Variables and measured data

Janice is investigating if grade level has any effect on time spent studying. What is the explanatory variable?

grade level The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is grade level.

Is the statement below true or false? A response variable is a variable that has an effect on a study even though it is neither an independent nor a dependent variable.

False A response variable is defined as the dependent variable in an experiment.

A new mother keeps track of the time when her baby wakes up each morning. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Interval This is interval data because time of day is a numerical scale where differences are meaningful. However, because the time of day does not have a true zero value, it is not ratio data.

A market researcher surveys households to ask what brand of shampoo is preferred. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Nominal This is nominal data because the brands of shampoo do not have an order to them. Even though a person may have a personal preference, there is no ranking that is universal.

At a comic convention, a researcher asks attendees what their favorite comic book is. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Nominal This is nominal data because the comic books do not have an order to them. Even though a person may have a personal preference, there is no ranking that is universal

A restaurant surveys its patrons to pick their favorite item on the menu. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Nominal This is nominal data because the menu items do not have an order to them. Even though a person may have a personal preference, there is no ranking that is universal.

A hotel asks its patrons to fill out a customer satisfaction survey to rate the service. The options are Very Dissatisfied, Somewhat Dissatisfied, Somewhat Satisfied, Very Satisfied. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Ordinal This is ordinal data because the values are ordered, but do not have a meaningful numerical value.

A market researcher surveys users of a certain laundry detergent if they think the detergent makes their laundry smell Very Bad, Bad, Neutral, Good, or Very Good. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Ordinal This is ordinal data because the values are ordered, but do not have a meaningful numerical value.

A political researcher asks people if they Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, or Strongly Agree with various policy decisions. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Ordinal This is ordinal data because the values are ordered, but do not have a meaningful numerical value.

A restaurant asks its patrons to rate the speed of the service. The options are Very Slow, Somewhat Slow, Somewhat Fast, Very Fast. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Ordinal This is ordinal data because the values are ordered, but do not have a meaningful numerical value.

A track runner keeps track of how long it takes her to run the 200 meter dash. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Ratio This is ratio data because length of time has a true zero, and ratios are meaningful. If someone took twice as long to run the 200 meters, then that person ran half as fast.

True or False? A response variable is the dependent variable in an experiment.

True A response variable is defined as the dependent variable in an experiment.

Is the statement below true or false? An explanatory variable is the independent variable in an experiment

True An explanatory variable is defined as the independent variable in an experiment

Is the statement below true or false? Quantitative is an attribute whose value is indicated by a number

True Quantitative is defined as an attribute whose value is indicated by a number.

Tina has created an experiment to test whether or not age has any effect on the number of words on a list that can be remembered. What is the explanatory variable in this situation?

age The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is age.

Jacqueline is investigating if age has any effect on the number of hours of sleep. Which of the following gives the explanatory and response variables respectively?

age and the number of hours of sleep The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent or response variable. The response variable is the variable that is being measured or tested in response to changes in the independent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is age and the response variable is the number of hours of sleep.

Qualitative is _______.

an attribute whose value is indicated by a label Qualitative is defined as an attribute whose value is indicated by a label.

What is the type of quantitative data that is the result of measuring?

continuous Continuous is defined as the type of quantitative data that is the result of measuring.

Given that Angelina is collecting data on commute distance, what type of data is she working with?

continuous quantitative Commute distance is continuous quantitative data because it is obtained by measuring and is not limited to a certain set of numbers.

Given that Justin is collecting data on reaction time, what type of data is he working with?

continuous quantitative Reaction time is continuous quantitative data because it is obtained by measuring and is not limited to a certain set of numbers.

Jason is collecting data on the number of books students read each year. What type of data is this?

discrete quantitative The number of books students read each year is discrete quantitative data because it is obtained by counting.

Angela is collecting data on the number of classes that students take. What type of data is this?

discrete quantitative The number of classes that students take is discrete quantitative data because it is obtained by counting.

Which of the following is the independent variable in an experiment?

explanatory variable An explanatory variable is defined as the independent variable in an experiment

Thomas is investigating if gender has any effect on political party associations. Which of the following gives the explanatory and response variables respectively

gender and political party associations The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent or response variable. The response variable is the variable that is being measured or tested in response to changes in the independent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is gender and the response variable is political party associations.

To determine whether or not number of siblings influences grade point average, Charles has designed a survey. What is the explanatory variable?

number of siblings The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is number of siblings.

Margaret is investigating if gender has any effect on political party associations. What is the response variable?

political party associations The response variable is the dependent variable, which is the variable that is being measured or tested in response to changes in the independent variable. In this case the response variable is political party associations.

Patricia is collecting data on favorite ice cream. What type of data is this?

qualitative Favorite ice cream is qualitative data because it involves categorization of non-numerical attributes.

Given that Janet is collecting data on favorite sports teams, what type of data is she working with?

qualitative Favorite sports teams is qualitative data because it involves categorization of non-numerical attributes.

Given that Ruth is collecting data on political party preference, what type of data is she working with?

qualitative Political party preference is qualitative data because it involves categorization of non-numerical attributes

What term best describes data that is an attribute whose value is indicated by a label?

qualitative Qualitative is defined as an attribute whose value is indicated by a label

What is an attribute whose value is indicated by a label?

qualitative Qualitative is defined as an attribute whose value is indicated by a label.

Virginia is collecting data on shirt color. What type of data is this?

qualitative Shirt color is qualitative data because it involves categorization of non-numerical attributes

Which of the following best describes the term response variable?

the dependent variable in an experiment A response variable is defined as the dependent variable in an experiment.

To determine whether or not age influences the number of words on a list that can be remembered, Helen has designed an experiment. What is the response variable?

the number of words on a list that can be remembered The response variable is the dependent variable, which is the variable that is being measured or tested in response to changes in the independent variable. In this case the response variable is the number of words on a list that can be remembered.

To determine whether or not grade level influences time spent studying, Samuel has designed a survey. What is the response variable?

time spent studying The response variable is the dependent variable, which is the variable that is being measured or tested in response to changes in the independent variable. In this case the response variable is time spent studying.

A chef keeps track of the temperature of his refrigerator in degrees Celsius. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Interval This is interval data because degrees Celsius is a numerical scale where differences are meaningful. However, because Celsius does not have a true zero value, it is not ratio data

A climate scientist keeps track of the daily temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, of a lake over the course of six weeks. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Interval This is interval data because degrees Fahrenheit is a numerical scale where differences are meaningful. However, because Fahrenheit does not have a true zero value, it is not ratio data.

A pollster surveys voters and asks which candidate they support in the upcoming election. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Nominal This is nominal data because the candidates do not have an order to them. Even though a person may have a personal preference, there is no ranking that is universal.

A biologist samples and measures the length of the fish in a lake. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Ratio This is ratio data because length has a true zero, and ratios of lengths are meaningful.

A zoologist measures the birthweight of each cub in a litter of lions. What is the level of measurement of the data?

Ratio This is ratio data because weight has a true zero, and ratios of weights are meaningful

Brian researched how a person's intelligence quotient (IQ) is affected by exercise. First, people took an IQ test. Then, over 2 months, they did different amounts of exercise. Then, Brian gave them a second IQ test. What is the response variable in this experiment? The number of people in the study The first IQ test score The amount of exercise the people do The change in IQ score from the first to second test

The change in IQ score from the first to second test Different people will have different IQs before they begin the experiment, which is why Brian has the subjects take an IQ test before they begin exercising. He expects that different amounts of exercise will affect the amount their IQ changes. The cause is the amount of exercise, and the effect is the change in IQ. So the response variable is the change in IQ.

Timothy is collecting data on the number of dental cavities. What type of data is this?

discrete quantitative The number of dental cavities is discrete quantitative data because it is obtained by counting.

A 2013 study at Johns Hopkins University wanted to measure if caffeine has an effect on short term memory. The researchers showed images to a group of people. They then gave half the group a 200-mg caffeine pill and the other half a placebo pill containing no caffeine. A day later they measured how many images each person could remember. What is the explanatory variable in this experiment? Short term memory Whether or not a person received caffeine How many images could be remembered The number of people in the study

Whether or not a person received caffeine Remember that the explanatory variable is the cause and the response variable is the effect. This experiment is trying to determine the relationship between receiving caffeine (the cause) and short term memory (the effect). So in this case, the explanatory variable is whether the person received caffeine.

Karen is investigating if age has any effect on political party preferences. What is the explanatory variable?

age The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is age.

Michelle is investigating if gender has any effect on political party associations. What is the explanatory variable?

gender The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is gender

Edward has created an experiment to test whether or not height has any effect on red grade level blood cell count. Which of the following gives the explanatory and response variables, respectively, in this situation?

height (explanatory) red blood cell count(Response) The explanatory variable is the independent variable, which is the variable that is changed to determine its effect on a dependent or response variable. The response variable is the variable that is being measured or tested in response to changes in the independent variable. In this case the explanatory variable is height and the response variable is red blood cell count.

What type of data is collected if Maria is studying eye color?

qualitative Eye color is qualitative data because it involves categorization of non-numerical attributes.