Pearson’s r – Sample Problems

1. At a large department store customers were asked to rate the service and the materials purchased on
a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest rating. Then the amount that they spent was recorded. Is
there evidence of a relationship between the rating and the amount that they spent?

Find yʹ when x = 10.

2. A researcher feels that a pet store bases the cost of puppies on the cuteness of the animals. Eight
puppies were rated on their cuteness. The ratings were from 1 to 6, with 6 being the highest rating. The
ratings and the cost in dollars of the puppies are shown. Is there a significant relationship between the
variables?

3. A study is conducted to determine the relationship between a driver’s age and the number of
accidents he or she has over a 1-year period. The data are shown here. If there is a significant
relationship, predict the number of accidents of a driver who is 28.

4. A researcher desires to know whether the typing speed of a secretary (in words per minute) is related to
the time (in hours) that it takes the secretary to learn to use a new word processing program. The data
are shown.

If there is a significant relationship, predict the time it will take the average secretary who has a typing
speed of 72 words per minute to learn the word processing program.

5. A study was conducted with vegetarians to see whether the number of grams of protein each ate per
day was related to diastolic blood pressure. The data are given here. If there is a significant relationship,
predict the diastolic pressure of a vegetarian who consumes 8 grams of protein per day.

6. A researcher wishes to see if there is a relationship between Internet use by high school students and
isolation of the students. Internet use is measured by the number of hours per week that the students
spend on the computer. Isolation is measured by having the students complete a questionnaire. The
questionnaire score ranges from 20 to 50, with 50 being the most isolated students. The data are shown.
Is there a significant relationship between the variables?

7. The data on the right show the

consumption of alcohol (x, liters per
year per person, 14 years or older)
and the death rate from cirrhosis, a
liver disease (y, death per 100,000
population) in 15 countries (each
country is an observation unit).
Calculate the coefficient of
correlation and if significant, what
would be the death rate from Cirrhosis
for a country with alcohol
consumption rate of 11.0 liters per
year per person?