GES 500: Engineering Statistics - Key Concepts

These flashcards cover key concepts and definitions in engineering statistics as taught in the GES 500 course.

Difference between deterministic and stochastic phenomena

Deterministic phenomena produce consistent results under the same conditions, whereas stochastic phenomena show variability and unpredictability.

Define descriptive statistics.

Descriptive statistics involves methods for summarizing and describing important features of a data set.

What is inferential statistics?

Inferential statistics allows us to make conclusions about a population based on sample data.

What is a population in statistics?

A population is the entire collection of objects or outcomes about which data are collected.

What is a sample?

A sample is a subset of the population, selected for observation and data collection.

What does the term 'empirical model' refer to?

An empirical model relates variables of interest based on the analysis of observational data.

Explain the purpose of data analysis.

The purpose of data analysis is to derive numerical measures of location, variability, and relationships in data.

What does 'mean' refer to in data analysis?

The mean is the average value of a sample, calculated as the sum of all values divided by the number of observations.

What is a boxplot?

A boxplot visually represents the distribution of a data set, highlighting the median, quartiles, and potential outliers.

What is the significance of the correlation coefficient in statistics?

The correlation coefficient quantifies the degree of linear relationship between two variables.

Define the term 'outlier'.

An outlier is an observation that lies at an abnormal distance from other values in a sample.

What is a factorial experiment?

A factorial experiment allows the study of multiple factors by observing their effects across all possible combinations of values.

What does a scatter plot represent?

A scatter plot shows the relationship between two quantitative variables, displaying individual data points on a Cartesian plane.

What rule is used to identify outliers based on the fourth spread?

Outliers are identified as points that lie more than 1.5 times the fourth spread from the quartiles.

What is the relationship between probability theory and inferential statistics?

Probability theory underpins inferential statistics by providing methods of estimating uncertainty in predictions from samples.