Chapter 4- PY 211

11. Given the numbers 6 7 9 11 15 71 86, how many numbers fall below the median? a) 3 b) 11 c) 6 to 86 d) 6, 7, 9, and 11

a) 3

18. x̅is the symbol commonly used for the a) mean b) mode c) median d) none of the above

a) mean

26. For the set of data [1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9] to value "5" is a) the mode b) the median c) the mean d) all of the above

d) all of the above

3. If we were interested in studying salaries in the NBA, the lease useful measure of the typical salary would be a) median b) mode c) range d) mean

c) range

15. The most commonly used measure of central tendency is a) the mode b) the median c) the mean d) all are equally common

c) the mean

14. The chief disadvantage of the median, when compared to the mean, is that a) it is less stable than the mean from sample to sample b) its location cannot be calculated algebraically c) it is disproportionately affected by outliers d) it has no disadvantages

a) it is less stable than the mean from sample to sample

4. The median has at least one advantage over the mean in that a) it is not much affected by extreme scores b) it is easier to calculate than the mode c) it is usually closer to the population mean than the mode d) it varies less from sample to sample

a) it is not much affected by extreme scores

23. Which of the following measures of central tendency is potentially misleading if the data are collected on an ordinal scale? a) mean b) median c) mode d) none of the above

a) mean

29. Which of the following can be defined algebraically? a) mean b) median c) median location d) both a and c

a) mean

35. Which of the following is probably most useful in studies in which extreme scores sometimes occur but have no real practical significance? a) mean b) median c) average d) none of the above

a) mean

32. If a store manager wanted to stock the men's clothing department with shirts fitting the most men, which measure of central tendency of men's shirt sizes should be employed? a) mode b) mean c) median d) average

a) mode

10. We are most likely to randomly pick which score from an actual data set? a) the mode b) the median c) the highest score d) the lowest score

a) the mode

12. The median location is defined as a) S(sigma)X/N b)(N+1)/2 c) p(X1=mode) > p(Xi= any other score) d) the average score

b) (N+1)/2

27. For the following data set [1, 7, 9, 15, 33, 76, 103, 118] what is the median location? a) 5 b) 4.5 c) 33 d) 24

b) 4.5

33. If a physics professor gave her class the same exam every year, which of the following measures of exam scores would probably stay the most consistent in value from year to year? a) mode b) mean c) median d) none of the above

b) mean

22. Alison received a score of 480 on the verbal portion of her SAT. If she scored at the 50th percentile, her score represents the ____ of the distribution of all verbal SAT scores. a) mean b) median c) mode d) average

b) median

7. Which of the following is useful with data collected with nominal scales? a) median b) mode c) mean d) none of the above

b) mode

30. Professor Neuberg found that the mean number of alcoholic drinks consumed at a party was much higher for males than for females. If the median and mode number of drinks consumed by males and females was both zero, how can the difference in means be explained? a) the mean number of drinks consumed by females was disproportionately increased by outliers drinking lots of drinks b) the mean number of drinks consumed by males was disproportionately increased by outliers drinking lots of drinks c) The difference in means gives no information that is useful and should not be explained d) the difference most likely comes from an error in calculation

b) the mean number of drinks consumed by males was disproportionately increased by outliers drinking lots of drinks

2. For the following set of data [5, 9, 5, 5, 2, 4], the mean is a) 4 b) 4.5 c) 5 d) 6

c) 5

25. Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of the mean? a) It is usually influenced by extreme scores b) Its value may not actually exist in the data c) It is least stable from sample to sample d) Its interpretation in terms of variables requires some faith in interval properties of the data

c) It is least stable from sample to sample

6. In which of the following situations would you be most likely to use the mean as a measure of central tendency? a) You want to report data on family income so we know how families are doing b) you want to measure something that has a number of outliers c) You want to report the average weight of airline passengers so that the pilot can estimate the weight of the plane d) your boss wants to know what size t-shirts to order for the next company picnic

c) You want to report the average weight of airline passengers so that the pilot can estimate the weight of the plane

21. Suppose a sample of children reported how many voices they heard in their heads on a particular day, and that hearing voices was a relatively uncommon experience. In this case the mode a) will show that the most common number of voices heard is zero b) will tell us nothing about the children who did hear voices c) both a and b d) none of the above

c) both a and b

8. Which of the following statements about the mode is false? a) it must be an actual score than occurred in the data set b) it can consist of more than one number c) it can be calculated algebraically d) all of the above are false

c) it can be calculated algebraically

13. The chief advantage of the median is that a) it represents a score actually occurring in the data set b) it is best used with nominal scales c) it is not disproportionately affected by extreme scores d) it is the most commonly occurring score

c) it is not disproportionately affected by extreme scores

31. Which is the following is true of the value "9" in the following data set [1, 1, 1, 7, 9, 12, 15, 65, 100]? a) it is the mode b) it is the mean c) it is the 50th percentile d) It is equal to (N1)/2

c) it is the 50th percentile

20. The measure of central tendency that is most useful in estimating population characteristics because it is less variable from sample to sample is the a) mode b) median c) mean d) all of the above are equally useful in estimating characteristics of the population

c) mean

16. When the distribution is symmetric, which of the following are always equal? a) mean and the mode b) median and mode c) mean and median d) mean, median, and mode

c) mean and the median

19. In using ordinal data, which measure of central tendency is probably least useful? a) mode b) man c) median d) You cannot use any measure of central tendency with ordinal data

c) median

24. On a histogram, which always refers to the highest point on the distribution? a) mean b) median c) mode d) none of the above

c) mode

28. For the following data set [1, 9 ,9, 9, 11, 28], which of the following is false? a) the mode is 9 b) the median is 9 c) the mean is 9 d) the median location is 3.5

c) the mean is 9

34. When we make implicit assumptions about a scale having interval properties, a) we are probably calculating a mode b) we are probably calculating a median c) we are assuming distance between 4 and 6 is the same distance between 4 and 8 d) we are always making unreasonable assumptions

c) we are assuming distance between 4 and 6 is the same distance between 4 and 8

9. The mode of the numbers 1 3 4 5 66 7 8 9 9 9 is a) 6 b) 6.5 c) 6.1 d) 9

d) 9

1. The Best measure of central tendency a) is the mean b) is the median c) is the mode d) depends on the data and the question you want to ask

d) depends on the data and the question you want to ask

17. When the distribution is symmetric and unimodal, which of the following are always equal? a) mean and mode b) median and mode c) mean and median d) mean, median, and mode

d) mean, median, and mode

5. The median location is a) the number closest to the mean b) the number of scores that occur at the median c) the highest point on a frequency distribution d) the position, in an ordered series, occupied by the mean

d) the position, in an ordered series, occupied by the mean