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Example Questions
Example Question #4 : How To Find Z Scores For A Data Set
The following data set represents Mr. Marigold's students' scores on the final. The standard deviation for this data set is 8.41. How many standard deviations are you away from the mean if you got all the questions right? [find your z-score]
To calculate the z-score, first we need to find the mean of the data set. By adding together and dividing by 26, we get 81.15.
To calculate your z-score and discover how close your score is to the mean in terms of standard deviations, use this formula:
where x is your data point, 100, is the mean, 81.15, and
is the standard deviation, which we are told is 8.41.
Example Question #1 : How To Find Z Scores For A Data Set
This year's harvest, the apples had a mean mass of with a standard deviation of
. You pick an apple from the harvest and find its mass to be
.
What is the z-score of the apple you picked?
To find the z-score, we follow the formula
where
is the given value,
is the mean, and
is the standard deviation.
For this problem we see that
and
Substituting for these values we see
Example Question #11 : How To Find Z Scores For A Data Set
The observed times (in minutes) it takes a swimmer to complete a race are normally distributed. The z-score for her swimming time this week is . Which one of the following statements is correct interpretation of this z-score?
This week her time was two standard deviations lower than her average time.
This week her time was two minutes lower than her average time.
This week her time was two minutes lowere than her time last week.
This week her time was two standard deviations lower than her time last week.
This week her time was two minutes lower than her best time ever.
This week her time was two standard deviations lower than her average time.
The z-score = and a negative z-score indicates that the x-value is below the average. The value of the score represents the difference between the x-value and the mean in terms of the number of standard deviations.
Example Question #51 : Data
Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship between variables?
Correlation coefficients range from 1 to -1. The closer to either extreme, the stronger the relationship. The closer to 0, the weaker the relationship.
Example Question #2 : How To Find Correlation
It is found that there is a correlation of exactly between two variables. Which of the following is incorrect?
There is enough evidence, with a correlation of , to assert that one variable causes the other
The association between the two variables is positive
Correlation is measured on a scale of to
There is a strong association between the two variables.
All of the answer choices are correct
There is enough evidence, with a correlation of , to assert that one variable causes the other
Under no circumstance will correlation ever equate to causation, regardless of how strong the correlation between two variables is. In this case, all other answer choices are correct.
Example Question #1 : How To Find Correlation
In a medical school, it is found that there is a correlation of between the amount of coffee consumed by students and the number of hours students sleep each night. Which of the following is true?
i. There is a positive association between the two variables.
ii. There is a strong correlation between the two variables.
iii. Coffee consumption in medical school students causes students to sleep less each night.
i, ii, and iii
iii only
ii only
i and ii
i and iii
ii only
Since the correlation is negative, there must be a negative association between the two variables (therefore statement i is incorrect). Statement ii is correct since a correlation of to
on an absolute value scale of
to
is considered to be a strong correlation. Statement iii is incorrect since correlation does not mean causation.
Example Question #1 : How To Find Correlation
Which of the following shows the least correlation between two variables?
The strength of correlation is measured on an absolute value scale of to
with
being the least correlated and
being the most correlated. The positive or negative in front of the correlation integer simply determines whether or not there is a positive or negative correlation between the variables.
A correlation of means that there is no correlation at all between two variables.
Example Question #2 : Bivariate Data
Which of the following correlation coefficients implies the strongest relationship between variables:
A high correlation coefficient regardless of sign implies a stronger relationship. In this case has a stronger negative relationship than the positive relationship described by a value of
Example Question #3 : How To Find Correlation
A national study on cell phone use found the following correlations:
-The correlation between the number of texts sent each day and a person's average credit card debt is .
-The correlation between the number of texts sent each day and the number of books read each month is .
Which of the following statements are true?
i. As the number of texts sent each day increases, average credit card debt increases.
ii. Sending more texts causes people to read less.
iii. A person's average credit card debt is related more strongly to the number of texts sent each day than the number of books read each month is related to the number of texts sent each day.
i and iii
i and ii
ii and iii
ii
iii
i and iii
i is correct because there is a positive correlation between the number of texts sent each day and average credit card debt.
ii is incorrect because the word "cause" was used in the statement. Correlation does not mean causation. There is a relationship between the number of texts sent each day and the number of books that a person reads each month. However, the number of texts sent each day does not cause a person to read a certain number of books each month.
iii is correct because the absolute values of the correlations indicate which correlation is stronger. is a stronger correlation than
.
Example Question #1 : Bivariate Data
A basketball coach wants to determine if a player's height can predict the number of points the player scores in a season. Which statistical test should the coach conduct?
P-score
T-test
Correlation
Linear regression
ANOVA
Linear regression
Linear regression is the best option for determining whether the value of one variable predicts the value of a second variable. Since that is exactly what the coach is trying to do, he should use linear regression.
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