Suppose you are conducting an experiment that involves assigning ...

[jon_i]

Suppose you are conducting an experiment that involves assigning each of 100 participants to one of two groups: Group A or Group B. Which of the following would not be considered to be a random assignment of participants to groups?
 a. For each participant, flip a coin. If the coin lands heads up, assign him/her to Group A. If the coin lands tails up, assign him/her to Group B.
  b. Put all 100 names in a hat and mix them up thoroughly. Draw 50 names from the hat and assign them to Group A. Everyone else is assigned to Group B.
  c. As the participants show up for the study, assign the first 50 of them to Group A, and the last 50 to Group B.
  d. All of the above methods are considered to be random assignments of participants to groups.

Question 2

Suppose it is reported that the state of Texas has the highest number of tornadoes in the U.S. each year, and thus it is more dangerous to live in Texas than other states if you are worried about tornadoes. Explain why these results are misleading and how they need to be recalculated.

[dlook33]

Answer to Question 1

C

Answer to Question 2

TEXAS IS AN EXTREMELY LARGE STATE, AND THEREFORE HAS A GREATER CHANCE OF HAVING MORE TORNADOES. THE STATISTIC NEEDS TO BE BASED ON A PER SQUARE MILE' RATING, RATHER THAN SIMPLY THE NUMBER OF TORNADOES PER YEAR IN EACH STATE, REGARDLESS OF SIZE.

[jon_i]

TY

[dlook33]

You're welcome