Mathematics 536 Statistics

3.1 The “Real” Truth

Tommy and Clive have made some fine discoveries in statistics. In their studies, they
have realised the importance of dispersion and of correlation in the study of a
distribution. Further, they have learnt that no-one is immune from doubtful
interpretations.

The two cousins, therefore, throw down a challenge to you to find the truth by putting
into practice what you have learned. Here are a series of situations where you must
apply the ideas learned in the entire module. Can you do it? For each question, you
must determine a strategy, use the ideas you have learned and interpret the results.
Beware of traps!

Situation 1

The goal of Statistics Canada is to keep up to date statistics concerning the Canadian
population. Here are some data they have collected regarding the active population of
both sexes over 15 years of age and the job market.

Figure 3.1
Active Rate of Employ Unempl Unempl Time
pop. activity ed oyed oyment zone
(thousa (%) (thousa (thousa rate (GMT)
nds) nds) nds) (%)
Newfoundland 237.8 53.1 196.0 41.9 17.6 4.5
P.E.I. 70.1 65.5 59.9 10.3 14.7 5
Nova Scotia 453.5 60.9 402.6 50.9 11.2 5
New Brunswick 368.1 60.9 320.4 47.7 13.0 5
Quebec 3669.7 61.7 3256.1 413.6 11.3 6
Ontario 6011.1 66.4 5533.0 478.1 8.0 6
Manitoba 575.2 66.8 542.4 32.8 5.7 7
Saskatchewan 510.8 67.0 482.4 28.4 5.6 7
Alberta 1589.1 72.5 1503.6 85.4 5.4 8
British Columbia 2004.9 64.0 1818.2 186.6 9.3 9

Section 3 3.1
Mathematics 536 Statistics

a) Explain how the unemployment rate is calculated. What is the percentage of

people who are employed with respect to the total population for each
province? Would you say that about half of the population supports the needs of
the other half?__________________________________________________
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b) Where does Quebec stand with respect to the provinces of Canada in terms of
unemployment rate? What is its Z-Score? _____________________________
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c) Is there a relation between the time zone and the unemployment rate? If yes,
what would be the unemployment rate in Alaska which is in time zone 10? And
what about France which is in time zone 0? ___________________________
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3.2 Section 3
Mathematics 536 Statistics

Situation 2
The table below gives the latitude (in degrees) and the maximum average temperature
(in °C) for a certain number of cities.
Figure 3.2
City Latitude Max. Ave. City Latitude Max. Ave.
(degrees) Temp (°C) (degrees) Temp (°C)
Acapulco 17 31 Jerusalem 32 23
Algiers 37 24 Leningrad 60 8
Amsterdam 52 12 Lisbon 39 19
Belgrade 45 17 London 52 14
Berlin 53 13 Madrid 40 19
Bogota 5 19 Manilla 15 32
Bombay 19 31 Montreal 46 10
Bucharest 44 17 Oslo 60 10
Calcutta 22 32 Ottawa 45 11
Casablanca 34 22 Paris 49 15
Dakar 15 29 Pnom Penh 12 32
Dublin 53 13 Prague 50 12
Helsinki 60 8 Rome 42 22
Hong Kong 22 25 Saigon 11 32
Istambul 41 18 Shanghai 31 21

a) Calculate the correlation coefficient between the latitude and the temperature. _
_____________________________________________________________

b) How would you determine if there is an extreme value which is affecting the
result? Find the extreme value and interpret the results you have found.______
_____________________________________________________________
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c) Remove the extreme value data point, see how the results change and interpret
the new results._________________________________________________
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Section 3 3.3
 Mathematics 536 Statistics

d) If the town of St-Mêton is situated at a latitude of 49°, what would be its average
maximum temperature?___________________________________________
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e) According to this model, what would be the latitude of a city if its average
maximum temperature is at the freezing point?_________________________
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Situation 3

Jean built an enormous house of 320 m2 which cost $150 000, but which is evaluated
at $132 000 by the municipality. When she decided to sell the house, she the
evaluations for other homes in her neighbourhood. She obtained the following data:

Figure 3.4
Surface(m 2) 185.2 137.0 189.8 115.7 166.7 132.4 254.6 152.8 225.0 187.0 203.7 175.9 114.4 129.6 154.6

Evaluation ($ ’000) 89.5 79.9 83.1 56.9 66.6 82.5 126.3 79.3 119.9 87.6 112.6 120.8 78.5 74.3 74.8

a) Calculate and interpret the different measures of dispersion for the distribution
of the evaluation.
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b) Did Jean take an appropriate sample? Why or why not? __________________

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c) Where does Jean’s house lie in this distribution? _______________________

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d) Is there a linear correlation between the surface area of a house and its
evaluation? If yes, what should be the real evaluation of Jean’s house? ______
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3.4 Section 3
Mathematics 536 Statistics

e) What factors does a municipality take into account in determining the evaluation
of a house? ____________________________________________________
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f) Why did Jean wait until she was planning to sell her house before contesting
the evaluation of her house? _______________________________________
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Situation 4

Invent a situation with two distributions which have the same range and the same
standard deviation.

Situation 5
Even if it seems difficult to believe, the two scattergrams below each describe the
same situation.
Figure 3.5
y y
40
14

12 30

10

8 20

4 10

0 0
5 10 x 10 20 x

Series 1 Series 2

Evaluate approximately the correlation coefficient for each situation and explain the
cause of the differences.

Section 3 3.5
 Mathematics 536 Statistics

Situation 6
A firm wants to hire four high school graduates for a job in computer studies. They
decide to call ten students for interview and to choose the candidates according to
their overall high school leaving average mark. Knowing that the students come from
three different schools and that they have not been evaluated in the same manner,
which students should they choose?
Figure 3.6
St. Jim’s School
Student A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12 A13 A14 A15 A16 A17
Average 85 80 86 71 72 86 75 72 60 84 87 72 78 82 79 76 76

St. Gil’s School

Student B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 B10 B11 B12 B13 B14 B15 B16 B17 B18 B19 B20
Average 72 68 79 82 83 78 77 90 75 72 72 71 78 70 82 65 77 81 80 89

St. Bea’s School

Student C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14
Average 60 80 85 70 72 90 88 77 72 63 78 69 72 82

Situation 7
The table below gives the mass. The age and the cholesterol level of 25 patients who
are following a programme to reduce their blood fat level.
Figure 3.7
Cholesterol Mass (kg) Age Cholesterol Mass (kg) Age
(mg/100 ml) (mg/100 ml)

354 84 76 190 73 20

405 65 52 263 70 30

451 76 57 302 69 25

288 63 28 385 72 36

402 79 57 365 75 44

209 27 24 290 89 31

346 65 52 254 57 23

395 59 60 434 69 48

220 60 34 374 79 51

308 75 50 220 82 34

311 59 46 181 57 23

274 85 37 303 55 40

244 63 30

3.6 Section 3
Mathematics 536 Statistics

a) Determine (i) the coefficient of correlation between cholesterol and mass _____
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(ii) the coefficient of correlation between cholesterol and age _____
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Compare the two values__________________________________________
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b) Determine the equation of the line of regression between the cholesterol level
and age. What is the meaning of the parameter a in this equation. Is it
necessary to find the line of regression between cholesterol level and mass?
Why or why not? ________________________________________________
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c) Can you conclude that the treatment for reducing blood fat level has been more
efficient for younger people or for the more elderly? Why or why not?________
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Section 3 3.7