Probability and Statistics Tutorials

Part 1: Statistics
Introduction
1. If we have measured the weights of 10 mice and computed their average, then this is an
example of:
A) descriptive statistics B) inferential statistics C) a population.

2. If we have chosen 10 mice for our experiment, then this set of mice is called:
A) a hypothesis B) a population C) a sample.

3. If we have measured the weights of 10 mice, and from this we predicted the average
weight of all mice, then this is an example of:
A) descriptive statistics B) inferential statistics C) a population.

4. The number of test questions that a student can answer correctly is an example of a:
A) continuous variable B) discrete variable C) inferential variable.

5. The possible blood types of a human (O, A, B, AB) can be classified as what kind of variable?
A) A continuous variable B) A qualitative variable C) A quantitative variable

6. The number of absences per year that a worker has is an example of what type of variable?
A) Qualitative B) Discrete C) Continuous

7. The distance covered by a student from home to college is an example of:

A) a continuous variable B) a qualitative variable C) a discrete variable

8. The distance covered by a taxi approximated to the nearest kilometer is an example of:
A) a continuous variable B) a qualitative variable C) a discrete variable

9. A researcher divided subjects into two groups according to gender and then selected
members from each group for her sample. What sampling method was the researcher
using?
A) Cluster B) Random C) Systematic D) Stratified

10. Data that can be classified according to color is measured on what scale?
A) Nominal B) Ratio C) Ordinal D) Interval

11. In order to decide whether to turn on the heater, air-conditioner or neither, a person
classifies the temperature as (hot, moderate, or cold). In this case, temperature is
measured on what scale?
A) Nominal B) Ratio C) Ordinal D) Interval
12. A Faculty building consists of 4 floors (A, B, C & D), each floor has 5 classrooms. Everyday a
faculty member must inspect the classrooms for cleanliness and order. Due to time
limitations, he can only inspect 5 classrooms. If he inspected classes (A1, A2, B3, C1, C2).
What sampling method was he using?
A) Cluster B) Random C) Systematic D) Stratified

13. In the previous example, if he divided the classrooms according to their floors and then
inspected all classrooms on floor D. What sampling method was he using?
A) Cluster B) Random C) Systematic D) Stratified

Data Grouping

14. A questionnaire on housing arrangements showed this information obtained from 25

respondents. Construct a frequency distribution for the data (H _ house, A _ apartment, M
_ mobile home, C _ condominium).
H C H M H A C A M C M C A M
A C C M C C H A H H M

15. The quiz marks for a group of 30 students are given below. Construct an ungrouped
frequency distribution of these marks.
1 5 3 3 3 4 4 5 4 2 2 3 5 3 3
2 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 0 2 3 5

16.The number of visitors to the Historic Museum for 30 randomly selected hours is shown.
Construct a stem and leaf plot for the data.
15 53 48 19 38 86 63 98 79 38 62 89 67 39 26
28 35 54 88 76 31 47 53 41 68 8 9 103 105 5

Grouped Frequency Distribution

17. Counties, Divisions, or Parishes for 50 States The number of counties, divisions, or
parishes for each of the 50 states is given below. Use the data to construct a grouped
frequency distribution with 6 classes, a histogram, a frequency polygon, and an ogive.
Analyze the distribution.

67 27 15 75 58 64 8 67 159 5
102 44 92 99 105 120 64 16 23 14
83 87 82 114 56 93 16 10 21 33
62 100 53 88 77 36 67 5 46 66
95 254 29 14 95 39 55 72 23 3
18. Use the following data to construct a grouped frequency distribution with 5 classes.

19.55 20.75 21.28 22.02 22.51

22.55 23.75 24.03 24.24 25.17
25.19 25.7 25.91 26.13 26.13
26.32 26.33 27.01 27.13 27.55
27.57 27.79 28.17 30.46 30.91

Measures of Central Tendency

19. Heights of the Highest Waterfalls The heights (in feet) of the 20 highest waterfalls in the
world are shown here. Find (a) the mean, (b) the median, (c) the mode & (d) midrange.

3212 2800 2625 2540 2499 2425 2307 2151 2123 2000
1904 1841 1650 1612 1536 1388 1215 1198 1182 1170

20. The reported high temperatures (in Fahrenheit) for selected world cities on an October day
are shown below. Find (a) the mean, (b) the median, (c) the mode & (d) midrange.

62 72 66 79 83 61 62 85 72 64 74 71
42 38 91 66 72 90 74 63 64 68 42

21. Employee Years of Service In an advertisement, a retail store stated that its employees
averaged 9 years of service. The distribution is shown here.
Number of employees Years of service
8 2
2 6
3 10
Using the weighted mean, calculate the correct average.

22. Final Grade An instructor gives four 1-hour exams and one final exam, which counts as
two 1-hour exams. Find a student’s grade if she received 62, 83, 97, and 90 on the 1-hour
exams and 82 on the final exam.

23. Exam Scores For 108 randomly selected college students, this exam score frequency
distribution was obtained. Find (a) the mean, (b) the median, (c) the modal class & (d) the
mode.
Class limits Frequency
90 – 98 6
99 – 107 22
108 – 116 43
117 – 125 28
126 – 134 9
24. Copier Service Calls This frequency distribution represents the data obtained from a
sample of 75 copying machine service technicians. The values represent the days between
service calls for various copying machines.
Find (a) the mean, (b) the median, (c) the modal class & (d) the mode.

Class boundaries Frequency

15.5 – 18.5 14
18.5 – 21.5 18
21.5 – 24.5 12
24.5 – 27.5 10
27.5 – 30.5 15
30.5 – 33.5 6

Measures of Variation

25. Stories in the Tallest Buildings The number of stories in the 13 tallest buildings for two
different cities is listed below. Find the sample variance and standard deviation for each,
then determine Which set of data is more variable?

Houston: 75, 71, 64, 56, 53, 55, 47, 55, 52, 50, 50, 50, 47
Pittsburgh: 64, 54, 40, 32, 46, 44, 42, 41, 40, 40, 34, 32, 30

26. Errors on a Typing Test The distribution of the number of errors that 12 students made on
a typing test is shown. Find the sample variance and standard deviation.

Errors Frequency
0–2 1
3–5 3
6–8 4
9 –11 3
12 – 14 1

Measures of Position

27. Which score indicates the highest relative position?

a. A score of 3.2 on a test with X = 4.6 and s = 1.5
b. A score of 630 on a test with X = 800 and s = 200
c. A score of 55 on a test with X = 50 and s = 5
28. Average Weekly Earnings The average weekly earnings in dollars for various industries are
listed below.
804 736 659 489 777 623 597 524 228 555
a) Find the percentile of 489 & 780.
b) What values correspond to the 65th percentile & 4th decile?
c) Find the IQR and check the data for outliers.
d) Construct the box plot for the data.

29. For the data listed below:

30 34 29 34 29 31 33 95 27 30 5 84 32
a) Find the percentile of 31 & 90.
b) What values correspond to the 20th percentile & 7th decile?
c) Find the IQR and check the data for outliers.
d) Construct the box plot for the data.

30. The distribution of the number of errors that 12 students made on a typing test is shown.
Calculate the median, 1st quartile & 3rd quartile.

Errors Frequency
0–2 1
3–5 3
6–8 4
9 –11 3
12 – 14 1