CP
ASR
NSB

1301/115.101
MAN/ALB/WGTN
Distance/Internal

MASSEY UNIVERSITY

MANAWATU, ALBANY & WELLINGTON CAMPUSES
EXAMINATION FOR
115.101 STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS
Semester One 2013

Time allowed: THREE(3) hours
Instructions:
Answer ALL questions. Place answers in the spaces provided.
Questions carry different marks, as shown at the bottom of this page.
The examination is closed book. No reference material should be brought into the examination.
Relevant formulae are included in an Appendix at the end of the examination paper. CP

Calculators are permitted – no restrictions

ASR

Answer sheet recovery

ID Number:
NAME:
Please write clearly and underline family name
Campus/Mode:

Manawatu / Albany / Wellington

Distance Learning / Internal

Please circle as appropriate
Lecturer Use Only
Question
Marks

1
8

2
7

3
8

4
9

5
9

6
11

7
8

ANSWER SHEET RECOVERY

to be handed in at the conclusion of the examination.
Page 1 of 20

8
9

9
8

10
7

11
10

12
6

TOTAL
100

CP
ASR
NSB

1301/115.101
MAN/ALB/WGTN
Distance/Internal
This page has been left blank and can be used for working.

Page 2 of 20

CP
ASR
NSB

1301/115.101
MAN/ALB/WGTN
Distance/Internal

Q1

Write a paragraph (of two or three sentences) on each of the following topics:
(a) Explain the difference between a continuous and a discrete variable, using examples to illustrate your answer.

2
(b) Name two probability sampling methods you have learnt in this course. How would any non-probability sampling method differ from these methods?

2
(c) Explain how ‘descriptive’ and ‘inferential’ statistical methods differ, giving one example of each.

2
(d) Use examples to illustrate the difference between categorical and numerical variables. 2
Page 3 of 20

1
CP
ASR
NSB

1301/115.101
MAN/ALB/WGTN
Distance/Internal

Q2

2
2
The writing of two authors, J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien was compared by measuring lengths of sentences they use. Syllable lengths of 30 randomly chosen sentences from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Rowling and Lord of the
Rings: The Two Towers by Tolkien were measured. The data are displayed in the side by side boxplot below.

(a) A boxplot is a convenient way of graphically depicting the five number summary statistics. Give an example of a statistic that is not depicted on a boxplot.

(b) Approximately what proportion of Tolkien’s sentences have a syllable length less than 28?

(c) What is the Inter-Quartile Range (IQR) of syllable length for Tolkien’s sentences?

(d) What similarities are there in the distributions of syllable length for the two authors? (e) What differences are there in the distributions of syllable length for the two authors? Page 4 of 20

1

1301/115.101
MAN/ALB/WGTN
Distance/Internal

Q3

CP
ASR
NSB

The life expectancy at birth of men (in years) for the 30 OECD countries in 2006 is displayed in the following table:
69.2

70.4

70.9

71.8

73.5

75.4

75.5

75.7

75.9

76.1

76.6

76.8

77.2

77.2

77.2

77.3

77.4

77.4

77.7

77.7

(a)

69.2
78.0

78.2

78.4

78.5

78.7

78.8

79.0

79.2

79.5

Construct a Stem-and-Leaf plot for the data.

3
4

(b) Calculate the five-number summary for the data.

(c) Describe the shape of the distribution.

Page 5 of 20

1
2
1301/115.101
MAN/ALB/WGTN
Distance/Internal

Q4

CP
ASR
NSB

3

3
A bank has examined the decisions made about loan applications on different days of the week. This contingency table describes the decisions made on 180 applications.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Total

Rejected
9
8
11
7
25
60

Approved
27
21
25
24
23
120

Total
36
29
36
31
48
180

Two sections of Excel output will be referred to in the following questions:

(a) Of the 36 loan applications