MID-TERM TEST SAMPLE

TIME: 100 MINUTES

Student’s name:

Multiple choice: choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1) "Bob didn't wear his lucky T-shirt to class, so he failed his chemistry exam." This best illustrates which fallacy?
A) Small sample generalization B) Poor survey methods
C) Post hoc reasoning D) More than one of the above

Answer: C
Explanation: There is no credible causal link between these two events.

2) Which is least likely to be regarded as a ratio variable?

A) A critic's rating of a restaurant on a 1 to 4 scale
B) Automobile exhaust emission of nitrogen dioxide (milligrams per mile)
C) Number of customer complaints per day at a cable TV company office
D) Cost of an eBay purchase

Answer: A
Explanation: Ratings on a Likert scale have no meaningful zero.

3) Thirty work orders are selected from a filing cabinet containing 500 work order folders by choosing every 15th folder. Which
sampling method is this?
A) Simple random sample B) Systematic sample
C) Stratified sample D) Cluster sample

Answer: B
Explanation: This is a classic systematic sample from an accessible but unlisted population.

4) A population has groups that have a small amount of variation within them, but large variation among or between the groups
themselves. The proper sampling technique is
A) simple random. B) stratified.
C) cluster. D) judgment.

Answer: B
Explanation: Identifiable strata call for stratified sampling if you can afford the extra time and cost.

5) Which is not revealed on a scatter plot?

A) Pairs of observed (xi, yi) data values
B) Nonlinear relationships between X and Y
C) Missing data values due to nonresponses
D) Unusual data values (outliers)

Answer: C
Explanation: Excel simply omits missing data for a scatter plot.

6) Bob found an error in the following frequency distribution. What is it?

Class Frequency
  1–10    2  
  11–20    6  
  25–30    8  
  31–40    12  
  44–50    6  

A) The class limits are overlapping too much.

B) The classes are not collectively exhaustive.
C) There are too many classes by Sturges' Rule.
D) The first class must start at 0.

Answer: B
Explanation: Bin limits overlap. Where would you put a data value of 23?

7) The following table is the frequency distribution of parking fees for a day: 

Fee (dollars) Number of Garages

6.00 < 6.50   5  
6.50 < 7.00   8  
7.00 < 7.50   10  
7.50 < 8.00   7  

What is the mean parking fee?

A) $7.07 B) $6.95 C) $7.00 D) $7.25

Answer: A
Explanation: Apply the formulas for weighted average using each interval midpoint multiplied by its relative frequency.

8) A population is of size 5,500 observations. When the data are represented in a relative frequency distribution, the relative frequency
of a given interval is 0.15. The frequency in this interval is equal to
A) 4,675 B) 800 C) 675 D) 825

Answer: D
Explanation: 15 percent of 5,500 is 825.

9) Below is a sorted stem-and-leaf diagram for the measured speeds (miles per hour) of 49 randomly chosen vehicles on highway I-80
in Nebraska. What is the mode?
       
Stem unit = 10 
Leaf unit = 1 
Frequency Stem Leaf
  1 4 9
  1 5 5
  17 6 01222455556688999
  19 7 0111233345666778999
  7 8 0133557
  4 9 0122
  49    

A) 62 B) 79 C) 65 D) Impossible to tell

Answer: C
Explanation: The value 65 occurs 4 times. Some other data values occur 3 times.

10) This histogram shows Chris's golf scores in his last 77 rounds at Devil's Ridge. Which is not a correct statement?
A) The number of bins is consistent with Sturges' Rule.
B) The histogram has a noticeable bimodal shape.
C) The modal class is 78 < 80.
D) About 15 percent of his scores are in the interval 74 < 76.

Answer: A
Explanation: Sturges' Rule suggests k = 1 + 3.3 log (77) = 7.22, or about 7 bins.

11) VenalCo Market Research surveyed 50 individuals who recently purchased a certain CD, revealing the age distribution shown
below. Which statement is least defensible?

A) The mean age probably exceeds the median age.

B) The mode would be a reasonable measure of center.
C) The data are somewhat skewed to the left.
D) The CD is unlikely to appeal to retirees.

Answer: A
Explanation: The mean would be lower than the median due to left-skewness.

12) In the following data set {7, 5, 0, 2, 7, 15, 5, 2, 7, 18, 7, 3, 0}, the value 7 is
A) the mean. B) the mode.
C) both the mode and median. D) both the mean and mode.

Answer: B
Explanation: The value 7 occurs four times. The median is 5. The mean is 6.

13) The heights of male students in a certain statistics class range from Xmin = 61 to Xmax = 79. Applying the Empirical Rule, a
reasonable estimate of σ would be
A) 2.75 B) 3.00 C) 3.25 D) 3.50
Answer: B
Explanation: One-sixth of the presumed 6σ range would be (79 − 61)/6 = 3.

14) The midhinge lies halfway between

A) xmin and xmax. B) Q1 and Q3.
C) the mean and the median. D) the inner fences.

Answer: B
Explanation: The midhinge is the average of Q1 and Q3.

15) Chebyshev's Theorem

A) applies to all samples.
B) applies only to samples from a normal population.
C) gives a narrower range of predictions than the Empirical Rule.
D) is based on Sturges' Rule for data classification.

Answer: A
Explanation: The strength of Chebyshev's Theorem is that it makes no assumption about

16) Exam scores in a random sample of students were 0, 50, 50, 70, 70, 80, 90, 90, 90, 100. Which statement is incorrect?
A) The standard deviation is 29.61.
B) The data are slightly left-skewed.
C) The midrange and mean are almost the same.
D) The third quartile is 90.

Answer: C
Explanation: The midrange is (0 + 100)/2 = 50, while the mean is 69. Q3 falls between 90 and 90.

17) As a measure of variability, compared to the range, an advantage of the standard deviation is that it
A) is calculated easily through the use of a formula.
B) considers only the data values in the middle of the data array.
C) describes the distance between the highest and lowest values.
D) considers all data values.

Answer: D
Explanation: The range is easy to calculate but utilizes only two data values, which may be unusual.

18) Shown the spending by a sample of 50 breakfast customers of McDonald's. Which statement is least likely to be correct?
 

A) The median is very close to the midhinge.

B) The median purchase is slightly less than $5.
C) About 75 percent of the customers spend less than $7.
D) The mean is a reasonable measure of center.

Answer: D
Explanation: Outliers and right-skewness would affect the mean.

19) The 25th percentile for waiting time in a doctor's office is 19 minutes. The 75th percentile is 31 minutes. Which is incorrect
regarding the fences?
A) The upper inner fence is 49 minutes.
B) The upper outer fence is 67 minutes.
C) A waiting time of 45 minutes exceeds the upper inner fence.
D) A waiting time of 70 minutes would be an outlier.

Answer: C
Explanation: Apply definitions of fences. For example, the upper inner fence is 31 + 1.5(31 − 19) = 49.

20) Frieda is 67 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds. Women her age have a mean height of 65 inches with a standard deviation of 2.5
inches and a mean weight of 125 pounds with a standard deviation of 10 pounds. In relative terms, it is correct to say that
A) Frieda is taller and thinner than women in her age group.
B) for this group of women, weight has greater variation than height.
C) Frieda's height is more unusual than her weight.
D) the variation coefficient exceeds 10 percent for both height and weight.

Answer: C
Explanation: Calculate the z-scores for Frieda's weight and Frieda's height. For Frieda's height,
z = (x − μ)/σ = (67 − 65)/(2.5) = 0.80, while for Frieda's weight, z = (x − μ)/σ = (135 − 125)/10 = 1.00. Therefore, Frieda's weight is
farther from the mean than her height. For heights, the CV = 100 × σ/μ = 100 × (2.5)/(65) = 3.8%, while for weights, CV = 100 × σ/μ =
100 × 10/125 = 8.0% (both CVs are below 10%).

21) What does the graph below (profit/sales ratios for 25 Fortune 500 companies) reveal?

A) That the median exceeds the mean.

B) That the data are slightly left-skewed.
C) That the interquartile range is about 8.
D) That the distribution is bell-shaped.

Answer: C
Explanation: The box is skewed right, so mean probably exceeds the median. The interquartile range (IQR) is about 12 − 4 = 8.

22) Within a given population, 22 percent of the people are smokers, 57 percent of the people are males, and 12 percent are males who
smoke. If a person is chosen at random from the population, what is the probability that the selected person is either a male or a
smoker?
A) .67 B) .79 C) .22 D) .43

Answer: A
Explanation: Use the General Law of Addition P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A ∩ B).

Questions 23 and 24 are based on the following contingency table: 

  A1 A2 A3 A4 Row Total
B1   12     26     42     68     148  
B2   14     28     44     64     150  
B3   18     32     47     72     169  
Col Total   44     86     133     204     467  

23) Find P(A3 ∩ B2).

A) .3212 B) .2933 C) .0942 D) .1006
Answer: C
Explanation: This is a joint probability: P(A3 and B2) = 44/467.

24) Find P(A2 | B3). 

A) .0685 B) .1893 C) .3721 D) .1842

Answer: B
Explanation: This is a conditional probability: P(A2 | B3) = 32/169.

25) Ramjac Company wants to set up k independent file servers, each capable of running the company's intranet. Each server has
average "uptime" of 98 percent. What must k be to achieve 99.999 percent probability that the intranet will be "up"?
A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4

Answer: C
Explanation: 1 − P(F1∩F2∩F3) = 1 − (.02)(.02)(.02) = 1 − .000008 = .999992, so 3 servers will do.

26) The following probabilities are given about events A and B in a sample space: P(A) = .30, P(B) = .40, P(A or B) = .60. We can say
that
A) P(A ∩ B) = .70. B) P(A) = P(A ∩ B).
C) P(A ∩ B) = .10. D) A and B are independent events.

Answer: C
Explanation: Apply the General Rule of Addition: P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A ∩ B).

27) At Dolon General Hospital, 30 percent of the patients have Medicare insurance (M) while 70 percent do not have Medicare
insurance (M´). Twenty percent of the Medicare patients arrive by ambulance, compared with 10 percent of the non-Medicare patients.
If a patient arrives by ambulance, what is the probability that the patient has Medicare insurance?
A) .7000 B) .5000 C) .4615 D) .1300

Answer: C
Explanation: Review Bayes' Theorem, and perhaps make a table or tree.

28) From the following tree, find the probability that a randomly chosen person will get the flu.
 

A) .19 B) .07 C) .81 D) .70

Answer: A
Explanation: Multiply down two branches and add .07 to .12. That is (.70)(.10) + (.30)(.40).

29) At Joe's Restaurant, 80 percent of the diners are new customers (N), while 20 percent are returning customers (R). Fifty percent of
the new customers pay by credit card, compared with 70 percent of the regular customers. If a customer pays by credit card, what is
the probability that the customer is a new customer?
A) .7407 B) .8000 C) .5400 D) .5000
Answer: A
Explanation: Review Bayes' Theorem, and perhaps make a table or tree.

30) In a certain city, 5 percent of all drivers have expired licenses and 10 percent have an unpaid parking ticket. If these events are
independent, what is the probability that a driver has both an expired license and an unpaid parking ticket?
A) .010 B) .005 C) .001 D) Cannot be determined

Answer: B
Explanation: Because they are independent events then P(A ∩ B) = P(A)P(B) = (.05)(.10).

31) In Quebec, 90 percent of the population subscribes to the Roman Catholic religion. In a random sample of eight Quebecois, find
the probability that the sample contains at least five Roman Catholics.
A) .0050 B) .0331 C) .9950 D) .9619

Answer: C
Explanation: Use Appendix A with n = 8 and π = .90 to find P(X ≥ 5) or else =1- P(X≤4) = .99498.

32) On average, a major earthquake (Richter scale 6.0 or above) occurs three times a decade in a certain California county. Find the
probability that at least one major earthquake will occur within the next decade.
A) .7408 B) .1992 C) .1494 D) .9502

Answer: D
Explanation: Use Appendix B with λ = 3.0.

33) If tubing averages 16 defects per 100 meters, what is the probability of finding exactly 2 defects in a randomly chosen 10-meter
piece of tubing?
A) .8795 B) .2674 C) .3422 D) .2584

Answer: D
Explanation: Use Appendix B with λ = 16/10 = 1.6.

34) The probability that a rental car will be stolen is .0004. If 3500 cars are rented, what is the approximate Poisson probability that 2
or fewer will be stolen?
A) .3452 B) .2417 C) .5918 D) .8335

Answer: D
Explanation: Since n ≥ 20 and π ≤ .05 we can set λ = nπ = (3500)(.0004) = 1.4 and use Appendix B to find P(X ≤ 2)

35) Which probability model would you use to describe the number of damaged printers in a random sample of 4 printers taken from a
shipment of 28 printers that contains 3 damaged printers?
A) Poisson B) Hypergeometric C) Binomial D) Uniform

Answer: B
Explanation: Sampling (n = 4 printers) without replacement with known number of "successes" (s = 3 damaged printers) in the
population (N = 28 printers).

36) To ensure quality, customer calls for airline fare quotations are monitored at random. On a particular Thursday afternoon, ticket
agent Bob gives 40 fare quotations, of which 4 are incorrect. In a random sample of 8 of these customer calls, which model best
describes the number of incorrect quotations Bob will make?
A) Binomial B) Poisson C) Hypergeometric D) Geometric

Answer: C
Explanation: Sampling (n = 8 calls selected) without replacement with known number of "successes" (s = 4 incorrect quotes) in the
population (N = 40 quotes).

37) A charity raffle prize is $1,000. The charity sells 4,000 raffle tickets. One winner will be selected at random. At what ticket price
would a ticket buyer expect to break even?
A) $0.50 B) $0.25 C) $0.75 D) $1.00

Answer: B
Explanation: Expected winning is (1/4000) × $1000 = $0.25.
38) A carnival has a game of chance: a fair coin is tossed. If it lands heads you win $1.00, and if it lands tails you lose $0.50. How
much should a ticket to play this game cost if the carnival wants to break even?
A) $0.25 B) $0.50 C) $0.75 D) $1.00

Answer: A
Explanation: E(X) = (.5) × $1 + (.5) × (−$0.50) = $0.50 − $0.25 = $0.25.

39) The discrete random variable X is the number of students that show up for Professor Smith's office hours on Monday afternoons.
The table below shows the probability distribution for X. What is the expected value E(X) for this distribution?
           
X 0 1 2 3 Total
P(X) .40 .30 .20 .10 1.00

A) 1.2 B) 1.0 C) 1.5 D) 2.0

Answer: B
Explanation: For each X, multiply X by P(X) and sum the values.

40) The discrete random variable X is the number of students that show up for Professor Smith's office hours on Monday afternoons.
The table below shows the probability distribution for X. What is the probability that at least 1 student comes to office hours on any
given Monday?

           
X 0 1 2 3 Total
P(X) .40 .30 .20 .10 1.00

A) .30 B) .40 C) .50 D) .60

Answer: D
Explanation: P(X ≥ 1) = 1 − P(X = 0) = 1 − .40 = .60.

41) The binomial distribution is symmetrical when

A) π = 1 and 1  − π = 0. B) π = ¼ and 1 − π = ¾.
C) π = ½ and 1 − π = ½. D) π = 0 and 1 − π = 1.

Answer: C
Explanation: The binomial distribution is skewed unless π = .50.

42) The probability that a visitor to an animal shelter will adopt a dog is .20. Out of nine visits, what is the probability that at least one
dog will be adopted?
A) .8658 B) .3020 C) .5639 D) .1342

Answer: A
Explanation: Use Appendix A with n = 9 and π = .20 to find P(X ≥ 1) or else use 1-P(X=0) = .865778.

43) A network has three independent file servers, each with 90 percent reliability. The probability that the network will be functioning
correctly (at least one server is working) at a given time is
A) 99.9 percent. B) 97.2 percent. C) 95.9 percent. D) 72.9 percent.

Answer: A
Explanation: Use Appendix A with n = 3 and π = .90.

44) The true proportion of accounts receivable with some kind of error is .02 for Venal Enterprises. If an auditor randomly samples
200 accounts receivable, what is the approximate Poisson probability that fewer than two will contain errors?
A) .1038 B) .0916 C) .1465 D) .0015

Answer: B
Explanation: Since n ≥ 20 and π ≤ .05 we can set λ = nπ = (200)(.02) = 4.0 and use Appendix B to find P(X ≤ 1), or else use the Excel
cumulative distribution function =POISSON.DIST(1,4.0,1) = .09158.
45) If X is a discrete uniform random variable ranging from 0 to 12, find P(X ≥ 10).
A) .1126 B) .1666 C) .2308 D) .2500

Answer: C
Explanation: 3 out of 13 outcomes (don't forget to count 0 as an outcome).

46) There is a .02 probability that a customer's Visa charge will be rejected at a certain Target store because the transaction exceeds the
customer's credit limit. What is the probability that the first such rejection occurs on the third Visa transaction?
A) .0192 B) .0025 C) .0247 D) .0200

Answer: A
Explanation: Use the formulas for the geometric PDF (not the CDF) with π = .02 to find P(X = 3) = .02(1 − .02)3−1 = .02(.98)2 = .
02(.9604) = .019208.

47) When you send out a resume, the probability of being called for an interview is .20. What is the expected number of resumes you
send out before you get the first interview?
A) 5 B) 7 C) 10 D) 12

Answer: A
Explanation: The geometric mean is 1/π = 1/(.20) = 5.

48) A project has 3 independent stages that must be completed in sequence. The time to complete each stage is a random variable. The
standard deviations of the completion times for the stages are σ1 = 5, σ2 = 4, σ3 = 6. The standard deviation of the overall project
completion time is
A) 8.77. B) 15.0. C) 14.2. D) 9.24.
Answer: A

Explanation: The variances can be summed because the stages are independent (Rule 4). You have to square the standard deviations
to get the variances σ12 = 25, σ22 = 16, σ32 = 36; then add them and take the square root of the sum. Be careful—the standard
deviations cannot be summed.

49) A stock portfolio consists of two stocks X and Y. Their daily closing prices are correlated random variables with variances σX2 =
3.51 and σY2= 5.22, and covariance σXY = −1.55. What is the standard deviation of the sum of the closing prices of these two stocks?
A) 5.63 B) 7.18 C) 8.73 D) 2.68

Answer: D
Explanation: Use the formula for the variance of correlated (nonindependent) events. We sum the variances and covariance, and then
take the square root: σX+Y = [σX2 + σY2 + σXY]1/2 = [3.51 + 5.22 − 1.55]1/2 = [7.18]1/2 = 2.67955.

50) The expected value of a random variable X is 10 and the standard deviation is 2. The standard deviation of the random variable Y =
2X − 10 is
A) 2 B) 4 C) −10 D) −6

Answer: B
Explanation: Use the rule for functions of a random variable (Rule 2) to get σY = 2σX = (2)(2) = 4. The constant −10 merely shifts the
distribution and has no effect on the standard deviation. The mean of Y is not requested.

51) In Melanie's Styling Salon, the time to complete a simple haircut is normally distributed with a mean of 25 minutes and a standard
deviation of 4 minutes. The slowest quartile of customers will require more than how many minutes for a simple haircut?
A) 3(n + 1)/4 minutes
B) 26 minutes
C) 25.7 minutes
D) 27.7 minutes
Answer: D
Explanation: Using Excel =NORM.INV(.75,25,4) = 27.698, or Q3 = 25 + 0.675(4) = 27.7 using
52) A student's grade on an examination was transformed to a z value of 0.67. Assuming a normal distribution, we know that she
scored approximately in the top
A) 15 percent.
B) 50 percent.
C) 40 percent.
D) 25 percent.

Answer: D
Explanation: P(Z > 0.67) = 1 − P(Z < 0.67) = 1 − .2514 = .7486.

53) A large number of applicants for admission to graduate study in business are given an aptitude test. Scores are normally distributed
with a mean of 460 and standard deviation of 80. The top 2.5 percent of the applicants would have a score of at least (choose the
nearest integer)
A) 606
B) 617
C) 600
D) 646

Answer: B
Explanation: Using z = 1.96, we get X = 460 + 1.96 × 80 = 616.8.

54) If the mean time between in-flight aircraft engine shutdowns is 12,500 operating hours, the 90th percentile of waiting times to the
next shutdown will be
A) 20,180 hours.
B) 28,782 hours.
C) 23,733 hours.
D) 18,724 hours.

Answer: B
Explanation: Set λ = 1/12500. To solve for x, set the left-tail area of 1 − exp(−λx) equal to .90. Then solve for x by taking logs of both
sides.

55) A software developer makes 175 phone calls to its current customers. There is an 8 percent chance of reaching a given customer
(instead of a busy signal, no answer, or answering machine). The normal approximation of the probability of reaching at least 20
customers is
A) .022
B) .007
C) .063
D) .937

Answer: C
Explanation: Set n = 175 and π = .08. Calculate μ = nπ = (175)(.08) = 14 and σ = [nπ(1 − π)]1/2 = [175(.08)(1 − .08)]1/2 = 3.588872.
Use x = 19.5 (with the continuity correction) and calculate the binomial P(X ≥ 20) ≈ P(z ≥ 1.532515) using z = (x − μ)/σ = 1.532515.