Business Statistics

Which of the following are good reasons to hire a statistical consultant?

When a decision is faced with a public policy consequence. If you're at the beginning of a project and want advice on how to start. When your company lacks specific advanced skills.

To compute the standard deviation of a data sample ______________

Use STDEV.S

When is scientific notation useful?

When working with data sets that have a wide range of values

XYZ Corporation made a profit of $3 million last year. ABC Corporation made a profit of $6 million last year. Based on the ratio scale, which of the following is an accurate statement about the relationship between ABC's profits and XYZ's profits?

XYZ was half as profitable as ABC.

In Excel, in a formula, the character for computing the power of a number is ____.

^

A graph or table should have

a number a title

the type of statistics that refers to drawing conclusions about a population set of data based on a sample set of data is known as

inferential statistics

Business students need to study statistics because

it gives your company a competitive advantage if you know how to use and interpret data.

Statistical analysis is constrained by

lack of money to research. lack of time to collect data.

Which is not a reason for an average student to study statistics?

learn investment strategies

GM's experience with faulty ignition switches suggests that

limited data may still contain important clues.

In order to compute variance, _____ needs to be computed

mean

Given the null hypothesis that the mean height of Dobermans is 26 inches, an appropriate alternate hypothesis for this two-sided distribution will be ___.

mean height is not equal to 26 inches

In Excel, in a formula, the asterisk character (*) is used for ________.

multiplying two numbers

________ is a set of tools which helps in organizing, presenting information, and extracting meaning from raw data.

statistics

The symbol ∑ is used to denote ___________

sum of data

To compute the standard deviation, one _______.

takes the square root of variance

The Mean Absolute Deviation is _______________.

the average of all absolute deviations

If the brand that had most sales was Lamborghini, then ______________.

the bar (or column) corresponding to Lamborghini would be the largest

Which is least likely to involve the application of statistics in business?

writing strategic decisions

Statistics for a sample are denoted by ______

x̄, s2

The mean of a sample and standard deviation of a population are denoted by ______________

x̄, σ

Analysis of 1,064 deaths of famous popular musicians showed that 31 percent were related to alcohol or drug abuse. "But that is just a sample. It proves nothing," said Hannah. Do you agree with Hannah's conclusion?

yes

A pie chart is _______.

all of these options: a graph, an illustration of data points, a representation of numerical proportions

A bar graph is ______________.

all of these options: a series of contiguous columns of varying heights to denote variations in data, an illustration of data points, a pictorial representation of statistical variations

Absolute deviations are _____________.

always positive

A National Health Interview Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that using a cell phone instead of a landline appeared to double a person's chances of binge drinking. "I guess I'd better give up my cell phone," said Bob. Which fallacy, do you see in Bob's reasoning?

assuming a casual link generalization to individuals

According to the data in this video, which breed of dog is within one standard deviation of the mean height?

beagle

The best time to hire a statistical expert is at the __________ of a project

beginning/start

Empirical data is data

collected through observation and experiment

"Lacrosse helmets are not needed," said Tom. "None of the guys on my team have ever had head injuries." Select the correct fallacy in Tom's reasoning?

conclusions from nonrandom samples

Which statistical pitfall best matches the following statement match? Rebecca's dog was bitten by a snake while they were jogging. You should never take your dog jogging because they will be bitten by a snake.

conclusions from rare events

When you measure the weight of a person, the data is ____.

continuous

_________ or CRM is used by marketing departments to analyze customer data.

customer relationship management

_____________ or CRM is used by marketing departments to analyze customer data.

customer relationship management

collecting, organizing, and summarizing a particular data set are known as

descriptive statistics

Match the type of statistics with the tasks:

descriptive: organizing graphing inferential: estimating concluding

When you roll two dice, the data generated is ___

discrete

In the video example, which dog breed has the largest variation?

doberman

Statistics allows us to test our ideas using __________.

empirical or sample evidence

We would associate the term inferential statistics with which task?

estimating unknown parameters

In this histogram, the height of a column is determined by the value of a student's test score

false

The Mean of a distribution is always a value from the distribution

false

True or false: Busy managers want to see detailed numerical explanations in technical reports.

false

True or false: Different assumptions will lead you to the same answer so it is not necessary to state your assumptions.

false

A research study showed that adolescents who watched more than 4 hours of TV per day were more than five times as likely to start smoking as those who watched less than 2 hours a day. The researchers speculate that TV actors' portrayals of smoking as personally and socially rewarding were an effective indirect method of tobacco promotion. List the factors that you think cause adolescents to start smoking.

friends smoking, seeing it on tv, wanting to look cool,

Which statistical pitfall does the following statements match? A college degree generally takes four years after high school is completed. Therefore Mary can complete her degree before she turns 22.

generalization to individuals

Match the business discipline to the type of data collected

identifying repeat customers: marketing A sample of errors from invoice statements: auditing Distribution of inventory items in a big box store: operations management risk assessment of an investment: finance

How many areas of the MS Excel interface were discussed in the video?

5

Which of the following are examples of inferential statistics?

A manufacturer of light bulbs randomly selects 100 light bulbs to test the longevity of all light bulbs that the company produces. Prof. Stats randomly selects 50 female students at State University to estimate the average height of all female students at State.

"Smokers are much more likely to speed, run red lights, and get involved in car accidents than nonsmokers." Can you think of reasons why this statement might be misleading? Can you suggest a causal link between smoking and car accidents?

"the phrase much more is not quantified", smokers might pay less attention to driving when lighting a cigarette

We have a number, 4.38E-02, in scientific notation. How would we represent it in non-scientific notation?

0.0438

Given the sample data set 4, 5, 6, what is the variance?

1

_______________ statistics involves collecting and summarizing data and ________________ statistics makes generalizations from samples to populations.

1. descriptive 2. inferential

_______ analytics look at historical data. ______ analytics are used to help make decisions about business objectives, and _________ analytics help forecast customer behavior.

1. descriptive 2. prescriptive 3. predictive

In scientific notation, the number 12,340,000,000 is represented in Excel as ____.

1.234E+10

In this data set, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, the mode is

4

What is the Mean Absolute Deviation of the data set 7, 10, 14, and 20?

4.25

Additional functions and their usage can be found in ___________

All of the options: "Lookup & Reference" tab within Formulas Help for Microsoft Excel

You can insert formulas by ______________

All of the options: Clicking on "Formulas" and then "Insert Function" Typing "=" and a function name If the "formula bar" is enabled in the view settings, typing directly in it

Ergonomics is the science of making sure that human surroundings are adapted to human needs. How could statistics play a role in the following: Choosing the height of an office chair so that 95 percent of the employees (male and female) will feel it is the "right height" for their legs to reach the floor comfortably. Designing a drill press so its controls can be reached and its forces operated by an "average employee." Defining a doorway width so that a "typical" wheelchair can pass through without coming closer than 6 inches from either side. Setting the width of a parking space to accommodate 95 percent of all vehicles at your local Walmart. Choosing a font size so that a highway sign can be read in daylight at 100 meters by 95 percent of all drivers.

All of these involve taking samples from the population of interest and estimating the value of the variable of interest.

Which statistical pitfall does the following statement match? People who belong to health clubs tend to have college degrees therefore exercise increases your IQ.

Assuming a casual link

In the example shown, which brand of vehicles has the highest sales, and how can we tell?

Audi, because the bar representing its sales is longest.

Which is not a likely task of descriptive statistics?

Estimating unknown parameters

Which of the following are the responsibilities of a data analyst?

Identifying degrees of uncertainty Accurately reporting information Referencing sources

In the video example, what brand has the smallest sales, and how can we tell from the pie chart?

Lamborghini has the smallest sales, because its proportion of the pie is smallest.

Which of the following are tools used in descriptive statistics?

Numerical Summaries Graphs and Charts

Which of the following are rules for a data analyst?

Protect confidential information. Know and follow accepted procedures. Maintain data integrity.

Under a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standard for food contaminants, 3.5 ounces of tomato sauce can have up to 30 fly eggs, and 11 ounces of wheat flour can contain 450 insect fragments. How could statistical sampling be used to see that these standards of food hygiene are being met by producers?

Sampling allows the FDA to state, within a margin of error and some level of confidence, that tomato sauce produced in the United States is meeting the standard.

Which is not a practical constraint facing the business researcher or data analyst?

Survey respondents usually will tell the truth if well compensated.

Statistics can appropriately be used for which of the following?

To handle too much or too little data. To communicate with people in technical fields. To better understand other people's data analysis.

Measures of Central Tendency are representative of a central location in the distribution

True

A research study showed that 7 percent of "A" students smoke while nearly 50 percent of "D" students do. (a) If you are listing six factors in rank order that you think affect grades, is smoking on your list? (b) Assuming these statistics are correct, would "D" students who give up smoking improve their grades?

a) no b) no

A recent study of 231,164 New Jersey heart attack patients showed that those admitted on a weekday had a 12.0 percent death rate in the next three years, compared with 12.9 percent for those admitted on a weekend. This difference was statistically significant. "That's too small to have any practical importance," said Sarah. Do you agree with Sarah's conclusion?

no

Is the set of all the footballs in the world a sample or population?

population

Which one has more data points?

population

Using data to develop models that forecast customer behavior would be

predictive analytics

knowing how to set a pricing strategy for rental cars would be an example of what type of analytics?

prescriptive

A pie chart is most useful to illustrate ______________.

proportions of the whole

Which is not an analytical method commonly used to improve business decisions?

reactive analytics

One of the things you can do with the Status Bar is:

rename the tab

Where does one change the format of a cell, such as adding color or changing font style?

ribbon and worksheet area

It can be expensive or impossible to measure everything in a population so businesses often take a __________ to make predictions or estimates.

sample

There are ten sections of a math course at a university. One section is randomly chosen for a survey about calculator preferences. The group of students in this section is a ____.

sample

A company code of ethics addresses things such as

sources of data inaccuracy policies on confidentiality conflicts of interest

If the brand that had most sales was VW, then ______________.

the segment of the pie corresponding to VW would be the largest

Ethical guidelines exist for

the treatment of humans and animals and privacy protection.

A bar graph can have vertical or horizontal columns.

true

A sample set consists of randomly selected points from a population.

true

Discrete data can only take finite values.

true

Hypothesis testing is about determining the likelihood of a population statistic being true.

true

Nominal data represent categories or labels, such as male and female.

true

Ordinal scale is an ordering of the nominal variables.

true

Simply stated, Histograms are a plot of data bins and the number of data points in each of them.

true

True or false: Successful businesses expect their employees to have some knowledge of statistics.

true

True or false: There are generally accepted statistical methods for dealing with missing data and unusual data.

true

Variables of type Ratio are the most complete

true

When there are an odd number of values in a distribution, the Median is the centrally located value when all the values are in ascending order.

true

You can choose which numbers to add/subtract/multiply/divide by selecting the cell.

true