.

ANS:
Median = 162 workers
13. {Weights of Workers Narrative} Find the mean number of workers.

ANS:

14. {Weights of Workers Narrative} Is the distribution of the number of workers symmetric or skewed?
Why?

ANS:
The distribution is negatively skewed because the mean is smaller than the median, and the stem and
leaf display also shows this negative skewness.

15. The number of hours a college student spent studying during the final exam week was recorded as
follows: 7,6, 4, 9, 8, 5, and 10. Compute for the data and the value in an appropriate unit.

ANS:
= 7 hours

Hours Worked per Week

The following data represent the hours worked per week of a sample of 25 employees from a
government department: 31, 43, 56, 23, 49, 42, 33, 61, 44, 28, 48, 38, 44, 35, 40, 64, 52, 42, 47, 39, 53,
27, 36, 35, and 20.

16. {Hours Worked per Week Narrative} Construct a stem and leaf display for the hours.

ANS:

Stem Leaf
2 0378
3 1355689
4 022344789
5 236
6 14

17. {Hours Worked per Week Narrative} Find the median hours.

ANS:
Median = 42 hours

18. {Hours Worked per Week Narrative} Compute the sample mean hours.

ANS:
= 41.2 hours
19. {Hours Worked per Week Narrative} Find the modal hours.

ANS:
Modes are 35, 42, and 44.

20. {Hours Worked per Week Narrative} Compare the mean and median hours for these employees and
use them to discuss the shape of the distribution.

ANS:
The mean and median are 41.2 hours, 42 hours, respectively. They are very close to each other, which
tells us the distribution of hours is approximately symmetric.

Salaries of Employees

The following data represent the yearly salaries (in thousands of dollars) of a sample of 13 employees
of a firm: 26.5, 23.5, 29.7, 24.8, 21.1, 24.3, 20.4, 22.7, 27.2, 23.7, 24.1, 24.8, and 28.2.

21. {Salaries of Employees Narrative} Compute the mean salary.

ANS:
= 24.692 thousand dollars

22. {Salaries of Employees Narrative} Compute the median salary.

ANS:
median = 24.3 thousand dollars

23. {Salaries of Employees Narrative} Compare the mean salary with the median salary and use them to
describe the shape of the distribution.

ANS:
The mean is $24,692 thousand dollars, and the median is $24,300 thousand dollars. The mean is
slightly higher than the median. This tells us that the data are slightly positively skewed, but close to
symmetric.

24. A sample of 12 construction workers has a mean age of 25 years. Suppose that the sample is enlarged
to 14 construction workers, by including two additional workers having common age of 25 each. Find
the mean of the sample of 14 workers.

ANS:
= 25 years

25. The mean of a sample of 15 measurements is 35.6 feet. Suppose that the sample is enlarged to 16
measurements, by including one additional measurement having a value of 42 feet. Find the mean of
the sample of the 16 measurements.

ANS:
 = 36 feet

2-Year Investment

Suppose you make a 2-year investment of $5,000 and it grows by 100% to $10,000 during the first
year. During the second year, however, the investment suffers a 50% loss, from $10,000 back to
$5,000.

27. {2-Year Investment Narrative} Calculate the arithmetic mean.

ANS:

Ages of Senior Citizens

A sociologist recently conducted a survey of citizens over 65 years of age whose net worth is too high
to qualify for Medicaid and who have no private health insurance. The ages of 22 uninsured senior
citizens were as follows: 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 86, 87, 91, 92,
94, and 97.

30. {Ages of Senior Citizens Narrative} Calculate the mean age of the uninsured senior citizens

ANS:
= 78.0 years.

31. {Ages of Senior Citizens Narrative} Calculate the median age of the uninsured senior citizens.

ANS:
76.5 years.

35. The value of the standard deviation may be either positive or negative, while the value of the variance
will always be positive.

ANS:
F

36. The difference between the largest and smallest observations in an ordered data set is called the range.

ANS:
T

37. The standard deviation is expressed in terms of the original units of measurement but the variance is
not.

ANS:
T
38.  is a population parameter and s is a sample statistic.

ANS:
T

39. While Chebysheff's Theorem applies to any distribution, regardless of shape, the Empirical Rule
applies only to distributions that are bell shaped.

ANS:
T

40. The mean of fifty sales receipts is $65.75 and the standard deviation is $10.55. Using Chebysheff's
Theorem, 75% of the sales receipts were between $44.65 and $86.85.

ANS:
T

41. The data set 10, 20, 30 has the same variance as the data set 100, 200, 300.

ANS:
F

42. According to Chebysheff's Theorem, at least 93.75% of observations should fall within 4 standard
deviations of the mean.

ANS:
T

43. Chebysheff's Theorem states that the percentage of observations in a data set that should fall within
five standard deviations of their mean is at least 96%.

ANS:
T

44. The Empirical Rule states that the percentage of observations in a data set (providing that the data set
is bell shaped) that fall within one standard deviation of their mean is approximately 75%.

ANS:
F

45. A population with 200 elements has a variance of 20. From this information, it can be shown that the
population standard deviation is 10.

ANS:
F
46. If two data sets have the same range, the distances from the smallest to largest observations in both
sets will be the same.

ANS:
T

47. The coefficient of variation is a measure of variability.

ANS:
T

48. The standard deviation is the positive square root of the variance.

ANS:
T

49. If two data sets have the same standard deviation, they must have the same coefficient of variation.

ANS:
F

50. The units for the variance are the same as the units for the original data (for example, feet, inches,
etc.).

ANS:
F

51. The units for the standard deviation are the same as the units for the original data (for example, feet,
inches, etc.).

ANS:
T

52. The variance is more meaningful and easier to interpret compared to the standard deviation.

ANS:
F

53. The range is considered the weakest measure of variability.

ANS:
T

54. Chebysheff's Theorem applies only to data sets that have a bell-shaped distribution.
 ANS:
F

55. The coefficient of variation allows us to compare two sets of data based on different measurement
units.

ANS:
T

56. If the observations are in the millions, a standard deviation of 10 would be considered small. If the
observations are all less than 50, a standard deviation of 10 would be considered large.

ANS:
T

57. A sample of 20 observations has a standard deviation of 3. The sum of the squared deviations from the
sample mean is:
a. 20.
b. 23.
c. 29.
d. 171.

ANS:
D

58. If two data sets have the same range:

a. the distances from the smallest to largest observations in both sets will be the same.
b. the smallest and largest observations are the same in both sets.
c. both sets will have the same standard deviation.
d. both sets will have the same interquartile range.

ANS:
A

59. The Empirical Rule states that the approximate percentage of measurements in a data set (providing
that the data set has a bell-shaped distribution) that fall within two standard deviations of their mean is
approximately:
a. 68%.
b. 75%.
c. 95%.
d. 99%.

ANS:
C

60. Which of the following summary measures is affected most by extreme values?
 a. The median.
b. The mean.
c. The range.
d. The interquartile range.

ANS:
C

61. Chebysheff's Theorem states that the percentage of measurements in a data set that fall within three
standard deviations of their mean is:
a. 75%.
b. at least 75%.
c. 89%.
d. at least 88.9%.

ANS:
D

62. Which of the following is a measure of variability?

a. The interquartile range.
b. The variance.
c. The coefficient of variation.
d. All of these choices are true.

ANS:
D

63. The smaller the spread of scores around the mean:

a. the smaller the variance of the data set.
b. the smaller the standard deviation of the data set.
c. the smaller the coefficient of variation of the data set.
d. All of these choices are true.

ANS:
D

64. Is a standard deviation of 10 a large number indicating great variability, or is it small number
indicating little variability? To answer this question correctly, one should look carefully at the value of
the:
a. mean.
b. standard deviation.
c. coefficient of variation.
d. mean dividing by the standard deviation.

ANS:
C

65. Which of the following types of data has no measure of variability?

 a. Interval data.
b. Nominal data.
c. Bimodal data.
d. None of these choices.

ANS:
B

66. Which of the following statements is true regarding the data set 8, 8, 8, 8, and 8?
a. The range equals 0.
b. The standard deviation equals 0.
c. The coefficient of variation equals 0.
d. All of these choices are true.

ANS:
D

67. According to the Empirical Rule, if the data form a bell shaped normal distribution, approximately
____________________ percent of the observations will be contained within 2 standard deviations
around the mean.

ANS:
95

68. According to the Empirical Rule, if the data form a bell shaped normal distribution approximately
____________________ percent of the observations will be contained within 1 standard deviation
around the mean.

ANS:
68

69. According to the Empirical Rule, if the data form a bell shaped normal distribution approximately
____________________ percent of the observations will be contained within 3 standard deviations
around the mean.

ANS:
99.7

70. There are three statistics used to measure variability in a data set; the range, the
____________________, and the ____________________.

ANS:
variance; standard deviation
standard deviation; variance

71. The ____________________ is the square root of the ____________________.

 ANS:
standard deviation; variance

72. The ____________________ is the least effective of all the measures of variability.

ANS:
range

73. The ____________________ uses both the mean and the standard deviation to interpret standard
deviation for bell shaped histograms.

ANS:
Empirical Rule

74. ____________________ uses both the mean and the standard deviation to interpret standard deviation
for histograms of any shape.

ANS:
Chebysheff's Theorem

75. A statistic that interprets the standard deviation relative to the size of the numbers in the data set is
called the ____________________ of ____________________.

ANS:
coefficient; variation

76. The range, variance, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation are to be used only on
____________________ data.

ANS:
interval

77. A basketball player has the following points for seven games: 20, 25, 32, 18, 19, 22, and 30. Compute
the following measures of variability.

a. Standard deviation
b. Coefficient of variation
c. Compare the standard deviation and coefficient of variation and use them to discuss the
variability in the data.

ANS:

a. s = 5.499
b. cv = 0.232
c. The standard deviation is 5.499 and the coefficient of variation is 0.232. The coefficient of
variation is smallest because the mean is larger than the standard deviation.
78. The following data represent the number of children in a sample of 10 families from a certain
community: 4, 2, 1, 1, 5, 3, 0, 1, 0, and 2.

a. Compute the range.

b. Compute the variance.
c. Compute the standard deviation.
d. Compute the coefficient of variation.
e. Explain why in this case range > variance > standard deviation > coefficient of variation.

ANS:

a. 5
b. 2.77
c. 1.66
d. 0.87
e. The range is the difference between the largest and smallest observation, which compares
the numbers to each other; the variance is in essence "the average squared deviation from
mean", which compares the numbers to the mean. The standard deviation is less than the
variance because it's the square root of a number larger than one. The coefficient of
variation is even smaller because the mean is larger than the standard deviation.

Weights of Teachers

The following data represent the weights in pounds of a sample of 25 teachers: 164, 148, 137, 157,
173, 156, 177, 172, 169, 165, 145, 168, 163, 162, 174, 152, 156, 168, 154, 151, 174, 146, 134, 140,
and 171.

79. {Weights of Teachers Narrative} Compute the sample variance and sample standard deviation.

ANS:
s2 = 156.12 and s = 12.49

80. {Weights of Teachers Narrative} Compute the range and coefficient of variation.

ANS:
Range = 43 and cv = 12.49 / 159.04 = 0.079

81. {Weights of Teachers Narrative} Which is a better measure of variability in the weights of the
teachers, the standard deviation or the coefficient of variation?

ANS:
Each has its own place. The standard deviation is in essence "the average distance from the mean."
The coefficient of variation takes the standard deviation into perspective by dividing the mean.

82. Is it possible for the standard deviation of a data set to be larger than its variance? Explain.

ANS:
 Yes. A standard deviation is larger than its corresponding variance when the variance is between 0 and
1 (exclusive).

Ages of Workers

The ages (in years) of three groups of workers are shown below:

Group A: 17 22 20 18 23
Group B: 30 28 35 40 25
Group C: 44 39 54 21 52

83. {Ages of Workers Narrative} Calculate and compare the standard deviations for the three samples.

ANS:
s = 2.55 years, 5.94 years, and 13.21 years for Groups A, B, and C, respectively. Group A has the
smallest standard deviation because the workers ages are very close, and Group C has ages which are
more spread out from the middle (the largest being 54 and the smallest being 21), so it has the largest
standard deviation.

84. {Ages of Workers Narrative} Compute and compare the ranges for the three groups.

ANS:
Range = 6, 15, and 33 (years) for Groups A, B, and C, respectively. Group C has a much wider range
mainly because the ages themselves are so much further apart than for the other two groups. Group A's
ages are closer together, giving them the smallest range.

85. {Ages of Workers Narrative} Compute and compare the coefficient of variation for the three samples.

ANS:
cv = 0.127, 0.188, and 0.315 for Groups A, B, and C, respectively. All of the groups have mean ages
that are larger than their standard deviations. Each group has a larger standard deviation than the next,
and a larger mean than the next, but the standard deviations increase faster than the means do.

86. Suppose your data set contains ages (in years) and you calculate the range, variance, standard
deviation, and coefficient of variation for the data. Explain what units each of these measures is in.

ANS:
Range subtracts two years (largest minus smallest) so it is still in units of years. The variance is the
average squared deviation from the mean, which is measured in square units. In this case, years
squared. (These units have no meaning in this case.) The standard deviation is the square root of the
variance, taking the units back to years. The coefficient of variation takes the standard deviation (in
years) divided by the mean (in years) and hence has no units at all.

87. The number of hours a college student spent studying during the final exam week was recorded as
follows: 6, 5, 2, 8, 7, 4, and 9. Compute the range for the data, express the number in the appropriate
unit.

ANS:
 Range = 7 hours

88. The number of hours a college student spent studying during the final exam week was recorded as
follows: 7, 6, 4, 9, 8, 5, and 10. Compute s2 and s for the data and express the numbers in the
appropriate unit.

ANS:
s2 = 4.667 (hours)2 and s = 2.160 hours

89. The annual percentage rates of return over the past 10 years for two mutual funds are as shown below.
Which fund would you classify as having the higher level of risk?

Fund A: 7.1 7.4 19.7 3.9 32.4 41.7 23.2 4.0 1.9 29.3
Fund B: 10.8 4.1 5.1 10.9 26.5 24.0 16.9 9.4 2.6 10.1

ANS:
The variance of returns will be used as the measure of risk of an investment. Since,
and , fund A has the higher level of risk.

Ages of Volunteers

The following data represent the ages in years of a sample of 25 volunteers from a charitable
organization: 31, 43, 56, 23, 49, 42, 33, 61, 44, 28, 48, 38, 44, 35, 40, 64, 52, 42, 47, 39, 53, 27, 36, 35,
and 20.

90. {Ages of Volunteers Narrative} Compute the range of the data and express the number in the
appropriate unit.

ANS:
Range = 44 years

91. {Ages of Volunteers Narrative} Compute the sample variance and sample standard deviation, and
express the numbers in the appropriate units.

ANS:
s2 = 124.83 (years)2 and s = 11.17 years

92. {Ages of Volunteers Narrative} Compute the coefficient of variation and express the number in the
appropriate unit.

ANS:
cv = 11.17 years / 41.2 years = 0.271. Coefficient of variation has no units attached to it.

Salaries of Office Workers

 The following data represent the salaries (in thousands of dollars) of a sample of 13 office workers of a
firm: 26.5, 23.5, 29.7, 24.8, 21.1, 24.3, 20.4, 22.7, 27.2, 23.7, 24.1, 24.8, and 28.2.

93. {Salaries of Office Workers Narrative} Compute the variance and standard deviation of the salaries,
and express the numbers in the appropriate units.

ANS:
s2 = 7.097 (thousand dollars, squared) and s = 2.664 thousand dollars

94. {Salaries of Office Workers Narrative} Compute the coefficient of variation and express the number in
the appropriate unit.

ANS:
cv = 2.664 thousand dollars / 24.692 thousand dollars = 0.108. No units are attached to the cv.

95. {Salaries of Office Workers Narrative} Compute the range.

ANS:
Range = 9.3 thousand dollars

96. Consider the following population of measurements: 162, 152, 177, 157, 184, 176, 165, 181, 170, and
163. Label and compute the variance and standard deviation.

ANS:
2 = 101.61 and  = 10.08

Milk Demand

A supermarket has determined that daily demand for milk containers has an approximate bell shaped
distribution, with a mean of 55 containers and a standard deviation of six containers.

97. {Milk Demand Narrative} How often can we expect between 49 and 61 containers to be sold in a day?
(Give a percentage.)

ANS:
Approximately 68% by the Empirical Rule.

98. {Milk Demand Narrative} What percentage of the time will the number of containers of milk sold be
more than 2 standard deviations from the mean?

ANS:
Approximately 5% by the Empirical Rule.

99. {Milk Demand Narrative} If the supermarket begins each morning with a supply of 67 containers of
milk, how often will demand exceed the supply? (Give a percentage.)

ANS:
 Approximately 2.5% by the Empirical Rule.

100. A sample of 13 college professors has a mean age of 30 years and a standard deviation of 5 years.
Suppose that the sample is enlarged to 15 college professors, by including two additional professors
that are each 30 years old. Will the standard deviation increase, decrease, or stay the same, and why?

ANS:
The new standard deviation will be smaller than the original one because the two new professors' ages
don't deviate from the mean, but they add two more observations to the data set, bringing down the
average deviation from the mean. The new standard deviation actually is s = 4.643.

101. The price-earnings ratios of a sample of stocks have a mean value of 13.5 and a standard deviation of
2. If the ratios have a bell shaped distribution, what can we say about the proportion of ratios that fall
between

a. 11.5 and 15.5?

b. 9.5 and 17.5?
c. 7.5 and 19.5?

ANS:

a. The interval contains approximately 68% of the ratios, according to the Empirical Rule.
b. The interval contains approximately 95% of the ratios according to the Empirical Rule.
c. The interval contains approximately 99.7% of the ratios according to the Empirical Rule.

102. The distance between the 25th percentile and the median is always the same as the distance between
the median and the 75th percentile.

ANS:
F

103. The interquartile range will always exceed that of the range.

ANS:
F

104. The interquartile range is found by taking the difference between the 1st and 3rd quartiles and dividing
that value by 2.

ANS:
F

105. Quartiles divide the observations in a data set into four parts with the same amount of data in each
part.

ANS:
T
106. The length of the box in a box plot portrays the interquartile range.

ANS:
T

107. Expressed in percentiles, the interquartile range is the difference between the 25th and 75th
percentiles.

ANS:
T

108. If the distribution of a data set were perfectly symmetric, the distance from Q1 to the median would
always equal the distance from Q3 to the median in a box plot.

ANS:
T

109. The first and second quartiles of a data set can never be equal.

ANS:
F

110. The value for Q3 can never be smaller than the value for Q1.

ANS:
T

111. In symmetric data, the value for Q2 is always halfway between Q1 and Q3.

ANS:
T

112. Percentiles can be converted into quintiles and deciles, where quintiles divide the data into fifths, and
deciles divide the data into tenths.

ANS:
T

113. The 5-number summary consists of the smallest observation, the first quartile, the median, the third
quartile, and the largest observation.

ANS:
T
114. In a negatively skewed distribution, the distance from the smallest observation to Q1 exceeds the
distance from Q3 to the largest observation.

ANS:
T

115. A box plot is a graphical representation of the 5-number summary.

ANS:
T

116. In a positively skewed distribution, the percentage of data between the smallest observation and Q1 is
less than the percentage of data between Q3 and the largest observation.

ANS:
F

117. The interquartile range is an interval of numbers starting at Q1 and ending at Q3.

ANS:
F

118. The line drawn within the box of a box plot always represents the mean.

ANS:
F

119. The line drawn within the box of a box plot always represents the median.

ANS:
T

120. The interquartile range is a measure of variability in a set of data.

ANS:
T

121. Expressed in percentiles, the fifth decile is the 50th percentile or the median.

ANS:
T

122. When extreme values are present in a set of data, which of the following descriptive summary
measures are most appropriate?
 a. Coefficient of variation and range
b. Mean and standard deviation
c. Interquartile range and median
d. Variance and interquartile range

ANS:
C

123. The length of the box in the box plot portrays the:
a. median.
b. interquartile range.
c. range.
d. third quartile.

ANS:
B

124. In a negatively skewed distribution, which of the following is the correct statement?
a. The distance from Q1 to Q2 is smaller than the distance from Q2 to Q3.
b. The distance from Q1 to Q2 is larger than the distance from Q2 to Q3.
c. The distance from Q1 to Q2 is half the distance from Q2 to Q3.
d. The distance from Q1 to Q3 is twice the distance from the Q1 to Q2.

ANS:
B

125. In a perfectly symmetric distribution, which of the following statements is false?

a. The distance from Q1 to Q2 equals to the distance from Q2 to Q3.
b. The distance from the smallest observation to Q1 is the same as the distance from Q3 to the
largest observation.
c. The distance from the smallest observation to Q2 is the same as the distance from Q2 to the
largest observation.
d. The distance from Q1 to Q3 is half of the distance from the smallest to the largest
observation.

ANS:
D

126. Which of the following summary measures cannot be easily approximated from a box plot?
a. The range
b. The interquartile range
c. The second quartile
d. The standard deviation

ANS:
D

127. The interquartile range is the difference between the:

 a. largest and smallest numbers in the data set.
b. 25th percentile and the 75th percentile.
c. median and the mean.
d. None of these choices.

ANS:
B

128. In a positively skewed distribution, which of the following is the correct statement?
a. The distance from Q1 to Q2 is larger than the distance from Q2 to Q3.
b. The distance from Q1 to Q2 is smaller than the distance from Q2 to Q3.
c. The distance from Q1 to Q2 is twice the distance from Q2 to Q3.
d. The distance from Q1 to Q2 is half the distance from Q2 to Q3.

ANS:
B

129. Which measures of central location and variability are considered to be resistant to extreme values?
a. The mean and standard deviation.
b. The mode and variance.
c. The median and interquartile range.
d. None of these choices.

ANS:
C

130. Which of the following measures of variability is not sensitive to extreme values?
a. The range
b. The standard deviation
c. The interquartile range
d. The coefficient of variation

ANS:
C

131. Which of the following statements is true?

a. The lower or first quartile is labeled Q1 and is equal to the 25th percentile.
b. The second quartile is labeled Q2 and is equal to the median.
c. The upper or third quartile is labeled Q3 and is equal to the 75th percentile.
d. All of these choices are true.

ANS:
D

132. If the first and second quartiles are closer to each other than are the second and third quartiles, then the
shape of the histogram based on the quartiles is ____________________.

ANS:
 positively skewed

133. If the first and second quartiles are farther apart than the second and third quartiles, then the shape of
the histogram based on the quartiles is ____________________.

ANS:
negatively skewed

134. ____________________ are extremely large or extremely small observations.

ANS:
Outliers

135. The middle line inside the box in a box plot represents the ____________________.

ANS:
median

136. The horizontal lines extending to the left and to the right of the box in a box plot are called
____________________.

ANS:
whiskers

137. Any points that lie outside the whiskers on a box plot are called ____________________.

ANS:
outliers

138. The ____________________ measures the spread between the middle 50% of the observations.

ANS:
interquartile range

139. The 10th ____________________ is the value for which 10% of the observations are less than that
value.

ANS:
percentile

140. A percentile is a measure of ____________________ standing.

ANS:
relative
141. Q2 is another name for the ____________________.

ANS:
median

Weights of Police Officers

The following data represent the weights in pounds of a sample of 25 police officers: 164, 148, 137,
157, 173, 156, 177, 172, 169, 165, 145, 168, 163, 162, 174, 152, 156, 168, 154, 151, 174, 146, 134,
140, and 171.

142. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Determine the location and value of the lower quartile of the
weights.

ANS:
Location = L25 = 6.5 and value of Q1 = 148 + 0.50(151  148) = 149.5 pounds.

143. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Determine the location and value of the second quartile of the
weights.

ANS:
Location = L50 = 13 and value of Q2 is 162 pounds.

144. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Determine the location and value of the upper quartile of the
weights.

ANS:
Location = L75 = 19.5 and value of Q3 = 169 + 0.50(171  169) = 170 pounds.

145. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Describe the shape of the distribution of weights based on the
quartiles' values.

ANS:
Since Q2  Q1 > Q3  Q2, the distribution of weights are negatively skewed.

146. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Determine the location and value of the 60th percentile of the
weights.

ANS:
Location = L60 = 15.6 and value of the 60th percentile = 164 + 0.60(165  164) = 164.6 pounds.

147. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Construct a frequency distribution for the data, using five class
intervals, and the value 130 as the lower limit of the first class.

ANS:
 Class Limits Frequency
130-140 2
140- 150 4
150-160 6
160-170 7
170-180 6
Total 25

148. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Construct a relative frequency histogram for the data, using
five class intervals and the value 130 as the lower limit of the first class.

ANS:

149. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} What does the histogram tell you about the distribution of the
weights of workers?

ANS:
The histogram indicates negative skewness.

150. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative}

a. Construct a box plot for the weights.

b. Are there any extreme values?
c. What does the box plot tell you about the distribution of the data?

ANS:

a.

b. There are no extreme values.

c. The box plot indicates negative skewness because the left side of the box is longer than
 the right side of the box.

151. {Weights of Police Officers Narrative} Calculate the 3rd and 7th deciles of the data.

ANS:
Location = L30 = 7.8 and value of 3rd decile = 151 + 0.80(152  151) = 151.80

Location = L70 =18.2 and value of 7th decile = 168 + 0.20(169  168) = 168.20

Hours of Playing Video Games

Suppose that the following data provide the hours of playing video games per week for a sample of 15
high school students in Roanoke, Virginia: 5, 11, 25, 19, 18, 20, 27, 13, 8, 10, 15, 19, 18, 9, and 12.

152. {Hours of Playing Video Games Narrative} Determine the location and value of the first quartile.

ANS:
Location = L25 = 4 and value of Q1 = 10 hours.

153. {Hours of Playing Video Games Narrative} Determine the location and value of the second quartile.

ANS:
Location = L50 = 8 and value of Q2 = 15 hours.

154. {Hours of Playing Video Games Narrative} Determine the location and value of the third quartile.

ANS:
Location = L75 = 12 and value of Q3 = 19 hours.

155. {Hours of Playing Video Games Narrative} Calculate and interpret the interquartile range.

ANS:
Interquartile range = Q3  Q1 = 9 hours. There is a 9 hour range between the middle 50% of the hours
playing video games

Ages of Jockeys

The following data represent the ages in years of a sample of 25 jockeys from a local race track: 31,
43, 56, 23, 49, 42, 33, 61, 44, 28, 48, 38, 44, 35, 40, 64, 52, 42, 47, 39, 53, 27, 36, 35, and 20.

156. {Ages of Jockeys Narrative} Find the lower quartile of the ages.

ANS:
Location = L25 = 6.5 and value of Q1 = 33 + 0.50(35  33) = 34 years

157. {Ages of Jockeys Narrative} Find the upper quartile of the ages.
 ANS:
Location = L75 =19.5 and value of Q3 = 48 + 0.50(49  48) = 48.50 years

158. {Ages of Jockeys Narrative} Compute the interquartile range of the data and interpret its meaning.

ANS:
Interquartile range = Q3  Q1 = 48.5  34 = 14.5 years. There is a 14.5 year gap between the middle
50% of the ages of the jockeys from that race track.

159. {Ages of Jockeys Narrative}

a. Construct a box plot for the ages and identify any extreme values.
b. What does the box plot tell you about the distribution of the data?

ANS:

a. The box plot lies below. There are no extreme values.

b. The box plot indicates approximate symmetry (perhaps a small amount of negative
skewness).

160. {Ages of Jockeys Narrative} Construct a relative frequency distribution for the data, using five class
intervals and the value 20 as the lower limit of the first class.

ANS:

Class Limits Relative

Frequency
20-30 0.16
30-40 0.28
40-50 0.36
50-60 0.12
60-70 0.08
Total 1.00

161. {Ages of Jockeys Narrative}

a. Construct a relative frequency histogram for the data.

 b. What does the histogram tell you about the distribution of the data?

ANS:

a.

b. The histogram is close to symmetric.

Yearly Donations

The following data represent the yearly donations (in thousands of dollars) of a sample of 13
benefactors: 26.5, 23.5, 29.7, 24.8, 21.1, 24.3, 20.4, 22.7, 27.2, 23.7, 24.1, 24.8, and 28.2.

162. {Yearly Donations Narrative} Compute the lower quartile for the donations.

ANS:
Location = L25 = 3.5 and value of Q1 = 22.7 + 0.50(23.5  22.7) = 23.1 = $23,100.

163. {Yearly Donations Narrative} Compute median.

ANS:
Location = L50 = 7 and value of Q2 is the median, which is $24,300.

164. {Yearly Donations Narrative} Compute the upper quartile.

ANS:
Location = L75 = 10.5 and value of Q3 = 26.5 + 0.50(27.2  26.5) = 26.85 = $26,850.

165. {Yearly Donations Narrative}

a. Describe the shape of distribution of donations based on the values of the quartiles.
b. Give a possible reason for the shape of this data set, in terms of donations.
 ANS:

a. Since Q2  Q1 = 1.2 < Q3  Q2 = 2.55, then the distribution of salaries must be positively
skewed.
b. Most benefactors make a 'typical' donation, but some also make larger donations. The
larger the donation, the fewer the number of people that make that donation.

166. {Yearly Donations Narrative} Compute and interpret the 90th percentile.

ANS:
Location = L90 = 12.6 and value of the 90th percentile = 28.2 + .60(29.7  28.2) = 29.10. This means
90% of the benefactors make a donation of less than $29,100.

Test Scores

Suppose that an analysis of a set of test scores reveals that: Q1 = 45, Q2 = 85, Q3 = 105.

167. {Test Scores Narrative} What do these statistics tell you about the shape of the distribution of test
scores?

ANS:
The fact that Q2  Q1 = 40 is greater that Q3  Q2 = 20 indicates that test scores are negatively skewed.

168. {Test Scores Narrative} What can you say about the relative position of each of the observations 34,
84, and 104, within this data set?

ANS:
Since 34 is less than Q1, it is among the lowest 25% of the observations. The score of 84 is a just bit
smaller than the middle value, which is Q2 = 85. Since Q3 = 105, the score of 104 is larger than about
75% of the observations.

169. {Test Scores Narrative} Calculate the interquartile range. What does this tell you about the data?

ANS:
Interquartile range = Q3  Q1 = 60. This means that the middle 50% of the test scores have a range of
60 points.

Ages of Retirees

A sociologist recently conducted a survey of retirees over 65 years of age whose net worth is too high
to qualify for Medicaid and who have no private health insurance. The ages of 20 uninsured retirees
were as follows: 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 81, 86, 87, 91, 92, 94, and 97.

170. {Ages of Retirees Narrative} Calculate the first quartile of the ages of the uninsured retirees.

ANS:
Location = 5.25 and value of Q1 = 69 + .25(70  69) = 69.25 years.
171. {Ages of Retirees Narrative} Calculate the third quartile of the ages of the uninsured retirees.

ANS:
Location = 15.75 and value of Q3 = 86 + .75(87  86) = 86.75 years.

172. {Ages of Retirees Narrative} Identify the interquartile range of the ages of the uninsured retirees.
What does this value tell you about the data?

ANS:
Interquartile range = Q3  Q1 = 17.5 years. This means that the middle 50% of retirees whose net
worth is too high to qualify for Medicaid and who have no private health insurance have ages ranging
within 17.5 years of each other.

173. {Ages of Retirees Narrative} What does the value of the first quartile tell you?

ANS:
One fourth of the retirees sampled are below 69.25 years of age.

174. {Ages of Retirees Narrative} What does the value of the third quartile tell you?

ANS:
Three fourths of the senior citizens are under 86.75 years of age. (Or, one forth of them are over 86.75
years old!)

175. {Ages of Retirees Narrative} Describe the shape of the distribution of ages by comparing the quartiles.

ANS:
The minimum age is 65; the value of Q1 is 69 + .25(70  69) = 69.25 years old; the median is (75 + 78)
/ 2 = 76.5 years old; Q3 = 86 + .75(87  86) = 86.75 years old; and the maximum age is 97. Since the
distances between each of these statistics increases in order, the ages are positively skewed (meaning
many at a 'typical' age and a few that are older than the rest).