APPLICATION OF STATISTICAL CONCEPTS IN THE

DETERMINATION OF WEIGHT VARIATION IN SAMPLES

M. DE LEON1 AND B. LICAYAN2

1National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, College of Science
2National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, College of Science
University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Date Submitted: 24 January 2019
Date Performed: 31 January 2019

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. In the experiment, what is considered the “population” and the “sample”? What is the
principal goal of sampling, in general?
In the experiment, the population is all the 2004-2018 25-centavo coins while the sample is the
10 25-centavo coins that we weighed. The principal goal of sampling is to obtain a
representative sample, or a small collection of units or cases from a much larger collection
population [1], such that the researcher can study the smaller group and produce accurate
generalizations about the larger group. Researchers focus on specific techniques that will result to
samples that are highly similar to the population).

2. Why is there a need to gather replicate/ repeat measurements?

The observations that one makes are never exactly representative of the process he thinks he is
observing. Because of this reality, errors (systematic and measurement) occur. If the underlying
error is random/unbiased, one can still gain useful and reliable data by making multiple
observations (i.e. replicates) and calculating the average [2].

3. Discuss on a concise and organized manner the applicability and limitations of the
different statistical parameters in assessing accuracy and precision?
Measures of central tendency, such as the mean, are measures of the location of the center of a
distribution. These are commonly only used as “components” of other advanced statistical tests. On
the other hand, measures of accuracy are expressed in absolute and relative errors. This parameter
is only used as a representation of the mistakes that one committed in an experiment, thus they are
not that present in more complex statistical analysis. Finally, the measures of precision are the
most relevant to advanced tests such as the z-test and f-test. One of these, the variance (along with
its square root, the standard deviation), is the most useful measure of precision [3].

4. Elaborate on the confidence interval and its purpose. Enumerate factors affecting the
range of the confidence interval.
Confidence intervals are intervals constructed using a procedure that will contain the mean a
specified proportion of the time, usually either 95% or 99% of the time. For instance, if repeated
samples were taken at the 95% confidence interval computed for each sample, 95% of the
intervals would contain the mean [4]. Naturally, 5% of the intervals would not contain the
population mean. The range of the confidence interval is affected by the following: sample size
(inversely proportional), standard deviation (directly proportional), and confidence level
(directly proportional) [5].
5. Expound on the relevance of the Grubbs Test
The Grubbs test, also known as the maximum normalized residual test, can be used to test for
outliers in a univariate data set. If there are in fact multiple outliers, the results of the Grubbs
test can be distorted. The possibility of masking (one assumes few outliers) and swamping (one
assumes many outliers) are an important reason why it is useful to complement formal outlier
tests with graphical methods. Graphics can often help identify cases where masking or
swamping may be an issue [6].

6. Which between Data Set 1 and 2 is more accurate? Precise? Expound.

Data Set 2 is more accurate since its mean (3.6466) is closer to the theoretical mass of a 25-
centavo coin, which is 3.8 g [7]. On the other hand, Data Set 1 is the more precise set since the
obtained weight are closer with each other compared to the other set.

REFERENCES

[1] Quantitative Sampling. (n.d.). Retrieved January 30, 2019, from

http://www.csun.edu/~hbsoc126/soc4/chapter_8_outline.pdf
[2] Peters, C. A. (2001). Statistics for Analysis of Experimental Data. Environmental Engineering
Processes Laboratory Manual. Retrieved January 30, 2019, from
https://www.princeton.edu/~cap/AEESP_Statchap_Peters.pdf.
[3] Urdan, T. C. (2011). Statistics in plain English. Routledge.
[4] Almeda, Josefina & G. Capistrano, Therese & Sarte, Genelyn Ma. (2010). Elementary
Statistics.
[5] Calculating confidence intervals on the mean with the Students-t distribution. (n.d.).
Retrieved January 30, 2019, from
https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_48_0/libs/math/doc/sf_and_dist/html/math_toolkit/dist/s
tat_tut/weg/st_eg/tut_mean_intervals.html
[6] Witte, R. S., & Witte, J. S. (2010). Statistics. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons.Witte, R. S., & Witte, J.
S. (2010). Statistics. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons.
[7] 25 Sentimo. (n.d.). Retrieved January 30, 2019, from
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces1682.html