Descriptive or Inferential Statistics Determine whether each of the following is a descriptive or an inferential statistics problem.
a. The Nebraska Department of Transportation maintains records concerning all trucks stopped for inspection. A report of these inspections lists the proportion of all trucks stopped, by cargo.
b. Eric Knudsen, a researcher at Stanford University Medical Center, obtains a random sample of wild owls and measures how far each can turn its neck. The data are used to conclude that an owl can turn its neck more than 120 degrees from the forward position.
c. A Navy research facility runs several tests to check the structural integrity of a new submarine. A laboratory report states the vessel can withstand pressure at depths of at most 800 ft.
d. A safety inspector in Atlanta selects a sample of apartment buildings and checks the fire ladders on each. The proportion of broken ladders in the sample is used to estimate the proportion of broken fire ladders in the entire city.
e. Like most states, a large portion of the New York State budget is spent on health care, pensions, and education. The pie chart in Figure 1.3 shows the percentage of the budget spent on each item for Fiscal Year 2013.8
Figure 1.3 Pie chart illustrating New York State Fiscal Year 2013 spending.
f. A report from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry lists the prices paid for raw forest products at the first point of sale.