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Ch7
1. A sample in which the sampling units are chosen from the population by means of a random mechanism is a:
a. probability sample b. judgmental sample
c. stratified sample d. systematic sample
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-2 Sampling Terminology
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
6. A list of all members of the population from which we can choose a sample is called a frame, and the potential sample
members are called sampling units.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-2 Sampling Terminology
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
7. A probability sample is a sample in which the sampling units are chosen from the population by means of a random
mechanism such as a random number table.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-2 Sampling Terminology
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
8. We can measure the accuracy of judgmental samples by applying some simple rules of probability. This way,
judgmental samples are not likely to contain our built-in biases.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-2 Sampling Terminology
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
9. A sample chosen in such a way that every possible subset of same size has an equal chance of being selected is
called a(n):
a. interval estimation b. point estimation
c. simple random sample. d. statistic
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
10. The sampling method in which a population is divided into blocks and then selected by choosing a random
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Ch7
mechanism is called a:
a. random sampling b. systematic sampling
c. stratified sampling d. cluster sampling
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
11. Which of the following is not a consideration when determining appropriate sample size?
a. the cost of sampling b. the timely collection of the data
c. interviewer fatigue d. the likelihood of nonsampling error
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
14. Selecting a random sample from each identifiable subgroup within a population is called:
a. demographic sampling
b. systematic sampling
c. stratified sampling
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Ch7
d. cluster sampling
e. none of these choices
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
15. Which of the following are reasons for why simple random sampling is used infrequently in real applications?
a. Samples can be spread over a large geographic region.
b. Simple random sampling requires that all sampling units be identified prior to sampling.
c. Simple random sampling can result in underrepresentation or overrepresentation of certain segments of the
population.
d. All of these choices are valid reasons.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
17. Simple random samples are samples in which each member of the population has the same chance of being chosen.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
18. A simple random sample is one where each member of the population has a known chance (this may differ from one
member to another) or probability of being chosen.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 4
Ch7
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
19. In systematic sampling, one of the first k members is selected randomly, and then every kth member after this one is
selected. The value k is called the sampling interval and equals the ratio N / n, where N is the population size and n is the
desired sample size.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
20. In stratified sampling, the population is divided into relatively homogeneous subsets called strata, and then random
samples are taken from each stratum.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
21. In stratified sampling with proportional sample sizes, the proportion of each stratum selected differs from stratum to
stratum.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
22. In cluster sampling, the population is divided into subsets called clusters (such as cities or city blocks), and then a
random sample of the clusters is selected. Once the clusters are selected, we typically sample all of the members in each
selected cluster.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 5
Ch7
23. The probability of being chosen in a simple random sample of size n from a population of size N is:
a. 1/N b. N – 1/n
c. N/n d. n/N
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
26. The primary advantage of cluster sampling is sampling convenience (and possibly less cost). The downside, however,
is that the inferences drawn from a cluster sample can be less accurate, for a given sample size, than for other sampling
plans.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
27. The finite population correction factor is a correction for the standard error when the sample size is fairly large relative
to the population size.
a. True
b. False
28. Simple random sampling can result in under-representation or over-representation of certain segments of the
population. This is one of several reasons that simple random samples are almost never used in real applications.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
29. Stratified samples are typically not used in real applications because they provide less accurate estimates of
population parameters for a given sampling cost.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
30. Cluster sampling is often less convenient and more costly than other random sampling methods.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
31. One obvious advantage of stratified sampling is that we obtain separate estimates within each stratum – which we
would not obtain if we took a simple random sample from the entire population. A more important advantage is that we
can increase the accuracy of the resulting population estimates by using appropriately defined strata.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
33. Consider the frame of 50 full-time employees of Computer Technologies, Inc (CTI). CTI’s human resources manager
has collected annual salary figures for all employees and she has calculated a mean of $47,723, a median of $41,082 and
a standard deviation of $24,167. A simple random sample of 10 employees is presented below (salary is in $1,000’s).
Compute the mean, median, and standard deviation for the sample and compare these statistics with the measures for
the entire company.
Employee 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Salary 38.8 46.7 61.1 49.6 58.5 78.8 36.7 46.5 47.6 56.7
ANSWER: Sample statistics: mean = $52,100, median = $48,600, standard deviation = $12,279.5
Population parameters: mean = $47,723, median = $41,082, standard deviation = $24,167
The sample mean and median are larger than the corresponding population mean and median, but the
sample standard deviation is much smaller (about 51%) of the population standard deviation.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Application
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
34. A sales manager for a company that makes commercial ovens for restaurants is interested in estimating the average
number of restaurants in all metropolitan areas across the entire country. He does not have access to the data for each
metropolitan location, so he had decided to select a sample that will be representative of all such areas, and will use a
sample size of 30. Do you believe that simple random sampling is the best approach to obtaining a representative subset
of the metropolitan areas in the given frame? Explain. If not, recommend how the sales manager might proceed to select
a better sample of size 30 from this data?
ANSWER: Using a simple random sample may not be the best approach. If you are trying to determine the number
of restaurants in metropolitan areas, it seems as though this would be somewhat dependent on the size
(population) of the metropolitan areas under investigation. It may be better to stratify the samples. You
could divide the metropolitan areas into several strata based on their population and then sample within
each stratum. This may be more representative of the metropolitan areas across the country.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Moderate | Bloom’s: Analysis
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
The manager of a small computer company has collected current annual salaries and number of years of post-secondary
education for 52 full-time employees. The data are shown below:
35. (A) Compute the mean, median, and standard deviation of the annual salaries for the 52 employees in the given
frame.
(B) Use Excel® to choose a systematic sample of size 13 from the frame of annual salaries.
(C) Compute the mean, median, and standard deviation of the annual salaries for the 13 employees included in your
systematic sample in (B)
(D) Compare your statistics in (C) with your computed descriptive measures for the frame in (A). Is your systematic
sample representative of the frame with respect to the annual salary variable?
(E) Assume that we wish to stratify these employees by the number of years of post-secondary education, select such a
stratified sample of size 15 with approximately proportional sample sizes.
(F) Compute the mean, median, and standard deviation of the annual salaries for the 15 employees included in your
stratified sample in (E).
(G) Compare these statistics in (F) with your computed descriptive measures for the frame obtained in (A). Is your
stratified sample representative of the frame with respect to the annual salary variable?
ANSWER: (A) The mean, median, and standard deviation of the given frame were computed using StatTools as
shown below:
(B) In order to generate a systematic sample, we must first divide the frame size by the desired sample
size to find the relevant intervals from which we will sample. The sampling interval in this case is 4,
(C)
(D) After generating the summary measures for both the frame and the sample, we can conclude that the
sample does not represent the frame well. The mean, median, and standard deviation of the frame are all
much smaller than the mean, median, and standard deviation of the sample.
(E) This portion of the solution involves several steps. First, we noted the total sample size needed.
Second, we developed the strata we will use to separate the given frame: in this case we placed every
two years in a new stratum as shown below. Next, we generated a column labeled "Category", to place a
number between 1 and 5 next to the salary that corresponds with the stratum of that number. For
example, if the annual salary was of a person who only had 2 years of education beyond secondary
education, then a number 2 for Stratum 2 was placed next to the salary. The "Category" column was
generated using an IF statement. We then unstacked the categories in order to count the number of
salaries in each stratum. This was done by using StatTools's Data Utilities/Unstack function. Once this
was completed, we used the COUNT function in Excel® to count the number of values in each stratum
and then generated proportional numbers for each stratum with respect to the size of the given
population. Once the proportions are generated, we used the random number function in Excel® to assign
a random number to each salary. Then, by using Excel® to sort the salaries in each stratum by their
random number (in this case by ascending number) we selected the salaries in each stratum that will be
included in the sample. These salaries are shown below.
(F)
(G) When looking at the mean, median, and standard deviation of both the sample and population, we
can conclude that the stratified sample represents the population fairly well, although the summary
measures are all slightly lower than those of the population.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Application
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
Suppose that you are an entrepreneur interested in establishing a new Internet-based auction service. Furthermore,
suppose that you have gathered basic demographic information on a large number of Internet users. You currently have
information on 1000 individuals related to their gender, age, education, marital status, annual household income, and
number of people in household. Assume that these individuals were carefully selected through stratified sampling.
36. (A) To assess potential interest in your proposed enterprise, you would like to conduct telephone interviews with a
representative subset of the 1000 Internet users. How would you proceed to stratify the given frame of 1000 individuals to
choose 50 for telephone interviews? Explain your approach.
(B) Explain how you could apply cluster sampling to obtain a sample size of 50 from this frame. What are the advantages
and disadvantages of employing cluster sampling in this case?
ANSWER: (A) Which of these factors will have an impact on the use of the auction service? You may want to use
gender, age, and annual household income. You should attempt to gather data on individuals that
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 11
Ch7
represent the different gender, age, and annual income groups that represent your customers. You may
find that you have different responses between these groups.
(B) You may decide that you want to sample 50 people in your immediate area. You can use your local
phone directory and call customers in your area. This type of sampling is convenient and is less costly.
The drawback is that the inference drawn from this type of sample may not be representative of the entire
population.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Moderate | Bloom’s: Analysis
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
A statistics professor has just given the final examination in his introductory statistics course. In particular, he is interested
in learning how his class of 50 students performed on this exam. The data are shown below.
78 72 73 75 79 72 75 77 71 78
83 84 71 81 82 79 71 73 89 74
75 93 74 88 83 90 82 79 62 73
88 76 76 76 80 84 84 91 70 76
74 68 80 87 92 84 79 80 91 74
37. (A) Using these 50 students as the frame, use Excel® to generate a simple random sample of size 10 from this frame.
(B) Compute the mean scores in the frame and the simple random sample you generated in (A).
(C) Compare the mean scores you computed in (B). Is your simple random sample a good representative of the frame?
Why or why not?
(D) Using these 50 students as the frame, use Excel® to generate a systematic sample of size 10 from this frame.
(E) Compare the mean scores in the frame with that in the systematic sample in (D). What do you conclude?
ANSWER:
In order to solve this problem, we first generated an index value for each score in the given frame. Then
we used StatTool’s Random Sample tool in the Data Utilities section to generate a simple random sample
of scores from the population. Lastly, we used VLOOKUP function to find the corresponding score for
each index value. This process resulted in the following sample:
Index 6 34 37 10 26 24 32 36 4 33
Score 72 76 84 78 90 88 76 84 75 76
(B) Population mean score = 78.92, Sample mean score = 79.90 in the above case.
(C) The mean of the sample generated from the given frame of scores is clearly very close to the mean of
the population. Therefore we may conclude that the simple random sample is fairly representative of the
population of introductory statistics final exam scores.
(D) In order to generate a systematic sample, we must first divide the frame size (50) by the desired
sample size (10) to find the relevant intervals from which we will sample. The sampling interval in this
case is 5, meaning that every 5th score will be included in the sample. Next, we randomly choose a
number between 1 and 5. Suppose that this number happens to be 1. This will be our starting point in the
first block of 5 scores. To identify every 5th score thereafter, we first developed an index column to assign
an index value to each score. We then used the MOD function in Excel® to label every 5th score with a “1”
assigned to it. We have now generated a systematic sample of size 10. The sample consists of the
following values: 78, 72, 83, 79, 75, 90, 88, 84, 74, and 84.
(E) The means of the frame and of the sample were found to be 78.92 and 80.7, respectively. We see
that these means are very close. From this analysis, we can conclude that the systematic sample is fairly
representative of the frame or population.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Analysis
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
A university bookstore manager is mildly concerned about the number of textbooks that were under-ordered and thus
unavailable two days after the beginning of classes. The manager instructs an employee to pick a random number, go to
the place where that number book is shelved, examine the next 50 titles, and record how many titles are unavailable.
38. (A) Technically, this process does not yield a random sample of the books in the store. Why not?
Sally Bird of Big Rapids Realty has received data on 60 houses that were recently sold in Mecosta County in Michigan.
The data are recorded in the table shown below. Included in this data set are observations for each of the following
variables:
39. (A) Suppose that Sally wishes to examine a representative subset of these 60 houses that has been stratified by the
number of bedrooms. Use Excel® to assist her by finding such a stratified sample of size 10 with proportional sample
sizes.
(B) Explain how Sally could apply cluster sampling in selecting a sample of size 15 from this frame.
(C) What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing cluster sampling in this case?
ANSWER:
(A) In this problem, the stratified sample was found by using strata that were based on the number of
bedrooms in the house. Once we established how to stratify the frame, we unstacked the prices
according to the strata (in this case, the number of bedrooms). This was done by using StatPro’s Data
Utilities/Unstack variables. Once this was completed, we counted the number of houses in each stratum
and then assigned a proportional size to each stratum relative to the size of the frame (in this case, size
of the frame is 60). After the proportions were generated, we used Excel to generate a random number
for each price in each stratum. Next, we used the sort function in Excel® to place the prices in order of
ascending random numbers. We then chose the prices to be included in the stratified sample. These
results are shown below. Note that the stratified sample size is 11 (not 10) due to rounding.
(B) In this situation, Sally could have selected a few neighborhoods within Mecosta County, Michigan,
and obtained all the sample information from the selected neighborhoods.
(C) By using cluster sampling, Sally would be able to generate her sample more quickly and conveniently.
The disadvantage of cluster sampling in this case is that Sally would have to make sure she selected
neighborhoods that fairly represented the variety of households in the county. For example, if the county
had a large variety of homes with only 2 bedrooms, but the sample neighborhoods selected mostly
contained homes with 4 bedrooms, the sample information would not fairly represent the entire frame. If
this were the case, cluster sampling would not be a good way to select a sample.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Moderate | Bloom’s: Application
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-3 Methods for Selecting Random Samples
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
40. The standard error of sample mean is large when the observations in the population are spread out (large ), but
that the standard error can be reduced by taking a smaller sample.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
44. When a portion of the sample does not respond to the survey, ____ has occurred.
a. a measurement error
b. nonresponse bias
c. a sampling error
d. systematic failure
e. a nonlinear error
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
46. The sampling mean is the ____ estimate for the population mean .
a. random b. point
c. simple d. interval
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
49. The two basic sources for error when using random sampling are:
a. sampling and selection
b. identification and selection
c. sampling and nonsampling
d. bias and randomness
e. linear and nonlinear
ANSWER: c
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
52. The theorem that states that the sampling distribution of the sample mean is approximately normal when the
sample size n is reasonably large is known as the:
a. central limit theorem b. central tendency theorem
c. simple random sample theorem d. point estimate theorem
ANSWER: a
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
53. There is an approximately _____% chance that any particular will be within two standard deviations of the
population mean ( ).
a. 90 b. 95
c. 99 d. 99.7
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
57. The approximate standard error of the sample mean is calculated as:
a. b.
c. d.
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
58. The approximate 95% confidence interval for a population mean is:
a. b.
c. d.
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
59. The finite population correction factor, , should generally be used when:
61. The averaging effect means that as you average more and more observations from a given distribution, the variance
of the average:
a. increases
b. decreases
c. is unaffected
d. could either increase, decrease, or stay the same
ANSWER: b
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
62. When we sample less than 5% of the population, the finite population correction factor; fpc = , is
used to modify the formula for the standard error of the sample mean.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
63. A point estimate is a single numeric value, a “best guess” of a population parameter, calculated from the sample data.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
65. A confidence interval is an interval calculated from the population data, where we strongly believe the true value of
the population parameter lies.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
66. The sampling distribution of any point estimate (such as the sample mean or proportion) is the distribution of the point
estimates we would obtain from all possible samples of a given size drawn from the population.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
67. An unbiased estimate is a point estimate such that the mean of its sampling distribution is equal to the true value of
the population parameter being estimated.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
68. The standard error of an estimate is the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the estimate. It measures
how much estimates from different samples vary.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 21
Ch7
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
69. The standard error of the estimate measures how much estimates vary from sample to sample.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
70. It is customary to approximate the standard error of the sample mean by substituting the sample standard
deviation s for in the formula: SE( )= .
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
71. An estimator is said to be unbiased if the mean of its sampling distribution equals the value of the population
parameter being estimated.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
72. Estimation is the process of inferring the value of an unknown population parameter using data from a random sample
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
73. The central limit theorem (CLT) states that the sampling distribution of the mean is approximately normal, no matter
what the distribution of the population, as long as the sample size is large enough.
a. True
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b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
74. When the sample size is greater than 5% of the population, the formula for the standard error of the mean should be
modified with a finite population correction.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Knowledge
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
77. The central limit theorem (CLT) is considered to be an important result in statistics because:
a. the CLT allows us to assume that the population distribution is approximately normal, provided n is reasonably
large
b. the CLT allows us to estimate the population mean without knowing the exact form of the population
distribution, provided n is reasonably large
c. the CLT allows us to construct confidence intervals for the population mean without knowing the exact form of
the population distribution, provided n is reasonably large
d. of all of these choices
ANSWER: d
POINTS: 1
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Ch7
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
78. A sample of size 20 is selected at random from a population of size N. If the finite population correction factor is
0.9418, then N must be 169.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
79. The sampling distribution of the mean will have the same mean as the original population from which the samples
were drawn.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
80. The sampling distribution of the mean will have the same standard deviation as the original population from which the
samples were drawn.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
81. The randomized response technique is a way of getting at sensitive information to avoid estimation errors due to
nontruthful responses.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
82. Voluntary response bias occurs when the responses to questions do not reflect what the investigator had in mind.
a. True
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b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
83. If the sample size is greater than 30, the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) will always apply.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
84. The central limit theorem (CLT) says that as long as the sample size is reasonably large, there is about a 95% chance
that the magnitude of the sampling error for the mean will be no more than two standard errors.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
85. The size of a sample can be selected by first determining the desired standard error and then using the formula
to calculate n.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Comprehension
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
Suppose that the average weekly earnings for employees in general automotive repair shops is $450, and that the
standard deviation for the weekly earnings for such employees is $50. A sample of 100 such employees is selected at
random.
86. (A) Find the mean and standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the average weekly earnings in the sample.
(B) Find probability that the mean of the sample is less than $445.
(C) Find the probability that the mean of the sample is between $445 and $455.
(D) Find the probability that the mean of the sample is greater than $460.
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(E) Explain why the assumption of normality about the distribution of the average weekly earnings for employees was not
involved in the answers to (A) through (D).
ANSWER: (A) E( )= = 450, and SE( )= =5
(B) P( < 445) = P(Z < -1) = 0.5000 – 0.3413 = 0.1587
(C) P(445< <455) = P(-1.0 < Z < 1.0) = 2(0.3413) = 0.6826
(D) P( > 460) = P(Z > 2.0) = 0.5000 – 0.4772 = 0.0228
(E) The sample size is large; n = 100 is greater than 30, so the distribution of the average weekly
earnings for employees is at least approximately normal.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Application
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
An editor of a local newspaper is concerned with the number of errors that are found in the daily paper. In order to
understand the extent of this problem, the editor would like to estimate the average number of errors in the daily paper.
The frame in this case is the number of errors found in the daily paper for the past six months (180 issues).
87. (A) What sample size would be required for the production personnel to be approximately 95% sure that their
estimate of the average number of errors per issue is within 4 errors of the true mean? Assume that the editor’s best
estimate of the population standard deviation ( ) is 10 errors per issue.
(B) How does your answer to (A) change if the editor wants the estimate to be within 3 errors of the actual population
mean? Explain the difference in your answers to (A) and (B).
ANSWER: (A)
(B) In this case, . This shows that we need almost twice
as many observations to decrease the absolute error from 4 to 3.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Moderate | Bloom’s: Analysis
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
A columnist for the LA Times is working to meet a deadline on a story about commuting in Los Angeles. She wants to
include information about the current price of gasoline in the Los Angeles metro area, but her source person for this type
of information has already gone home for the day. So she decides to take her own sample as she drives home, writing
down the prices she observes as she makes her way from downtown to her neighborhood in the suburbs. Below is the
data sample she obtains (units are $/gallon).
88. (A) Do you think she has obtained a true random sample?
(B) What average price could she report, based on the above sample?
(C) What average price range could she report, based on the above sample?
(D) Do you see any issues with reporting the range calculated for (C)?
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ANSWER:
(A) For a true random sample, all possible gas stations in the LA metro area must have an equal chance
of being sampled. In this case, only the stations on her route home were sampled, although they do at
least represent a variety of settings (different parts of town). Given her time constraints, this sample may
suffice, though.
(C) Using the sample mean and sample standard deviation (0.185), she could calculate a 95%
confidence interval for the true mean price of $3.15/gallon to $3.30/gallon.
(D) The sample, in addition to perhaps not being truly random, may also be too small to justify using the
assumptions used calculating the range in (C). Typically we want n>30 unless the population data is
approximately normal as well.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Easy | Bloom’s: Analysis
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
Auditors of Old Kent Bank are interested in comparing the reported value of customer savings account balances with their
own findings regarding the actual value of such assets. Rather than reviewing the records of each savings account at the
bank, the auditors decide to examine a representative sample of savings account balances. The frame from which they
will sample is shown below.
89. (A) What sample size would be required for the auditors to be approximately 95% sure that their estimate of the
average savings account balance at this bank is within $150 of the true mean? Assume that their best estimate of the
population standard deviation is $300.
(C) Compute the observed sampling error based on the sample you have drawn from the population. How does the actual
sampling error compare to the maximum possible probable absolute error established in (A)? Explain
90. A cannery claims that its sardine cans have a net weight of 8 oz., with a standard deviation of 0.1 oz. You take a
simple random sample of 30 cans and encounter a sample mean of 7.85 oz. Are you inclined to believe the claim?
ANSWER: The sampling distribution of is normal (since n 30) with mean and standard deviation given by E(
)= = 8, and SE( )= = 0.0183, respectively.
Therefore, P( < 7.8) = P(Z < -8.2) = 0. If the claim were true, such a sample would not be
encountered. The cannery management is not telling the truth.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Moderate | Bloom’s: Application
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
The manager of a local fast-food restaurant is interested in improving service provided to customers who use the
restaurant’s drive-up window. As a first step in the process, the manager asks his assistant to record the time (in minutes)
it takes to serve a large number of customers at the final window in the facility’s drive-up system. The given frame in this
case is 200 customer service times observed during the busiest hour of the day for this fast-food restaurant. The frame of
200 service times yielded a mean of 0.881. A simple random sample of 10 from this frame is presented below.
91. (A) Compute the point estimate of the population mean from the sample above. What is the sampling error in this
case? Assume that the population consists of the given 200 customer service times.
(B) Compute the point estimate of the population standard deviation from the sample above.
(C) Should you use the finite population correction (fpc) factor to estimate the standard error of ? Explain. If your
answer is yes, what is the value of the fpc?
(D) Determine a good approximation to the standard error of the mean in this case.
ANSWER: (A) Sample mean = 0.96. Then, sampling error = 0.96 – 0.881 = 0.079
(B) s = 0.1963
(C) Yes, we should use the finite population correction factor in this case, since a sample size of 10 is 5%
of population size of 200. Here fpc = = 0.9771.
(D)
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Moderate | Bloom’s: Application
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
A battery manufacturer wants to estimate the average number of defective (or dead) batteries contained in a box shipped
by the company. Production personnel at this company have recorded the number of defective batteries found in each of
the 2000 boxes shipped in the past week.
92. (A) What sample size would be required for the production personnel to be approximately 95% sure that their
estimate of the average number of defective batteries per box is within 0.3 unit of the true mean? Assume that the best
estimate of the population standard deviation ( ) is 0.9 defective batteries per box.
(B) How does your answer to (A) change if the production personnel want their estimate to be within 0.5 unit of the actual
population mean? Evaluate the tradeoff between required accuracy and sample size requirement for this case and the
case in (A).
ANSWER: (A)
(B) In this case, . This shows that we need almost 3
times as many observations to reduce the absolute error from 0.5 to 0.3 units. However, 36 is still a
relatively small sample, and may be with it to keep the absolute error within 0.3 units.
POINTS: 1
DIFFICULTY: Challenging | Bloom’s: Analysis
TOPICS: A-Head: 7-4 Introduction to Estimation
OTHER: BUSPROG: Analytic | DISC: Statistical Inference
It were well, perhaps, did the cruelties practised in former ages lay
generally at the door of superstition. The extraordinary trials to
which those suspected of any guilty action were conducted with
many devout ceremonies, by the ministers of religion, were declared
to be the judgments of God. The kinds of ordeal were various, e. g.
holding in the hand a red hot bar; plunging the arm into boiling
water; walking blindfold amidst burning ploughshares; passing
through fires; challenging the accuser to single combat, when
frequently the ablest champion was permitted to supply his place;
swallowing a morsel of consecrated bread; swimming or sinking in a
river for witchcraft, or, as it was called, weighing a witch; stretching
out the arms before the cross, till the soonest wearied dropped his
arms, and lost his estate, which was decided by this very short
process, called juidcium crucis, &c.
A dispute occurred between the Bishop of Paris and the Abbot of
St. Denis, about the patronage of a monastery, and Pepin, surnamed
the Short, not being able to pronounce upon their confused claims,
decreed that it should be settled by one of these judgments of God:
viz. The judgment of the cross. Each of the disputants chose a man,
and both of the men appeared in the chapel, where they extended
their arms in the form of a cross. The spectators, more orderly than
those of the present day; still, although they watched every motion of
the combatants with the most pious attention, the old English spirit,
which rules so prevalently at the present period, was proof against
every other consideration—they betted on the feat, first on one side,
then on the other, according as the odds seemed to run in favour or
against. The Bishop’s man was first tried; he let his arms drop and
ruined his patron for ever. Though these trials might sometimes be
evaded by the artifice of the priest, numerous, nevertheless, were the
innocent victims who suffered from these superstitious practices.
They were very frequent between the tenth and twelfth century.
William Rufus, having accused Hildebert, the Bishop of Mans, of
high treason, was on the verge of submitting to one of these trials,
when he was convinced by Ives, Bishop of Chartres, that they were
against the canons of the constitution of the church, and adds, that in
this manner “Innocentiam defendere, est innocentiam perdere.” In
1066 an abbot of St. Aubin of Angers, having refused to present a
horse to the viscount of Tours, which the viscount claimed in right of
his lordship, whenever an abbot first took possession of that abbey;
the ecclesiastic offered to justify himself by the trial of the ordeal, or
by duel, for which purpose he proposed to find a substitute. The duel
was first agreed to by the viscount; but, reflecting that these
combatants, though sanctioned by the church, depended solely on
the address or vigour of the adversary, and consequently could afford
no substantial proof of the equity of his claim, he proposed to
compromise the matter in a manner which strongly characterised
these times: he surrendered his claim, on condition that the abbot
should not forget to mention him, his wife, and his brothers, in his
prayers! As the orisons appeared to the abbot of comparatively little
value with the horse, the proposal was accepted.
In the tenth century the right of representation was not settled: it
was a question whether a son’s sons ought to be accounted among
the children of the family, and succeed equally with their uncles, if
their fathers happened to die while their grandfathers survived. This
point was decided by one of these combats. The champion in behalf
of the right of children to represent their deceased father, proved
victorious. It was then established by a perpetual decree, that they
should from that time forward share in the inheritance along with
their uncles.
In the eleventh century, the same mode was adopted, to decide
between two rival liturgies! A couple of knights, clad in complete
armour, were the tests to decide which was the true and authentic
liturgy.
The capitularies of Dagobert say, that if two neighbours dispute
respecting the boundaries of their possessions, let a piece of turf of
the contested land be dug up by the judge, and brought by him into
the court, and the two parties shall touch it with the points of their
swords, calling on God to witness their claims: after this, let them
combat, and let victory prove who is right or who is wrong. In these
combats in Germany, a solemn circumstance was practised in these
judicial combats. In the midst of the lists they placed a bier; by the
side of which stood the accuser and the accused, one at the head and
the other at the foot, where they leaned in profound silence for some
time before the combat commenced. In his preface to Way’s
Fableaux, Mr. Ellis shews how faithfully the manners of the age are
painted in these ancient tales, by observing the judicial combat
introduced by a writer of the 14th century, who, in his poem,
represents Pilate as challenging Jesus Christ to single combat; and
another, who describes the person who pierced the side of Christ as a
knight who jousted with Jesus.
It appears that judicial combat was practised by the Jews.
Whenever the Rabbins had to decide on a dispute about property
between two parties, neither of which could produce evidence to
substantiate the claim, it was terminated by single combat. The
Rabbins were impressed with a notion that consciousness of right
would give additional confidence and strength to the rightful
possessor. It may, however, be more philosophical to observe, that
such judicial combats were more frequently favourable to the
criminal than to the innocent, because the bold wicked man is
usually more ferocious and hardy than he whom he singles out as his
victim, and who only wishes to preserve his own quiet enjoyments: in
this case the assailant is the most terrific opponent.
Those who were accused of robbery in these times were put to trial
by a piece of barley bread, on which the mass had been performed;
and if the accused could not swallow it, they were declared guilty.
This mode of trial was improved by adding to the bread a slice of
cheese; and such was their credulity and dependance on heaven in
these ridiculous trials, that they were very particular in this holy
bread and cheese, called the corsned. The bread was to be of
unleavened barley, and the cheese made of ewes milk in the month of
May[5].
The bleeding of a corpse was another proof of guilt in superstitious
ages; nor is the custom yet entirely abolished. If a person were
murdered, it was believed, that at the touch or approach of the
murderer, the blood gushed out from various parts of the body. By
the side of the bier, if the smallest change was perceptible in the eyes,
mouth, feet or hands of the corpse, the murderer was conjectured to
be present, and many innocent persons doubtless must have suffered
death from this idle chimera; for when a body is full of blood,
warmed by a sudden external heat and symptoms of ensuing
putrefaction, some of the blood vessels will burst, as they will all in
time. This practice was once allowed in England, and is still looked
on in some of the uncivilized parts of these kingdoms as a means of
detecting the criminal. It forms a rich picture in the imagination of
our old writers; and their histories and ballads are laboured into
pathos by dwelling on the suppositious phenomenon.
All these absurd institutions, Robertson observes, cherished and
inculcated, form the superstitions of the age believing the legendary
histories of those saints who crowd and disgrace the Roman
calendar. These fabulous miracles had been declared authentic by
the bulls of the Popes, and the decrees of Councils—they were
greedily swallowed by the populace; and whoever believed that the
Supreme Being had interposed miraculously on those trivial
occasions mentioned in legends, could not but expect his
intervention in matters of greater importance when solemnly
referred to his decision. Besides this ingenious remark, the fact is,
that these customs were a substitute for written laws, which that
barbarous period had not; and as it is impossible for any society to
exist without laws, the ignorance of the people had recourse to these
customs, which bad and absurd as they were, served to terminate
controversies which might have given birth to more destructive
practices. Ordeals are, in fact, the rude laws of a barbarous people,
who have not obtained a written code, and not advanced enough in
civilization, to embrace the refined investigations, the subtle
distinctions, and elaborate inquiries, which are exacted by a Court of
Law.
It may be presumed, that these ordeals owe their origin to that one
of Moses, called the “Waters of Jealousy.” The Greeks also had
ordeals, for we read in the Antigonus of Sophocles, that the soldiers
offer to prove their innocence by handling red hot iron, and walking
between fires.
One cannot but smile at the whimsical ordeals of the Siamese.
Among other practices to discover the justice of a cause, civil or
criminal, they are particularly attached to the use of certain
consecrated purgative pills, which the contending parties are made
to swallow. He who retains them longest, gains his cause! The
practice of giving Indians a consecrated grain of rice to swallow, is
known to discover the thief in any company, by the contortions and
dismay evident on the countenance of the real thief.
In the middle ages they were acquainted with secrets to pass
unhurt these secret trials: one is mentioned by Voltaire for
undergoing the ordeal of boiling water; and this statement is
confirmed by some of our late travellers in the East. The Mevleheh
dervises can hold red hot iron between their teeth. Such artifices
have been often publicly exhibited at Paris and London. On the
ordeal of the Anglo-Saxons, Mr. Sharon Turner observes, that the
hand was not to be immediately inspected, and was left to the chance
of a good constitution to be so far healed during three days (the time
they required to be bound up and sealed, before it was examined) as
to discover those appearances when inspected, which were allowed
to be satisfactory. There was also much preparatory training,
suggested by the more experienced: besides, the accused had an
opportunity of going alone into the church, and making terms with
the priest. The few spectators were always at a distance; and cold
iron or any other inoffensive substance might be substituted, and the
fire diminished at the moment. There can be no doubt they
possessed these secrets and medicaments, which they always took
care to have ready at hand, that they might pass through these trials
in perfect security.
There is an anecdote of these times given by Camerarius, in his
“Horæ Subscecivæ,” which may serve to show the readiness of this
apparatus. A rivalship existed between the Austin Friars and the
Jesuits. The Father-general of the Austin Friars was dining with the
Jesuits; and on the table being removed, he entered into a formal
discourse of the superiority of the monastic order, and charged the
Jesuits, in unqualified terms, with assuming the title of “Fratres,”
while they held not the three vows, which other monks were obliged
to consider as sacred and binding. The general of the Austin Friars
was very eloquent and very authoritative: and the superior of the
Jesuits was very unlearned, but not quite half a fool. He was rather
careless about entering the list of controversy with the Austin Friar,
but arrested his triumph by asking him if he would see one of his
Friars who pretended to be nothing more than a Jesuit, and one of
the Austin Friar’s who religiously performed the above-mentioned
three vows, show instantly which of them would be the readiest to
obey his superiors? The Austin Friar consented. The Jesuit then
turning to one of his brothers, the Holy Friar Mark, who was waiting
on them, said, “Brother Mark, our companions are cold; I command
you, in virtue of the holy obedience you have sworn to me, to bring
here instantly out of the kitchen fire, and in your hands, some
burning coals, that they may warm themselves over your hands.”
Father Mark instantly obeys, and to the astonishment of the Austin
Friars, brought in his hands a supply of red burning coals, and held
them to whoever thought proper to warm himself; and at the
command of his superior, returned them to the kitchen hearth. The
general of the Austin Friars, with the rest of his brethren, stood
amazed; he looked wistfully on one of his monks, as if he wished to
command him to do the like; but the Austin Monk, who perfectly
understood him, and saw this was not a time to hesitate, observed,
—“Reverend Father, forbear, and do not command me to tempt God!
I am ready to fetch you fire in a chafing dish, but not in my bare
hands.” The triumph of the Jesuits was complete; and it is not
necessary to add, that the miracle was noised about, and that the
Austin Friars could never account for it, notwithstanding their strict
performance of the three vows.
ASTROLOGY, &c.
“This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in
fortune (often the surfeit of our own behaviour) we make guilt of
our disasters, the sun, the moon, and the stars; as if we were
villains by necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves,
thieves, and treachers (traitors), by spherical predominance;
drunkards, liars, and adulterers, by an inforced obedience of
planetary influence; and all that we are evil in by a Divine
thrusting on; an admirable evasion of whoremaster to lay his
goatish disposition to the charge of a star! My father
compounded with my mother under the Dragon’s tail; and my
nativity was under Ursa Major; so that it follows, I am rough and
lecherous.—Tut, I should have been that I am, had the
maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled at my
bastardizing.”—Shakspeare.
It is a singular fact, that men the most eminent for their learning
were those who indulged most in the favourite superstition of
judicial Astrology; and as the ingenious Tenhove observes, whenever
an idea germinates in a learned head, it shoots with additional
luxuriance. At the present time, however, a belief in judicial
Astrology can only exist in the people, who may be said to have no
belief at all; for mere traditional sentiments can hardly be said to
amount to a belief.
It is said that Dr. Fludd[6] was in possession of the MSS. of Simon
Forman, the Astrologer. We have seen that the studies of
Mathematics, Astronomy, and Medicine, were early united in several
persons connected with the faculty of medicine. Real Astronomy
gave birth to judicial Astrology; which offering an ample field to
enthusiasm and imposture, was eagerly pursued by many who had
no scientific purpose in view. It was connected with various juggling
tricks and deceptions, affected an obscure jargon of language, and
insinuated itself into every thing in which the hopes and fears of
mankind were concerned. The professors of this pretended science
were at first generally persons of mean education, in whom low
cunning supplied the place of knowledge. Most of them engaged in
the empirical practice of physic, and some, through the credulity of
the times, even arrived at a degree of eminence in it; yet since the
whole foundation of their art was folly and deceit, they nevertheless
gained many proselytes and dupes, both among the well-informed
and the ignorant.
When Charles the First was confined, Lilly, the famous Astrologer,
was consulted for the hour that should favour his escape.
A story, which strongly proves how much Charles II. was bigoted
to judicial astrology, and whose mind was certainly not
unenlightened, is recorded in Burnet’s History of his own times. The
most respectable characters of the age, Sir William Dugdale, Elias
Ashmole, Dr. Grew, and others, were members of an astrological
club[7]. Congreve’s character of Foresight, in Love for Love, was then
no uncommon person, though the humour now is scarcely
intelligible. Dryden cast the nativities of his sons; and, what is
remarkable, his prediction relating to his son Charles, was
accomplished. This incident is of so late a date, one might hope it
would have been cleared up; but, if it be a fact, it must be allowed
that it forms a rational exultation for its irrational adepts.
In 1670, the passion for horoscopes and expounding the stars,
prevailed in France among the first rank. The new-born child was
usually presented naked to the astrologer, who read the first
lineaments in its forehead, and the transverse lines in its hands, and
thence wrote down its future destiny. Catherine de Medicis brought
Henry IV. then a child, to old Nostradamus, whom antiquaries
esteem more for his Chronicle of Provence than for his vaticinating
powers. The sight of the reverend seer, with a beard which “streamed
like a meteor in the air,” terrified the future hero, who dreaded a
whipping from so grave a personage. Will it be credited, that one of
these magicians, having assured Charles IX. that he would live as
many days as he should turn about on his heels in an hour, standing
on one leg, that his Majesty every morning performed that solemn
exercise for an hour; the principal officers of the court, the judges,
the chancellors, and generals, likewise, in compliment, standing on
one leg, and turning round!
It has been reported of several famous for their astrological skill,
that they have suffered a voluntary death merely to verify their own
predictions: this has been said of Cardan, and Burton the author of
the Anatomy of Melancholy.
It is curious to observe the shifts to which astrologers are put when
their predictions are not verified. Great winds were predicted, by a
famous adept, about the year 1586. No unusual storms, however,
happened. Bodin, to save the reputation of the art, applied it as a
figure to some revolutions in the state, and of which there were
instances enough at that moment. Among their lucky and unlucky
days, they pretend to give those of various illustrious persons and of
families. One is very striking:—Thursday was the unlucky day of our
Henry VIII. He, his son Edward VI. Queen Mary, and Queen
Elizabeth, all died on a Thursday! This fact had, no doubt, great
weight in this controversy of the astrologers with their adversaries.
The life of Lilly, the astrologer, written by himself, is a curious
work. He is the Sidrophel of Butler. It contains so much artless
narrative, and at the same time so much palpable imposture, that it
is difficult to know when he is speaking what he really believes to be
the truth. In a sketch of the state of astrology in his day, those adepts,
whose characters he has drawn, were the lowest miscreants of the
town. They all speak of each other as rogues and impostors. Such
were Booker, George Wharton, Gadbury, who gained a livelihood by
practising on the credulity of even men of learning so late as in 1650,
to the 18th century. In Ashmole’s life an account of these artful
impostors may be found. Most of them had taken the air in the
pillory, and others had conjured themselves up to the gallows. This
seems a true statement of facts. But Lilly informs us, that in his
various conferences with angels, their voice resembled that of the
Irish! The work is certainly curious for the anecdotes of the times it
contains. The amours of Lilly with his mistress are characteristic. By
his own accounts, he was a very artful man; and managed matters
admirably which required deception and invention.
In the time of the civil wars, astrology was in high repute. The
royalists and the rebels had their astrologers as well as their
soldiers! and the predictions of the former had a great influence over
the latter. On this subject, it may gratify curiosity to notice three or
four works which bear an excessive price; a circumstance which
cannot entirely be occasioned by their rarity; and we are induced to
suppose, that we still have adepts in this science, whose faith must be
strong, or whose scepticism weak.
The Chaldean sages were nearly put to the route by a quarto park
of artillery, fired on them by Mr. John Chamber, in 1691. Apollo did
not use Marsyas more inhumanly than his scourging pen this
mystical race, and his personalities made them feel more sore.
However, a Norwich knight, the very Quixote of astrology, arrayed in
the enchanted armour of his occult authors, encountered this pagan
in a most stately carousal. He came forth with “A defence of Judiciall
Astrologye, in answer to a treatise lately published by Mr. John
Chamber. By Christopher Knight. Printed at Cambridge, 1603.” This
is a handsome quarto of about 500 pages. Sir Christopher is a
learned and lively writer, and a knight worthy to defend a better
cause. But his Dulcinea had wrought most wonderfully on his
imagination. This defence of this fanciful science, if science it may be
called, demonstrates nothing, while it defends every thing. It
confutes, according to the Knight’s own ideas: it alleges a few
scattered facts in favour of astrological predictions, which may be
picked up in that immensity of fabling which disgraces history. He
strenuously denies, or ridicules, what the greatest writers have said
against this fanciful art, while he lays great stress on some passages
from obscure authors, or what is worse, from authors of no authority.
The most pleasant part is at the close, where he defends the art from
the objections of Mr. Chamber, by recrimination. Chamber had
enriched himself by medical practice, and when he charges the
astrologers by merely aiming to gain a few beggarly pence, Sir
Christopher catches fire, and shews by his quotations, that if we are
to despise an art by its professors attempting to subsist on it, or for
the objections which may be raised against its vital principles, we
ought by this argument most heartily to despise the medical science
and medical men! He gives here all he can collect against physic and
physicians, and from the confessions of Hippocrates and Galen,
Avicenna and Agrippa, medicine appears to be a vainer science than
even astrology! Sir Christopher is a shrewd and ingenious adversary;
but when he says he only means to give Mr. Chamber oil for his
vinegar, he has totally mistaken its quality.
The defence was answered by Thomas Vicars, in his “Madnesse of
Astrologers.”
But the great work is by Lilly; and entirely devoted to the adepts.
He defends nothing; for this oracle delivers his dictum, and details
every event as matters not questionable. He sits on the tripod; and
every page is embellished by a horoscope, which he explains with the
utmost facility. This voluminous monument of the folly of the age, is
a quarto, valued at some guineas! It is entitled, “Christian Astrology,
modestly treated of in three Books, by William Lilly, student in
Astrology, 2nd edition, 1659.” There is also a portrait of this arch
rogue, and astrologer! an admirable illustration for Lavater!
Lilly’s opinions, and his pretended science, were such favourites of
the age, that the learned Gataker wrote professedly against this
popular delusion. Lilly, at the head of his star-expounding friends,
not only formally replied to, but persecuted Gataker annually in his
predictions, and even struck at his ghost, when beyond the grave.
Gataker died in July 1654, and Lilly having written in his Almanack
of that year, for the month of August, this barbarous Latin verse:—
Hoc in tumbo, jacet presbyter et nebulo!
By the word Astrology (derived from the Greek αστηρ, a star, and
λογος, a discourse,) is meant the art of prognosticating or foretelling
events[8] by the Aspects, Positions, and Influence of the
HEAVENLY BODIES.
By Aspect is to be understood an angle formed by the rays of two
planets meeting on earth, able to execute some natural power or
influence; which may be better explained by the following table.
CHARACTERS OF THE
Six Northern Signs. Six Southern Signs. Planets. Aspects.
♈︎Aries. ♎︎Libra. ♄ Saturn. ☌ Conjunction.
♉︎Taurus. ♏︎Scorpio. ♃ Jupiter. ⚹ Sextile.
♊︎Gemini. ♐︎Sagittarius. ♂ Mars. Δ Trine.
♋︎Cancer. ♑︎Capricorn. ☉ Sun. ☐ Quartile.
♌︎Leo. ♒︎Aquarius. ⦵ Earth. ☍ Opposition.
♍︎Virgo. ♓︎Pisces. ♀ Venus.
☿ Mercury.
☽ Luna.
This art, or rather this conjectural science, is principally divided
into Natural and Judiciary.
NATURAL ASTROLOGY