Chapter 9 Reading Quiz

What do the following situations have in common?

Pollsters predict which candidate will win an election.

Traffic researchers report that more people are wearing seat belts.

Government crash tests produce safety ratings for automobiles.

A soft drink company asks people to taste-test a new flavor of soda.

A quality control inspector tests some of a factory's products.

• All situations involve observations.

• All situations involve experimentation.

• All situations were topics in a Pardis Sabeti video.

• Scientific testing or research to gather data and make informed decisions for a business.

• In each case, we are looking at a sample to learn something about a population.

If we want to know about an entire population, but examining everyone is impractical, then we can examine a smaller group-- a ______.

What was the main problem with the Literary Digest's poll predicting the winner of the 1936 presidential election?

• The sample was biased.

• The sample size was too large to be reliable.

• The sample size was too small to be accurate.

• Incorrect wording of the questions.

• People did not answer the questions honestly. They just told the pollster what they thought he wanted to hear.

What is the purpose of randomization in sampling?

• Increase bias, limit representativeness, hinder generalizability
• Ensure bias, reduce representativeness, limit generalizability
• Allow bias, ensure representativeness, hinder generalizability
• Reduce bias, ensure representativeness, allow for generalizability

Are the two samples in the For Example on p. 234 representative of the population?

• Yes

• No

• Impossible to tell

Which is most important in getting a representative sample?

• the sample size

• the population size

• a large enough percentage of the population

• a sample of at least 1000 individuals

Why would it not make sense to complete a census rather than take a sample?

• Completing a census is faster and more efficient than taking a sample
• Taking a sample is not statistically valid compared to a census
• Completing a census provides more accurate results than taking a sample
• Taking a sample is more practical, cost-effective, and still provides accurate results compared to completing a census.

Which of the following groups are most likely to be undercounted by the U.S. Census? Select all that are correct.

• wealthy people who travel a lot

• undocumented immigrants

• the homeless

• college students

Any summary found from the data is called a __________.

• parameter

• statistic

• survey

• census

We denote population model parameters with _____ letters.