STAT 101L Spring 2004: Statistics Scavenger Hunt
Due April 23, 2004
The purpose of this project is for you to see how prevalent statistics and statistical ideas are in our everyday
lives. You should do this project individually. The project is worth 10 points toward your final total. There is
also the opportunity to earn extra credit points. Follow the instructions and be sure to answer the questions
or you will not receive full credit. You may not use examples that are presented in a statistics
book or that we have used in class or lab.
1. [3 pts] Find an article in a newspaper or magazine or on the web that presents the findings of a public
opinion poll. It must be a “scientific poll” based on a random sample. Turn in a copy of the article
and answer the following questions.
(a) What was the question asked? (If there were several questions, choose one to report on.)
(b) How many people were polled?
(c) What is the margin of error for the poll? If one is not stated you should calculate the appropriate
margin of error from the information given in the article.
(d) What do the results of the poll indicate about how the population would respond to the question
asked?
2. [4 pts] Find an article in a newspaper or magazine or on the web that reports on a statistically designed
experiment. Turn in a copy of the article and answer the following questions.
(a) What is the purpose of the experiment?
(b) What is (are) the manipulated variable(s)? What is (are) the response variable(s)?
(c) Is it a well designed experiment? That is, does it have control of outside variables, randomization
and replication? Explain briefly.
3. [3 pts] Find a histogram of data on a subject that is of interest to you (be careful, not all bar charts
are histograms). Turn in a copy of the histogram and describe the center, spread and shape.
4. [1 pt] Where did William S. Gosset (a.k.a. Student), who constructed the first t-table (Table C),
work?
5. [1 pt] Who was Henry A. Wallace (1888-1965) and what is his connection to the statistical laboratory
at Iowa State University?
6. [1 pt] Better known for his science fiction writing on time travel and Martian invasions, this well
known author (born 1866, died 1946) once said:
“Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to
read and write.”
Who is he?
7. [1 pt] This individual is best known for founding the nursing profession and as a reformer of health
care. She was chief nurse for the British army during the Crimean War (1854-1856). One of the chief
weapons she used in her efforts to reform health care was data. She considered statistics essential to
understanding social issues and tried to introduce the study of statistics into higher education. She
was a member of the Royal Statistical Society and of the American Statistical Association. Who is
she?
8. [1 pt] Who was the founder and first director of the statistical laboratory at Iowa State? You must
give the full name (first name, middle name and last name).
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