AP Statistics Chapter 1 Multiple Choice Questions

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

(a) In a symmetric distribution, the mean and the median are equal.

(b) The first quartile is equivalent to the twenty-fifth percentile.

(c) In a symmetric distribution, the median is halfway between the first and third quartiles.

(d) The median is always greater than the mean.

(e) The range is the difference between the largest and the smallest observation in the data set.

(d) The median is always greater than the mean.

A researcher reports that, on average, the participants in his study lost 10.4 pounds after two months on his new diet. A friend of yours comments that she tried the diet for two months and lost no weight, so clearly the report was a fraud. Which of the following statements is correct?

(a) Your friend must not have followed the diet correctly, since she did not lose weight.

(b) Since your friend did not lose weight, the report must not be correct.

(c) The report gives only the average. This does not imply that all participants in the study lost 10.4 pounds or even that all lost weight. Your friend's experience does not necessarily contradict the study results.

(d) In order for the study to be correct, we must now add your friend's results to those of the study and recompute the new average.

(e) Your friend is an outlier.

(c) The report gives only the average. This does not imply that all participants in the study lost 10.4 pounds or even that all lost weight. Your friend's experience does not necessarily contradict the study results.

Normal" body temperature varies by time of day. A series of readings was taken of the body temperature of a subject. The mean reading was found to be 36.5°C with a standard deviation of 0.3°C. When converted to °F, the mean and standard deviation are (°F = °C(1.8) + 32):

(a) 97.7, 32

(b) 97.7, 0.30

(c) 97.7, 0.54

(d) 97.7, 0.97

(e) 97.7, 1.80

(c) 97.7, 0.54

There are three children in a room, ages three, four, and five. If a four-year-old child enters the room the

(a) mean age will stay the same but the variance will increase.

(b) mean age will stay the same but the variance will decrease.

(c) mean age and variance will stay the same.

(d) mean age and variance will increase.

(e) mean age and variance will decrease.

(b) mean age will stay the same but the variance will decrease.

If a distribution is skewed to the right, which of the following is true?

a. The mean must be less than the median.

b. The mean and median must be equal.

c. The mean must be greater than the median.

d. The mean is either equal to or less than the median,

e. It's impossible to tell which of the above statements is true without seeing the data.

c. The mean must be greater than the median.

A small company that prints custom t-shirts has 6 employees, one of whom is the owner and

manager. Suppose the owner makes $120,000 per year and the other employees make between $40,000 and $50,000 per year. One day, the owner decides to give himself a $30,000 raise. Which of the

following describes how the company's mean and median salaries would change?

(a) The mean and median would both increase by $5,000.

(b) The mean would increase by $5,000 and the median would not change.

(c) The mean would increase by $6,000 and the median would not change.

(d) The median would increase by $6,000 and the mean would not change.

(e) The mean would increase by $6,000, but we cannot determine the change in the median without

more information.

(b) The mean would increase by $5,000 and the median would not change.

A sample of 99 distances has a mean of 24 feet and a median of 24.5 feet. Unfortunately, it has just

been discovered that the maximum value in the distribution, which was erroneously recorded as 40,

actually had a value of 50. If we make this correction to the data, then

(a) the mean remains the same, but the median is increased.

(b) the mean and median remain the same.

(c) the median remains the same, but the mean is increased.

(d) the mean and median are both increased.

(e) we do not know how the mean and median are affected without further calculations, but the

variance is increased.

(c) the median remains the same, but the mean is increased.

The five-number summary for scores on a statistics exam is 11, 35, 61, 70, 79. In all, 380 students

took the test. About how many had scores between 35 and 61?

(a) 26

(b) 76

(c) 95

(d) 190

(e) None of these

(c) 95

At the beginning of the school year, a high-school teacher asks every student in her classes to fill out

a survey that asks for their age, gender, the number of years they have lived at their current address,

their favorite school subject, and whether they plan to go to college after high school. Which of the

following best describes the variables that are being measured?

(a) four quantitative variables

(b) five quantitative variables

(c) two categorical variables and two quantitative variables

(d) two categorical variables and three quantitative variables

(e) three categorical variables and two quantitative variables

(e) three categorical variables and two quantitative variables

The mean speed of vehicles in the "cars only" lanes of the New Jersey turnpike is 68 miles per hour. The mean speed of vehicles in the "any vehicle" lanes if 64 miles per hour. What must be true about the mean sped of all vehicles on the turnpike assuming there are the only types of lanes?

It could be any number between 64 and 68 miles per hour

The mean birth weight of infants born at a certain hospital int he month of April was 128 oz with a standard deviation of 10.2 oz. Which of the following is a correct interpretation of standard deviation?

The distance between the weight of each infant born in April and the mean weight was, on average, about 10.2 oz

The median age of five people in a meeting is 30 years. One of the people, whose age is 50 years,

leaves the room. The median age of the remaining four people in the room is

(a) 40 years.

(b) 30 years.

(c) 25 years.

(d) less than 30 years.

(e) Cannot be determined from the information given.

(e) Cannot be determined from the information given.