Question 

1 of 20
The data set below shows annual healthcare expenditures for 192 countries. Create a
histogram of the data using the bins provided in column D.
Correct!

From the Data menu, select Data Analysis, then select Histogram. The Input

Range is B1:B193 and the Bin Range is D1:D11. You must check the Labels in
first row box to ensure that the histogram’s axes are appropriately labeled.

Question 2 of 20

Suppose you actually want to calculate the mean annual healthcare expenditures of the
192 countries.  

Which of the following Excel functions calculates the mean? SELECT ALL THAT
APPLY

=MEAN(B2:B193)
=MEAN(B2:B193) is not a function in Excel.
=AVERAGE(B2:B193)
=AVERAGE(B2:B193) calculates the mean of the annual healthcare expenditures. Note
that another option is also correct.
=MEDIAN(B2:B193)
=MEDIAN(B2:B193) finds the median, or middle value, of the annual healthcare
expenditures.
=SUM(B2:B193)/192
=SUM(B2:B193)/192 calculates the sum of the annual healthcare expenditures and
divides that sum by 192, the number of data points. This formula calculates the mean of
the annual healthcare expenditures. Note that another option is also correct
=MODE.SNGL(B2:B193)
.=MODE.SNGL(B2:B193) finds the mode, or most common value, of the annual
healthcare expenditures.
Question 3 of 20
Calculate the standard deviation of the 2012 revenue for Forbes’ 100 top companies.

Correct!

STDEV.S (B2:B101)= approximately $67.32 billion. You can also use the descriptive
statistics tool, making sure to link directly to values in order to obtain the correct
answer.

Question 4 of 20

Consider the four outliers in the 2012 revenue data: companies with revenue of $237
billion, $246 billion, $447 billion, and $453 billion. 
If we removed these companies from the data set, what would happen to the standard
deviation?   

The standard deviation would remain the same.

See correct answer for explanation.
The standard deviation would increase.
See correct answer for explanation.
The standard deviation would decrease.
The standard deviation gives more weight to observations that are further from the
mean. Therefore, removing the outliers would decrease the standard deviation.
The answer cannot be determined without further information.
See correct answer for explanation.

Question 5 of 20
The following data set provides the percent of students from the top 100 ranked U.S.
MBA programs that are employed upon graduation. Create a histogram to visualize the
data. Use the bins provided in column C.
Correct!

From the Data menu, select Data Analysis, then select Histogram. The Input

Range is B1:B101 and the Bin Range is C1:C15. You must check the Labels in
first row box to ensure that the histogram’s axes are appropriately labeled.

Question 6 of 20
A consultant compiled the following data set that shows the number of visits made to the
National Museum of American History from 2001 to 2015. The consultant noticed that
the number of visits in 2007 and 2008 seemed unusually low compared to the rest of the
data set. 
What should the consultant do about the data points from 2007 and 2008?

Delete both data points because they are outliers.

The consultant should not delete data points simply because they are outliers.
Leave both data points in because one should never delete research-based data.
The consultant cannot assume that research-based data sets are without fault. There
may be situations where data should be deleted: because of measurement or entry
error; because the data are not representative of the population of interest; or any of
many other reasons.
Research the data points and then make a decision based on the findings.
The consultant should delete or change data points only if careful examination of the
data and the data sources indicates that the data points are incorrect or irrelevant to the
research at hand. The consultant must use his or her experience and knowledge of the
research question to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Doing business analytics
effectively requires judgment. In this case, the National Museum of American History
underwent renovations which reduced significantly the number of visits to the museum in
2007 and 2008. The data points for 2007 and 2008 are correct and should not be
changed. However, the fact that the museum was closed during most of that two year
period should be considered when drawing conclusions from this data set.
Change the data point for 2008 to 4,800,000 and research the data point for 2007.
Although data entry errors may occur, the consultant cannot know this without
researching the data points first. In this case, the National Museum of American History
underwent renovations which reduced significantly the number of visits to the museum in
2007 and 2008. The data points for 2007 and 2008 are correct and should not be
changed. However, the fact that the museum was closed during most of that two year
period should be considered when drawing conclusions from this data set.
Question 7 of 20
A jeweler takes stock of the diamonds she has available for mounting in the jewelry she
sells. Calculate the average and standard deviation of the total number of carats in the
diamonds recorded in the spreadsheet.
Correct!

AVERAGE(A2:A100)=0.98 and STDEV.S(A2:A100)=0.42. You can also use the

descriptive statistics tool, making sure to link directly to values in order to obtain the
correct answer.

Question 8 of 20

Which of the following histograms has the smallest range? Assume all values in the data
set are integers.
Option A

Option B
Option C

Option D
Question 9 of 20
The data below show the number of hours 60 fifth-grade students reported reading last week and
each student’s gender. Use the AVERAGEIF function to calculate the average number of
hours spent reading last week for boys, and the average number of hours spent reading
last week for girls.

Correct!

This is a conditional mean, so you can either use

AVERAGEIF(B2:B61,”Boys”,A2:A61)=4.48 and
AVERAGEIF(B2:B61,”Girls”,A2:A61)=5.55 or AVERAGEIF(B2:B61,D2,A2:A61)=4.48
and AVERAGEIF(B2:B61,D3,A2:A61)=5.55. You could also just sort the data by
gender and compute the averages of each gender, but we want you to learn how to
do conditional averages in Excel. As always, it is important that you link to the cells
with the data.
Question 10 of 20

The following data set provides the average driving distance for 185 members of the
Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour.

Use the descriptive statistics tool to calculate the summary statistics for the average
driving distance. Make sure to set the output range to cell D1 so your table is graded
accurately.

Correct!

Use the descriptive statistics tool to calculate all of the summary statistics. The Input
Range is B1:B186. You must check the Labels in first row box to ensure that the
output table is appropriately labeled. You must select Summary Statistics in order
to produce the output table. You must also use the output range D1 so that the
calculated values are in the blue cells for grading.

Question 11 of 20
Which of the formulas would calculate the statistic that is MOST APPROPRIATE for
comparing the variability of two data sets with different distributions?

Mean/Standard Deviation
This is the inverse of the formula for the coefficient of variation.
Standard Deviation/Mean
This is the formula for the coefficient of variation, the best statistic to compute to
compare the variability of two data sets with different distributions. Dividing by the mean
provides a measure of the distribution’s variation relative to the mean.
Mean-Median
Although the difference between the mean and the median may provide information
about whether a dataset is skewed, it does not provide useful information for comparing
variability across different distributions.
Median-Mean
Although the difference between the mean and the median may provide information
about whether a dataset is skewed, it does not provide useful information for comparing
variability across different distributions.
Mean/Variance
The mean and variance are measured in different units. For example, if the mean is
measured in feet, the variance is measured in square feet. The coefficient of variation is
calculated using the mean and standard deviation, both of which have the same units.
Variance/Mean
The mean and variance are measured in different units. For example, if the mean is
measured in feet, the variance is measured in square feet. The coefficient of variation is
calculated using the mean and standard deviation, both of which have the same units.
Question 12 of 20
Calculate the coefficient of variation for the average driving distances of the PGA Tour.
Question 13 of 20
The data set below provides information about 125 randomly selected companies from
the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 1500. Calculate the average number of employees
for technology companies.
Correct!

This is a conditional mean, so you can either use

AVERAGEIF(B2:B126,”Technology”,C2:C126) or
AVERAGEIF(B2:B126,E2,C2:C126). The average number of employees at
technology companies in this data set is approximately 7,318.

Question 14 of 20
The following data set provides the 2012 revenue (in billions of dollars) for the top 75
companies as declared by the Fortune 500 rankings. What amount do 60% of the
companies earn equal to or less than?
Correct!

PERCENTILE.INC(B2:B76,0.60)=$74.40 billion. You must link directly to values in

order to obtain the correct answer.

Question 15 of 20
The following data set provides the acceptance rate of the top 100 U.S. MBA programs
and the percent of students that are employed upon graduation. Create a scatter plot to
illustrate the relationship between the acceptance rate at MBA programs and the percent
of students that are employed upon graduation. Place “Percent Employed” on the y-axis
and “Acceptance Rate” on the x-axis.
Correct!

From the Insert menu, select Scatter, then select Scatter With Only Markers. The

Input Y Range is C1:C101 and the Input X Range is B1:B101. You must check
the Labels in first row box to ensure that the scatter plot’s axes are appropriately
labeled.

Question 16 of 20
Calculate the correlation coefficient between the acceptance rate at the top 100 U.S.
MBA programs and the percent of students in those programs who are employed upon
graduation.
Correct!

CORREL(B2:B101,C2:C101)=-0.32. The correlation coefficient between the

acceptance rate at the top 100 U.S. MBA programs and the percent of students that
are employed upon graduation is approximately -0.32. You must link directly to
values in order to obtain the correct answer.

Question 17 of 20

What can be concluded from the fact that the correlation coefficient between the
acceptance rate at the top 100 U.S. MBA programs and the percent of students in those
programs who are employed upon graduation is -0.32?

On average, as the acceptance rate increases, the percent of students employed

upon graduation increases.
A positive correlation coefficient would indicate that, on average, as acceptance rate
increases, the percent of students employed upon graduation increases.
On average, as the acceptance rate decreases, the percent of students employed
upon graduation decreases.
A positive correlation coefficient would indicate that, on average, as acceptance rate
decreases, the percent of students employed upon graduation decreases.
On average, as the acceptance rate decreases, the percent of students employed
upon graduation increases.
-0.32 is negative which indicates that, on average, as acceptance rate decreases, the
percent of students employed upon graduation increases.
On average, as the acceptance rate increases, the percent of student employed
upon graduation remains the same.
A correlation coefficient of zero would indicate no relationship.

Question 18 of 20
An internet marketing firm compiled a data set of the number of seconds website visitors
stay on one of its client’s homepage before abandoning the site. The firm presented the
summary statistics for the data set to the client.

The client asked why the mean of the data set is so much larger than the median. Which
of the following is most likely true?

The distribution of the data is symmetric

When the distribution of data is symmetric, the mean and median are equal.
The distribution of the data is skewed to the left
When the distribution of data is skewed to the left, the mean is most likely less than the
median. The extreme values in the left tail pull the mean towards them.
The distribution of the data is skewed to the right
When the distribution of data is skewed to the right, the mean is most likely greater than
the median. The extreme values in the right tail pull the mean towards them.
The distribution of the data is bimodal
When the distribution of data is bimodal, the mean may be less than, equal to, or greater
than the median.
Question 19 of 20
For each of the following scenarios, indicate whether we would use time series or cross-
sectional data.
Question 20 of 20

Which is an example of a hidden variable?

Quality of life is a hidden variable because it cannot be measured directly but must
be inferred from measurable variables such as wealth, success, and environment.
A hidden variable is one that is correlated with each of two variables that are not
fundamentally related to each other. In this example, we are not looking at a correlation
between two variables, but rather trying to determine a single variable, quality of life.
A recent study showed a correlation between a country’s chocolate consumption and
the number of Nobel prizes won by its scientists. The hidden variable is a strong
university system that fosters talented researchers.
A hidden variable is one that is correlated with each of two variables that are not
fundamentally related to each other. Although a strong university system is probably
correlated with the number of Nobel prizes, it is probably not related to the amount of
chocolate consumed, and so does not function as a hidden variable between prizes and
chocolate.
The correlation between smoking and lung cancer was a hidden variable for a long
time because the cigarette lobby paid to keep the relationship hidden.
A hidden variable is one that is correlated with each of two variables that are not
fundamentally related to each other; it is not one that is being hidden due to political
pressures.
There is a correlation between the number of firefighters who show up at a fire and
how much damage the fire causes. The hidden variable is the size of the fire.
A hidden variable is one that is correlated with each of two variables that are not
fundamentally related to each other. In this case, the size of the fire leads to a call for
more firefighters, and the size of the fire also generally leads to more damage. The
number of firefighters does not lead to a greater amount of fire damage.