Section 1-2 Ex. 26
Surgery vs. Splints – A study compared surgery and splinting for subjects suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. It was found that among 73 patients treated with surgery, there was a 92% success rate. Among 83 patients treated with splints, there was a 72% success rate. Calculations using these results showed that if there really is no difference in success rates between surgery and splints, then there is about a 1 in 1000 chance of getting success rates like the one obtained in this study. a. Should we conclude that surgery is better than splints for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome? It would be unfair to make such a conclusion. There are pieces of data missing: age of the patients, current health conditions of the patients, and prior treatments the patients had for this condition. b. Does the result have practical significance? The study did not generate enough viable results to make it practical for any use other than to ensure that a greater investigation should be conducted to verify the differences between the two treatment methods. These results were most likely voluntary responses, making the data gained, fairly useless. c. Should surgery be the recommended treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome? No, there is no defined level of severity for each patient. Without that information a logical recommendation for treatment cannot be assigned.

Section 1-3 Ex. 30
Cloning Survey – A Gallup poll of 1012 randomly surveyed adults found that 9% of them said cloning of humans should be allowed. a. Identify the sample: The 1012 people surveyed, are the sample. These were the people that responded to the survey. b. Identify the population: This would be the actual number of people the survey was sent to. c. With such a low number of responses and only 9% of those surveyed in agreeance with cloning it is unlikely that this survey is a good representation for the populous as a whole.

Section 1-4 Ex. 18
Bad Question – The author surveyed students with this request: “Enter your height in inches.” Identify two major problems with this request. a. Problem 1: There is no stated goal for the study. b. Problem 2: How large is the study?

Section 1-5 Ex. 8
Testing Echinacea – A study of the effectiveness of Echinacea involved 707 cases of upper respiratory tract infections. Children with 337 of the infections were given Echinacea, and children with 370 of the infections were given placebos. * This study was an experiment. The group was divided into two sub-groups, one being given a treatment (the Echinacea) and the other group given a placebo.

Section 1-5 Ex. 18
Curriculum Planning – In a study of college programs, 820 students are randomly selected from those majoring in communications, 1463 students are randomly selected from those majoring in business, and 760 students are randomly selected from those majoring in history. * The selection of students for this study is more indicative of Cluster sampling. We do not know exactly how many students are in each program, but of those selected in each group ALL will be used for the study.

Section 2-2 Ex. 12
Comparing Relative Frequencies – Construct one table (similar to Table 2-8 on page 57) that includes relative frequencies based on the frequency distributions from Exercises 7 and 8, then compare the weights of discarded metal and plastic. Do those weights appear to be the same or are they substantially different? Weights (lb) of Discarded Metal | Frequency | Weights (lb) of Discarded Plastic | Frequency | 0.00-0.99 | 5 - 4.95 | 0.00-0.99 | 14 - 13.86 | 1.00-1.99 | 26 - 26/51.74 | 1.00-1.99 | 20 - 20/39.8 | 2.00-2.99 | 15 - 30/44.85 | 2.00-2.99 | 21 - 42/62.79 | 3.00-3.99 | 12 - 36/47.88 | 3.00-3.99 | 4 - 12/47.88 | 4.00-4.99 | 4 - 16/19.96 | 4.00-4.99 | 2 - 8/9.98 | Total Metal: 112.95/169.38 | Total Plastic: 100.86/180.3 | 5.00-5.99 | 1 - 5/5.99 |
The weights are relatively close with approximately a 12lb difference. They are not the same, however they are not substantially different.

Section 2-2 Ex. 18
Radiation in Baby Teeth – Listed below are amounts of strontium-90 (in milli-becquerels) in a simple random sample of baby teeth obtained from Pennsylvania residents born after 1979 (based on data from “An Unexpected Rise in Strontium-90 in U.S. Deciduous Teeth in the 1990s,” by Mangano, et al., Science of the Total Environment). Construct a frequency distribution with eight classes. Begin with a lower class limit of 110, and use a class width of 10. Cite a reason why such data are important. Strontium-90 saturation in Milli-becquerels | Frequency | 110 – 120 | 2 | 121 – 130 | 2 | 131 – 140 | 5 | 141 – 150 | 7 | 151 – 160 | 13 | 161 – 170 | 6 | 171 – 180 | 1 | 181 - 190 | 1 |
This data is important for two reasons: determining who has had the most frequent exposure, and the most likely location of the Strontium-90.

Section 2-3 Ex. 1
Histogram – Table 2-2 is a frequency distribution summarizing the pulse rates of females listed in Table 2-1, and Figure 2-3 is a histogram depicting that same data set. When trying to better understand the pulse rate data, what is the advantage of examining the histogram instead of the frequency distribution? * While the data depicted is the same, a histogram is not quite as boring when used for presentations.

Section 2-4 Ex. 16
Pareto Chart of Job Application Mistakes – Construct a Pareto chart of the data given in Exercise 15. Compare the Pareto chart to the pie chart. Which graph is more effective in showing the relative importance of the mistakes made by job applicants.

In my opinion the graph that would be more effective would be the pie chart. I say this because when viewed, the pie represents a whole object sliced into pieces by percentage. This makes it easier to decipher at a glance which actions resulted in greater mistakes.

Section 2-4 Ex. 20
Pie Chart of Train Derailments – Construct a pie chart depicting the distribution of train derailments from Exercise 30 in Section 2-2.