Statistical Inference: A Short Course

Exercises

1. Are the following variables qualitative or quantitative?

a. Color	g. Life expectancy
b. Gender	h. Size of your family
c. Zip code	i. Number on a uniform
d. Temperature	j. Marital status
e. Your cell phone number	k. Drivers license number
f. Posted speed limit	l. Cost to fill up your car's gas tank

2. Are the following variables discrete or continuous?

a. Number of trucks parked at a truck stop

b. Number of tails obtained in three flips of a fair coin

c. Time taken to walk up a flight of stairs

d. The height attained by a high jumper

e. Life expectancy

f. Number of runs scored in a baseball game

g. Length of your favorite song

h. Weight loss after dieting for a month

3. Are the following variables nominal or ordinal?

a. Gender

b. Brand of a loaf of bread

c. Response to a customer satisfaction survey: poor, fair, good, or excellent

d. Letter grade in a college course

e. Faculty rank at a local college

4. Are the following variables all measured on a ratio scale?

a. Cost of a new pair of shoes

b. A day's wages for a laborer

c. Your house number

d. Porridge in the pot 9 days old

e. Your shoe size

f. An IQ score of 130

Notes

1. Induction is a process of reasoning from the specific to the general.

2. “Data” is a plural noun; “datum” is the singular of data.