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Stat's Fantastic! Trivia Quiz

A lot of people I know are a bit scared of statistics. But if you understand the basics, they can be very useful, and tell you lots of very interesting things about the world. Come on, have a play: you might be surprised how much you already know.

A multiple-choice quiz by timence. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
timence

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
362,038

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
589

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 152 (9/10), Guest 152 (7/10), Guest 152 (9/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. One of the most common statistics worldwide is a periodic count of the population. What is this known as? Hint

Census

Poponum

Populia

Centrum

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Question 2 of 10

2. A very common statistical measure used to indicate a country's overall health involves determining, on average, how long someone born in a particular year is likely to live. What is this called? Hint

Life course

Quantity of life

Quality of life

Life expectancy

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Question 3 of 10

3. House prices are followed closely by economists, who tend to favour a median (middle) measure rather than the mean (average). Why is that? Hint

Very cheap houses bring the average down

There aren't enough houses bought or sold to make the sample big enough

Houses don't follow the 'law of averages'

Very expensive houses bring the average up

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Question 4 of 10

4. Statisticians can also look at possible future events to determine what changes are likely to a particular population. What are these predictions called? Hint

Progressions

Rejections

Regressions

Projections

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Question 5 of 10

5. The bell-shaped curve is also known as what type of distribution? Hint

Normal

Regular

Routine

Orthodox

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Question 6 of 10

6. Two words you'll hear quite often in statistics are 'incidence' and 'prevalence'. Are they different words for the same concept?

Yes

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Question 7 of 10

7. Many statistics use percentages. What does 'per cent' actually mean? Hint

Per hundred

Per million

Per thousand

Per hundred thousand

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Question 8 of 10

8. Which scientist, more famously known as an astronomer than a statistician, put forward the suggestion in the 16th Century that we should "Measure what can be measured, and make measurable what cannot be measured"? Hint

Galileo Galilei

Edward Hubble

Edmund Halley

William Herschel

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Question 9 of 10

9. If I find a statistical correlation between two events A and B, it means that B was caused by A (or vice versa).

True

False

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Question 10 of 10

10. What term is used in statistics to describe a difference between two observations that is large enough to be considered a 'real' difference (as opposed to one generated by chance)? Hint

Convincing

Compelling

Sententious

Significant

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Oct 30 2024 : Guest 152: 9/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. One of the most common statistics worldwide is a periodic count of the population. What is this known as?

Answer: Census

Censuses have been carried out for thousands of years; one of the earliest recorded was the Census of Quirinius, taken during the the reign of Emperor Augustus in around 6 AD (and being linked to the Census that took Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem when Jesus was born).

This Census was for gathering of taxes, but modern Censuses serve many more purposes, including helping decide where to locate essential services like public transport, schools and hospitals.

Answer: Life expectancy

According to the World Health Organization, the global life expectancy was 70 years in 2011. However, this can vary dramatically from country to country. A child born in 2013 in Japan would be expected to live to around 84 years of age; while someone born in the same year in Chad has a life expectancy of 49.

3. House prices are followed closely by economists, who tend to favour a median (middle) measure rather than the mean (average). Why is that?

Answer: Very expensive houses bring the average up

The truth is that an average house price is not very meaningful because nowadays there are so many expensive houses dragging the number up. Medians are used in these sorts of 'skewed' data, because they offer a measure that tells you which number is in the middle of the distribution.

4. Statisticians can also look at possible future events to determine what changes are likely to a particular population. What are these predictions called?

Answer: Projections

According to the projections by "Internet World Stats" (based on various population Census counts), India will take over from China as the world's most populated country by 2050. It is estimated that India will have over 1.6 billion people by then, with China remaining relatively stable at 1.3 billion.

5. The bell-shaped curve is also known as what type of distribution?

Answer: Normal

The 'normal' distribution is also known to statisticians as the Gaussian distribution (named after a famous statistician, Carl Gauss). The normal distribution is basically a way of estimating the likelihood that a specific number will fall within a certain range.

It has many applications due to the naturally occurring statistics that fit within it; for example, height and blood pressure within the human population both fall within a normal bell curve.

6. Two words you'll hear quite often in statistics are 'incidence' and 'prevalence'. Are they different words for the same concept?

Answer: No

Incidence is the measure of a particular phenomenon (e.g. a disease) over a particular time period. For example, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in a given year. Prevalence, on the other hand, is the measure of a phenomenon at any given time. Again using the diabetes example, that would be the total number of people who have diabetes at a given time.

7. Many statistics use percentages. What does 'per cent' actually mean?

Answer: Per hundred

Percentage comes from the Latin "per centum", literally meaning, by the hundred. It is a very common statistical measure.

Answer: Galileo Galilei

Galileo was the only 16th Century astronomer of the choices. Due to the new equipment available in this era, he was able to provide strong observational evidence about the heliocentric nature of the solar system (that is, that the earth revolves around the sun).

Despite this, he was placed under house arrest for his views due to the unwavering attitude of the church and greater society at the time that believed the earth was central to the solar system. Along with his interest in statistics, Galileo also made several breakthroughs in the world of physics.

9. If I find a statistical correlation between two events A and B, it means that B was caused by A (or vice versa).

Answer: False

A correlation simply means that two events (or statistics) are connected in some way, but does not prove that one is caused by another.

10. What term is used in statistics to describe a difference between two observations that is large enough to be considered a 'real' difference (as opposed to one generated by chance)?

Answer: Significant

Statisticians set a level of 'confidence' above which they are convinced that a difference is actual, based on the statistics they are using, known as a 'significant difference'. The level of confidence will depend on the type of data being looked at.

For example, psychological studies dealing with human reactions are often set a lower confidence level than more predictable data such as chemical reactions.

Source: Author timence

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
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