20

Sample Questions for Statistics

1. In the scatterplot of y versus x shown above, the least squares regression
line is superimposed on the plot. Which of the following points has the
largest residual?
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
(E) E
2. Under which of the following conditions is it preferable to use stratified random
sampling rather than simple random sampling?
(A) The population can be divided into a large number of strata so that each
stratum contains only a few individuals.
(B) The population can be divided into a small number of strata so that each
stratum contains a large number of individuals.
(C) The population can be divided into strata so that the individuals in each
stratum are as much alike as possible.
(D) The population can be divided into strata so that the individuals in each
stratum are as different as possible.
(E) The population can be divided into strata of equal sizes so that each
individual in the population still has the same chance of being selected.
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21
Sample Questions for Statistics
3. All bags entering a research facility are screened. Ninety-seven percent of the bags
that contain forbidden material trigger an alarm. Fifteen percent of the bags that
do not contain forbidden material also trigger the alarm. If 1 out of every 1,000
bags entering the building contains forbidden material, what is the probability
that a bag that triggers the alarm will actually contain forbidden material?
(A) 0.00097
(B) 0.00640
(C) 0.03000
(D) 0.14550
(E) 0.97000
4. A candy company claims that 10 percent of its candies are blue. A random
sample of 200 of these candies is taken, and 16 are found to be blue. Which of
the following tests would be most appropriate for establishing whether the candy
company needs to change its claim?
(A) Matched pairs t-test
(B) One-sample proportion z-test
(C) Two-sample t-test
(D) Two-sample proportion z-test
(E) Chi-square test of association
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Variable N Mean Median TrMean StDev SE Mean
score 50 1045.7 1024.7 1041.9 221.9 31.4
Variable Minimum Maximum Q1 Q3
score 628.9 1577.1 877.7 1219.5
5. Some descriptive statistics for a set of test scores are shown above. For this
test, a certain student has a standardized score of z = 1.2. What score did this
student receive on the test?
(A) 266.28
(B) 779.42
(C) 1008.02
(D) 1083.38
(E) 1311.98
6. In a test of H
0
: = 8 versus H
a
: 8, a sample of size 220 leads to a p-value of
0.034. Which of the following must be true?
(A) A 95% confidence interval for calculated from these data will not
include = 8.
(B) At the 5% level if H
0
is rejected, the probability of a Type II error is 0.034.
(C) The 95% confidence interval for calculated from these data will be
centered at = 8.
(D) The null hypothesis should not be rejected at the 5% level.
(E) The sample size is insufficient to draw a conclusion with 95% confidence.
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22
Sample Questions for Statistics
7. A summer resort rents rowboats to customers but does not allow more than
four people to a boat. Each boat is designed to hold no more than 800 pounds.
Suppose the distribution of adult males who rent boats, including their clothes
and gear, is normal with a mean of 190 pounds and standard deviation of 10
pounds. If the weights of individual passengers are independent, what is the
probability that a group of four adult male passengers will exceed the acceptable
weight limit of 800 pounds?
(A) 0.023
(B) 0.046
(C) 0.159
(D) 0.317
(E) 0.977
8. Consider a data set of positive values, at least two of which are not equal. Which
of the following sample statistics will be changed when each value in this data set
is multiplied by a constant whose absolute value is greater than 1?
I. The mean
II. The median
III. The standard deviation
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) I, II, and III
9. Each person in a simple random sample of 2,000 received a survey, and 317
people returned their survey. How could nonresponse cause the results of the
survey to be biased?
(A) Those who did not respond reduced the sample size, and small samples have
more bias than large samples.
(B) Those who did not respond caused a violation of the assumption of
independence.
(C) Those who did not respond were indistinguishable from those who did not
receive the survey.
(D) Those who did not respond represent a stratum, changing the simple random
sample into a stratified random sample.
(E) Those who did respond may differ in some important way from those who
did not respond.
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23
Sample Questions for Statistics
10. In a certain game, a fair die is rolled and a player gains 20 points if the die shows
a 6. If the die does not show a 6, the player loses 3 points. If the die were to be
rolled 100 times, what would be the expected total gain or loss for the player?
(A) A gain of about 1,700 points
(B) A gain of about 583 points
(C) A gain of about 83 points
(D) A loss of about 250 points
(E) A loss of about 300 points
11. The Attila Barbell Company makes bars for weight lifting. The weights of the
bars are independent and are normally distributed with a mean of 720 ounces
(45 pounds) and a standard deviation of 4 ounces. The bars are shipped 10 in a
box to the retailers. The weights of the empty boxes are normally distributed with
a mean of 320 ounces and a standard deviation of 8 ounces. The weights of the
boxes filled with 10 bars are expected to be normally distributed with a mean of
7,520 ounces and a standard deviation of
(A) 12 ounces
(B) 80 ounces
(C) 224 ounces
(D) 48 ounces
(E) 1 664 , ounces
12. Exercise physiologists are investigating the relationship between lean body
mass (in kilograms) and the resting metabolic rate (in calories per day) in
sedentary males.
Predictor Coef StDev T P
Constant 264.0 276.9 0.95 0.363
Mass 22.563 6.360 3.55 0.005
S = 144.9 R-Sq = 55.7% R-Sq(adj) = 51.3%
Based on the computer output above, which of the following is the best
interpretation of the value of the slope of the regression line?
(A) For each additional kilogram of lean body mass, the resting metabolic rate
increases on average by 22.563 calories per day.
(B) For each additional kilogram of lean body mass, the resting metabolic rate
increases on average by 264.0 calories per day.
(C) For each additional kilogram of lean body mass, the resting metabolic rate
increases on average by 144.9 calories per day.
(D) For each additional calorie per day for the resting metabolic rate, the lean
body mass increases on average by 22.563 kilograms.
(E) For each additional calorie per day for the resting metabolic rate, the lean
body mass increases on average by 264.0 kilograms.
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Sample Questions for Statistics
13. An investigator was studying a territorial species of Central American termites,
Nasutitermes corniger. Forty-nine termite pairs were randomly selected; both
members of each of these pairs were from the same colony. Fifty-five additional
termite pairs were randomly selected; the two members in each of these pairs
were from different colonies. The pairs were placed in petri dishes and observed
to see whether they exhibited aggressive behavior. The results are shown in the
table below.
Aggressive Nonaggressive Total
Same colony 40 (33.5) 9 (15.5) 49
Different colonies 31 (37.5) 24 (17.5) 55
Total 71 33 104
A Chi-square test for homogeneity was conducted, resulting in
2
= 7.638. The
expected counts are shown in parentheses in the table. Which of the following
sets of statements follows from these results?
(A)

2
is not significant at the 0.05 level.
(B)

2
is significant, 0.01 < p < 0.05; the counts in the table suggest that termite
pairs from the same colony are less likely to be aggressive than termite pairs
from different colonies.
(C)
2
is significant, 0.01 < p < 0.05; the counts in the table suggest that termite
pairs from different colonies are less likely to be aggressive than termite
pairs from the same colony.
(D)
2
is significant, p < 0.01; the counts in the table suggest that termite pairs
from the same colony are less likely to be aggressive than termite pairs from
different colonies.
(E)

2
is significant, p < 0.01; the counts in the table suggest that termite pairs
from different colonies are less likely to be aggressive than termite pairs
from the same colony.
14. Consider n pairs of numbers (x
1
, y
1
), (x
2
, y
2
), . . . , and (x
n
, y
n
). The mean and
standard deviation of the x-values are
x = 5 and s
x
= 4, respectively. The mean
and standard deviation of the y-values are y = 10 and s
y
= 10, respectively. Of the
following, which could be the least squares regression line?
(A) y = 5.0 + 3.0x
(B) y = 3.0x
(C) y = 5.0 + 2.5x
(D) y = 8.5 + 0.3x
(E) y = 10.0 + 0.4x
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Sample Questions for Statistics
15. The mayor of a large city will run for governor if he believes that more than 30
percent of the voters in the state already support him. He will have a survey firm
ask a random sample of n voters whether or not they support him. He will use a
large sample test for proportions to test the null hypothesis that the proportion
of all voters who support him is 30 percent or less against the alternative that the
percentage is higher than 30 percent. Suppose that 35 percent of all voters in the
state actually support him. In which of the following situations would the power
for this test be highest?
(A) The mayor uses a significance level of 0.01 and n = 250 voters.
(B) The mayor uses a significance level of 0.01 and n = 500 voters.
(C) The mayor uses a significance level of 0.01 and n = 1,000 voters.
(D) The mayor uses a significance level of 0.05 and n = 500 voters.
(E) The mayor uses a significance level of 0.05 and n = 1,000 voters.
16. George and Michelle each claimed to have the better recipe for chocolate chip
cookies. They decided to conduct a study to determine whose cookies were
really better. They each baked a batch of cookies using their own recipe. George
asked a random sample of his friends to taste his cookies and to complete a
questionnaire on their quality. Michelle asked a random sample of her friends
to complete the same questionnaire for her cookies. They then compared the
results. Which of the following statements about this study is false?
(A) Because George and Michelle have a different population of friends, their
sampling procedure makes it difficult to compare the recipes.
(B) Because George and Michelle each used only their own respective recipes,
their cooking ability is confounded with the recipe quality.
(C) Because George and Michelle each used only the ovens in their houses, the
recipe quality is confounded with the characteristics of the oven.
(D) Because George and Michelle used the same questionnaire, their results will
generalize to the combined population of their friends.
(E) Because George and Michelle each baked one batch, there is no replication
of the cookie recipes.
17. A large company is considering opening a franchise in St. Louis and wants to
estimate the mean household income for the area using a simple random sample
of households. Based on information from a pilot study, the company assumes
that the standard deviation of household incomes is = $7,200. Of the following,
which is the least number of households that should be surveyed to obtain
an estimate that is within $200 of the true mean household income with
95 percent confidence?
(A) 1,375
(B) 1,300
(C) 5,200
(D) 5,500
(E) 7,700
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Sample Questions for Statistics
18. Courtney has constructed a cricket out of paper and rubber bands. According
to the instructions for making the cricket, when it jumps it will land on its feet
half of the time and on its back the other half of the time. In the first 50 jumps,
Courtneys cricket landed on its feet 35 times. In the next 10 jumps, it landed on
its feet only twice. Based on this experience, Courtney can conclude that
(A) the cricket was due to land on its feet less than half the time during the final
10 jumps, since it had landed too often on its feet during the first 50 jumps
(B) a confidence interval for estimating the crickets true probability of landing
on its feet is wider after the final 10 jumps than it was before the final
10 jumps
(C) a confidence interval for estimating the crickets true probability of landing
on its feet after the final 10 jumps is exactly the same as it was before the
final 10 jumps
(D) a confidence interval for estimating the crickets true probability of landing
on its feet is more narrow after the final 10 jumps than it was before the final
10 jumps
(E) a confidence interval for estimating the crickets true probability of landing
on its feet based on the initial 50 jumps does not include 0.2, so there must
be a defect in the crickets construction to account for the poor showing in
the final 10 jumps
Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions
1 A 4 B 7 A 10 C 13 E 16 D
2 C 5 B 8 E 11 C 14 D 17 C
3 B 6 A 9 E 12 A 15 E 18 D
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