A distribution with a positive ________ has a long tail in the positive direction.
- Kurtosis
- Mean
- Median
- Skewness
A distribution with positive skewness is said to be positively skewed or right-skewed, which means it has a long tail in the positive direction on the number line.
What is the key difference between a discrete and a continuous random variable?
- Discrete variables are predictable, continuous variables are not
- Discrete variables can only take on a countable number of values, continuous variables can take on any value within a certain range
- Discrete variables can take on any value, continuous variables can take on only integer values
- There's no difference between discrete and continuous random variables
Discrete random variables are variables that can only take on a countable number of values, such as integers, while continuous random variables can take on any value within a certain range or interval.
When would you prefer to use the median instead of the mean as a measure of central tendency?
- When the data has outliers
- When the data is in large quantity
- When the data is normally distributed
- When the data is uniformly distributed
The median is preferred over the mean when our data is skewed or has outliers. Outliers can greatly affect the mean and create a distorted view of the data, but the median is not affected by outliers or skewed data. The median is the middle score for a set of data that has been arranged in order of magnitude, making it a better measure when dealing with skewed distributions.
Why is the assumption of independently and identically distributed (IID) residuals important in linear regression?
- It ensures that the model is not overfitting
- It ensures that the model is not underfitting
- It ensures that the parameter estimates are unbiased
- It ensures the correctness of standard errors and hypothesis tests
The assumption of IID residuals is important because it ensures that standard errors, confidence intervals, and hypothesis tests are valid. If this assumption is violated, these statistics may be incorrect, leading to misleading results.
What is the purpose of the 'whiskers' in a box plot?
- To represent the outliers
- To represent the range of the data
- To show the interquartile range
- To show the mean and median
The 'whiskers' in a box plot represent the range of the data. The upper whisker extends to the maximum data value or up to 1.5 times the interquartile range (IQR), while the lower whisker extends to the minimum data value or up to 1.5 times the IQR. Any data points beyond the whiskers can be considered outliers.
How does the Breusch-Pagan test check for heteroscedasticity in residuals?
- By comparing the variance of residuals
- By examining the correlation of residuals
- By plotting residuals against fitted values
- By regressing the squared residuals on the predictors
The Breusch-Pagan test checks for heteroscedasticity by regressing the squared residuals on the predictors. If the predictors explain a significant amount of variance in the squared residuals, the test concludes that heteroscedasticity is present.
___________ occurs when changes in one variable are associated with changes in another variable, but one does not necessarily cause the other.
- Causation
- Correlation
- Covariation
- Regression
Correlation occurs when changes in one variable are associated with changes in another variable. It's important to remember that correlation does not imply causation. Just because two variables move together, it does not mean that one variable's movement is causing the other's.
What assumptions must be met for Pearson's Correlation Coefficient to be valid?
- Both variables are independent
- Both variables are measured on a nominal scale
- Both variables are normally distributed, and there is a linear relationship between them
- Both variables have no outliers
For Pearson's Correlation Coefficient to be valid and reliable, the following assumptions should be met: both variables should be continuous, they should be linearly related, and both variables should be approximately normally distributed. Independence of observations is also required.
What is the probability of an impossible event?
- 0
- 1
- Infinity
- Undefined
The probability of an impossible event is 0. In the probability scale, 0 denotes impossibility, while 1 denotes certainty. An event with a probability of 0 is said to be impossible because it cannot happen.
What is a cumulative distribution function?
- It is the function that maps values to their percentile rank in a distribution
- It is the function that shows the cumulative probability associated with a function
- It is the maximum value a random variable can take
- It is the minimum value a random variable can take
The cumulative distribution function (CDF) of a random variable is the probability that the variable takes a value less than or equal to a certain value. The CDF of a function increases monotonically, and its limit is one as it approaches positive infinity.