Deceptive Statistics

Assignment Week 3

Question 1

If you could stop time and live forever in good health, what age would you pick? Answers to this question were reported in a USA Today Snapshot. The average ideal age for each age group is listed in the following table; the average ideal age for all adults was found to be 41. Interestingly, those younger than 30 years want to be older, whereas those older than 30 years want to be younger.

Age is used as a variable twice in this application.

• The age of the person being interviewed is not the random variable in this situation. Explain why and describe how “age” is used with regard to age group.
• What is the random variable involved in this study? Describe its role in this situation.
• Is the random variable discrete or continuous?

Question 2

Find the area under the normal curve that lies to the left of the following z-values.

• Z=-1.30
• Z=-3.20
• Z=-2.56
• Z=-0.64