Fall Semester 2003

1. to make sure you've read the book.

2. and worked through all the projects presented in the text.

So here's what you might be asked to do for your practical exam:

1. (WORKING WITH DATA) On pages 39-53 of the text an experiment is described. It's listed under Data Entry and it starts by describing the steps required to enter data from the keyboard. Work through the experiment exactly as described in the book and turn in your spreadsheet at the end of the exam. Do everything the book says you should be doing up until the end of page 53 (right after creating range names for the service station data).

2. (INTRODUCING SCATTERPLOTS) Starting on page 83 an experiment examines graduation data for a group of universities. Follow the experiment exactly as described in the book up to and including the section on Formatting Labels (page 101). Turn in your spreadsheet at the end of the exam. Make sure your result matches exactly what is described in the book (modify titles, remove gridlines and legends, edit the chart, chart axes, plot symbols, background, and label the data points as described in the book).

3. (CREATING BUBBLE PLOTS. PLOTTING SEVERAL VARIABLES) Read the first one and a half page of the section that starts on page 83 (up to the scatterplot definition on page 84). Then follow all the steps of the experiment described on pages 102-110 to create a bubble plot, create a simple scatterplot and break it into categories, and plot a scatterplot of several variables: the graduation rates for white males and females against the class's average SAT score.

4. (DESCRIBING YOUR DATA) Follow the steps in the experiment that starts on page 118 in your text. As directed, create a frequency table, a frequency table with bins, one in which you define your own bins, and a histogram. Then, as described on page 130 break the histogram into categories, then compare histograms side by side. Your experiment ends on page 133, at the top.

5. (DESCRIBING YOUR DATA) Start on page 133. Look through the definitions and explanations on pp. 133-135. Your experiment starts on page 135: use the data from the experiment first described on page 118 to create a stem and leaf plot. Then calculate distribution statistics as described on pages 138-139 and univariate statistics as described on pp. 143-144. Include the values for skewness and kurtosis as indicated on pp. 148-149. Create a boxplot for the housing data as indicated on page 159.

6. (PROBABILITY) Use Excel to generate random normal data as indicated on page 183. Chart the data as indicated on page 185 then create the normal probability plot. Follow the text and apply the technique on real data as described on pages 188-190. Finally create and analyze 1000 random samples of nine observations each as on pp. 192-195. Calculate descriptive statistics for the sample averages.

7. (PROBABILITY) Design and run an experiment that determines the probability of a coin landing heads up on the third try when the first two tries have been heads as well. Model this experiment on the one presented in class: there's one un-biased coin and you randomly throw it three times and record the answers. Count on how many occasions the recording for the third time you throw the coin shows up heads and divide that number by the total number of times the first two times were heads as well. Question no. 2: What is the probability that the third time the coin lands heads up regardless of what the outcomes were in the first two tries.

8. (PROBABILITY) Design an experiment that illustrates the Central Limit Theorem. You can follow the steps we went through in class: choose a sample size, for example 9. Use RAND to generate random numbers uniformly distributed in the range of your choice. Calculate the samples averages and plot and test for normality their distribution as in the book (pp. 185-190).

9. (PROBABILITY) Problem 22 on page 201. (Homework Four)

10. (TABLES) Start on page 258 in the book. Complete the experiment that investigates what computers are most often used in statistics instruction. Provide the answer to each stage of your experiment in a new worksheet. Make sure that (a) your answer takes into account all categories (as on page 262), (b) also provides an analysis restricted to only the actual responders (page 263), (c) displays results as percentages, displays categorical data (d) in a bar chart, (e) in a pie chart, and create a two way table as on pp. 269-373.

11. (TABLES) Using the data mentioned in the experiment that starts on page 258 (the survey of courses of statistics and such) start on page 269 and perform all the stages of an experiment (as described in the book on pp. 269-284) to reach two conclusions: (a) to accept the null hypothesis, and (b) to reject it (when you eliminate sparse data). Please provide as much detail as you can and keep the results to the individual stages of your experiment on different worksheets.

12. (TABLES) Problem 8 on page 291. (Homework Five).

I will print these 12 subjects on separate pieces of paper and they will be distributed during the exam. You will be allowed to occasionally talk to whoever you want (but not by e-mail or chat) but you need to develop the answer in class, from scratch. You should rely on the book. You can't bring the worked out spreadsheet from home and failure to comply with this requirement may result in your dismissal from the test. Please come to the help session if you need help or have questions or e-mail us.