Chapter 2: 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, and 26.

2) A January 2007 Gallup Poll question asked, In general, do you think things have gotten
better or gotten worse in this country in the last five years? Possible answers were Better,
Worse, No Change, Dont Know, and No Response. What kind of variable is the
response?
Categorical

3) A pharmaceutical company conducts an experiment in which a subject takes 100 mg of a
substance orally. The researchers measure how many minutes it takes for half of the substance
to exit the bloodstream. What kind of variable is the company studying?
Quantitative

6) Find an Internet source that reports on a study and describes the data. Print out the
description and answer the same questions as for Exercises 14.

From: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278313.php
In this latest study, researchers from the University of Crete in Greece, Imperial College London
in the UK, and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, assessed the prevalence and
determinants of e-cigarette use among 26,566 individuals from 27 countries that were a part of
the European Union (EU) in 2012.
Study participants were required to complete a survey that asked them whether they had heard
of e-cigarettes, whether they had ever tried them, how often they used them and whether they
thought the devices were harmful to health.
Findings of the survey revealed that e-cigarette use was most common among individuals ages
15-24 who were current smokers of up to 20 cigarettes a day, and who had tried at least once to
stop smoking in the past year.
Quantitative
8) Some companies offer 401(k) retirement plans to employees, permitting them to shift part of
their before-tax salaries into investments such as mutual funds. Employers typically match 50%
of the employees contribution up to about 6% of salary. One company, concerned with what it
believed was a low employee participation rate in its 401(k) plan, sampled 30 other companies
with similar plans and asked for their 401(k) participation rates.

Who - 30 other companies
What - 401k participation rates (%)
Population - All companies that offer 401k retirement plans to employees

9) Coffee stations in offices often just ask users to leave money in a tray to pay for their coffee,
but many people cheat. Researchers at Newcastle University alternately taped two posters over
the coffee station. During one week, it was a picture of flowers during the other, it was a pair of
staring eyes. They found that the average contribution was significantly higher when the eyes
poster was up than when the flowers were there. Apparently, the mere feeling of being
watched-even by eyes that were not real-was enough to encourage people to behave more
honestly.
Who - People who drink coffee at a Newcastle University coffee station
What - The amount of money contributed
Population - All people in honor system payment situations

11) Are physically fit people less likely to die of cancer? An article in the May 2002 issue of
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise reported results of a study that followed 25,892
men aged 30 to 87 for 10 years. The most physically fit men had a 55% lower risk of death
from cancer than the least fit group.
Who - 25,892 men aged 30 to 87
What - Fitness level and cause of death
Population - All men

13) Because of the difficulty of weighing a bear in the woods, researchers caught and measured
54 bears, recording their weight, neck size, length, and sex. They hoped to find a way to
estimate weight from the other, more easily determined quantities.
The Ws
Who - 54 bears
Cases - Each bear is a case
What - Weight neck size, length, and sex
When - Not specified
Where - Not specified
Why - To estimate weight from easier-to-measure variables
How - Researchers collected data on 54 bears they were able to catch.

Variables
Variable - Sex
Type - Categorical
Variable - Weight
Type - Quantitative
Units - Not specified
Variable - Neck size
Type - Quantitative
Units - Not specified
Variable - Length
Type - Quantitative
Units - Not specified

15) A listing posted by the Arbys restaurant chain gives, for each of the sandwiches it sells, the
type of meat in the sandwich, the number of calories, and the serving size in ounces. The data
might be used to assess the nutritional value of the different sandwiches.

The Ws
Who - Arbys sandwiches
Cases - Each sandwich is a case
What - Type of meat, number of calories, and serving size
When - Not specified
Where - Arbys restaurants
Why - To assess nutritional value of sandwiches
How-Report by Arbys restaurants

Variables
Variable - Type of meat
Type -Categorical
Variable -Number of calories
Type -Quantitative
Units -Calories
Variable -Serving size
Type -Quantitative
Units -Ounces

17)Medical researchers at a large city hospital inves- tigating the impact of prenatal care on
newborn health collected data from 882 births during 19982000. They kept track of the
mothers age, the number of weeks the pregnancy lasted, the type of birth (cesarean, induced,
natural), the level of prenatal care the mother had (none, minimal, adequate), the birth weight
and sex of the baby, and whether the baby exhibited health problems (none, minor, major).

The Ws
Who - 882 births
Cases - Each of the 882 births is a case
What - Mothers age, length of pregnancy, type of birth, level of prenatal care, birth weight of
baby, sex of baby, and babys health problems
When - 19982000
Where - Large city hospital
Why - Researchers were investigating the impact of prenatal care on newborn health
How - Not specified exactly, but probably from hospital records

Variables
Variable -Type of birth
Type -Categorical
Variable -Level of prenatal car
Type -Categorical
Variable -Sex
Type -Categorical
Variable -Babys health problems
Type -Categorical
Variable -Mothers age
Type -Quantitative
Units -Not specified probably years
Variable -Length of pregnancy
Type - Quantitative
Units -Weeks
Variable -Birth weight of baby
Type -Quantitative
Units -Not specified, probably pounds and ounces

19)Scientists at a major pharmaceutical firm conducted an experiment to study the effectiveness
of an herbal compound to treat the common cold. They exposed each patient to a cold virus,
then gave them either the herbal compound or a sugar solution known to have no effect on
colds. Several days later they assessed each patients condition, using a cold severity scale
rang- ing from 0 to 5. They found no evidence of benefits of the compound.

The Ws
Who -Experiment subjects
Cases -Each subject is a case
What -Type of treatment - herbal compound or sugar solution - and cold severity
When -Not specified
Where -Not specified
Why -To test efficacy of herbal remedy on common cold
How -The scientists set up an experiment

Variables
Variable -Treatment
Type -Categorical
Variable -Cold severity rating
Type -Quantitative (perhaps ordinal categorical)
Units -Scale from 0 to 5
Concerns -The severity of a cold seems subjective and difficult to quantify. Scientists may feel
pressure to report negative findings of herbal product.

20) Business analysts hoping to provide information helpful to American grape growers
compiled these data about vineyards: size (acres), number of years in existence, state, varieties
of grapes grown, average case price, gross sales, and percent profit.

The Ws
Who - VIneyards
Cases - Each vineyard is a case
What - Size of vineyards (acres), number of years in existence, state/variety of grapes grown,
average case prices, gross sales, percent profit
When - Not Specified
Where - United States
Why - Business analysts hoped to provide information that would be helpful to American grape
growers
How - Not Specified

Variables
Variable - Size of Vineyard
Type - Quantitative
Units - Acres
Variable - Number of years in existence
Type - Quantitative
Units - Number
Variable - Average Case Price
Type - Quantitative
Units - Dollars
Variable - Gross sales
Type - Quantitative
Units - Dollars
Variable - Percent profit
Type - Quantitative
Units - %
Variable - State of grapes
Type -Categorical
Variable - Variety of grapes
Type -Categorical

21) In performing research for an ecology class, students at a college in upstate New York
collect data on streams each year. They record a number of biological, chemical, and physical
variables, including the stream name, the substrate of the stream (limestone, shale, or mixed),
the acidity of the water (pH), the temperature (C), and the BCI (a numerical measure of
biological diversity).

The Ws
Who-Streams
Cases -Each stream is a case
What -Name of stream, substrate of the stream, acidity of the water, temperature, BCI
When-Not specified
Where-Upstate New York
Why -To study ecology of streams
How -Not specified

Variables
Variable -Stream name
Type -Identifier
Variable -Substrate
Type -Categorical
Variable -Acidity of water
Type -Quantitative
Units -pH
Variable - Temperature
Type - Quantitative
Units - Degrees Celsius
Variable - BCI
Type - Quantitative
Units - Not specified

23) In 2006, Consumer Reports published an article evaluating refrigerators. It listed 41 models,
giving the brand, cost, size (cu ft), type (such as top freezer), estimated annual energy cost, an
overall rating (good, excellent, etc.), and the repair history for that brand (percentage requiring
repairs over the past 5 years).

The Ws
Who - 41 refrigerator models
Cases - Each of the 41 refrigerator models is a case
What - Brand, cost, size, type, estimated annual energy cost, overall rating, and repair history
When - 2006
Where - United States
Why - To provide information to the readers of Consumer Reports
How - Not specified

Variables
Variable - Brand
Type - Categorical
Variable -Overall rating
Type -Categorical
Variable -Type
Type -Categorical
Variable - Cost
Type - Quantitative
Units - Not specified
Variable - Size
Type -Quantitative
Units -Cubic feet
Variable -Estimated annual energy cost
Type -Quantitative
Units -Not specified
Variable -Percent requiring repair in last 5 years
Type -Quantitative
Units -Percent

25) The Kentucky Derby is a horse race that has been run every year since 1875 at Churchill
Downs, Louisville, Kentucky. The race started as a 1.5-mile race, but in 1896, it was shortened
to 1.25 miles because experts felt that 3-year-old horses shouldnt run such a long race that
early in the season. (It has been run in May every year but one-1901-when it took place on April
29). Here are the data for the first four and several recent races.

The Ws
Who - Kentucky Derby races
What - Date, winner, margin, jockey, net proceed to winner, duration, track condition
When - 1875 to 2008
Where - Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky
Why - Trends in racing
How - Official statistics collected at race

Variables
Variable -Winner
Type -Identifier
Variable -Jockey
Type -Categorical
Variable -Track condition
Type -Categorical
Variable -Year
Type -Quantitative
Units -Day and year
Variable -Margin
Type -Quantitative
Units -Horse lengths
Variable -Net proceeds to winner
Type -Quantitative
Units -Dollars
Variable -Duration
Type -Quantitative
Units -Minutes and seconds

26)
The 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been the home to a race on Memorial Day
nearly every year since 1911. Even during the first race, there were controversies. Ralph
Mulford was given the check- ered flag first but took three extra laps just to make sure hed
completed 500 miles. When he finished, another driver, Ray Harroun, was being presented with
the winners trophy, and Mulfords protests were ignored. Harroun averaged 74.6 mph for the
500 miles. In 2009, the winner, Hlio Castroneves, averaged 150.318 mph. Here are the data
for the first five races and five recent Indianapolis 500 races.

The Ws
Who - Indy 500 races
What - Year, winner, time, speed
When - 1911 - 2009
Where - Indianapolis, Indiana
Why - It is interesting to see trends in the races
How - Official statistics kept for the race every year

Variables
Variable - Winner
Type -Categorical
Variable - Year
Type - Quantitative
Units - Number
Variable - Average Speed
Type - Quantitative
Units - MPH