1.

An investment you made 5 years ago has realised the following rates of return

Year 1 2 3 4 5
Rate of Return -0.15 -0.20 0.15 -0.08 0.50
a) Compute the mean and median of the rates of return
b) Compute the geometric mean
c) Which one of the three statistics computed in parts (a) and (b) best describes the
return over the 5-year period? Explain.

2. An investment of $1000 you made 4 year ago was worth $1200 after the first year, $1200
after the second year, $1500 after the third year, and $2000 today
a) Compute the annual rates of return
b) Compute the mean and median of the rates of return.
c) Compute the geometric mean.
d) Discuss whether the mean, median or geometric mean is the best measure of the
performance of the investment.

3. The starting salaries of a sample of 10 recent MBA graduates are recorded.

a) Determine the mean and median of these data.
b) What do these two statistics tell you about the starting salaries of MBA graduates?

4. Three men were trying to make the football team as punters. The coach had each of them
punt the ball 50 times and the distances were recorded.
a) Compute variance and standard deviation for each punter.
b) What do these statistics tell you about the punters?

5. Calculate the first, second and third quartiles of the following sample.

6. Find the 20th and 40th percentiles of the following data set

7. Calculate the 3rd and 6th deciles of the accompanying data

8. Accountemps, a company that supplies temporary workers, sponsored a survey of 100

executives. Each was asked to report the number of minutes they spend screening each job
resume they receive.
a) Compute the quartiles
b) What information did you derive from the quartiles? What does this suggest about
writing your resume?

9. How much do pets cost? A random sample of dog and cat owners was asked to compute the
amounts of money spent on their pets (exclusive of pet food). Draw a box plot for each data
set and describe your findings.

10. Osteoporosis is a condition in which bone density decreases, often resulting in broken bones.
Bone density usually peaks at age 30 and decreases thereafter. To understand more about
the condition, a random sample of women aged 50 and over were recruited. Each woman’s
bone density loss was recorded.
a) Compute the mean and median of these data.
b) Compute the standard deviation of the bone density losses.
c) Describe what you have learned from the statistics.
11. The Internet is growing rapidly with an increasing number of regular users. However, among
people older than 50, Internet use is still relatively low. To learn more about this issue, a
sample of 250 men and women older than 50 who had used the Internet at least once were
selected. The number of hours on the internet during the past month was recorded.
a) Compute measures of central tendency
b) Compute measures of dispersion
c) Draw a box plot.
d) Briefly describe what you have learned from the statistics you calculated.