1.1 Definitions of Statistics, Probability, and Key Terms

Determine what the population, sample, parameter, statistic, variable, and data referred to in the following study.

We want to know the mean amount of extracurricular activities in which high school students participate. We randomly surveyed 100 high school students. Three of those students were in 2, 5, and 7 extracurricular activities, respectively.

Find an article online or in a newspaper or magazine that refers to a statistical study or poll. Identify what each of the key terms—population, sample, parameter, statistic, variable, and data—refers to in the study mentioned in the article. Does the article use the key terms correctly?

Determine what the key terms refer to in the following study.

A study was conducted at a local high school to analyze the average cumulative GPAs of students who graduated last year. Fill in the letter of the phrase that best describes each of the items below.

1. Population ____ 2. Statistic ____ 3. Parameter ____ 4. Sample ____ 5. Variable ____ 6. Data ____

1. a) all students who attended the h…

Determine what the population, sample, parameter, statistic, variable, and data referred to in the following study.

As part of a study designed to test the safety of automobiles, the National Transportation Safety Board collected and reviewed data about the effects of an automobile crash on test dummies (The Data and Story Library, n.d.). Here is the criterion they used.

Cars with dummies in the…

Determine what the population, sample, parameter, statistic, variable, and data referred to in the following study.

An insurance company would like to determine the proportion of all medical doctors who have been involved in one or more malpractice lawsuits. The company selects 500 doctors at random from a professional directory and determines the number in the sample who have been involved in a ma…

Below is a two-way table showing the types of college sports played by men and women.

Given these data, calculate the marginal distributions of college sports for the people surveyed.

Below is a two-way table showing the types of college sports played by men and women.

Given these data, calculate the conditional distributions for the subpopulation of women who play college sports.

Determine what the key terms refer to in the example for Researcher A.

population

Determine what the key terms refer to in the example for Researcher A.

parameter

Determine what the key terms refer to in the example for Researcher A.

variable

For each of the following situations, indicate whether it would be best modeled with a mathematical model or a statistical model. Explain your answers.

1. driving time from New York to Florida
2. departure time of a commuter train at rush hour
3. distance from your house to school
4. temperature of a refrigerator at any given time
5. weight of a bag of rice at the store

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

Ski resorts are interested in the mean age that children take their first ski and snowboard lessons. They need this information to plan their ski classes optimally.

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

Insurance companies are interested in the mean health costs each year of their clients, so that they can determine the costs of health insurance.

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

A marriage counselor is interested in the proportion of clients she counsels who stay married.

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

A marketing company is interested in the proportion of people who will buy a particular product.

Use the following information to answer the next three exercises: A Lake Tahoe Community College instructor is interested in the mean number of days Lake Tahoe Community College math students are absent from class during a quarter.

Consider the following

$X$ = number of days a Lake Tahoe Community College math student is absent.

In this case, X is an example of which of the following?

1. variable
2. po…