MAST 6474 Introduction to Data Analysis I
MAST 6478 Data Analytics
MIDTERM EXAM
Instructions:
There are 5 questions in this exam, all with multiple parts. Before you begin, ensure that you
have all 5 questions listed in this document.
You have 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete the exam.
You may not discuss this exam with anyone. By printing your name on the exam, you reaffirm
your pledge to uphold the SMU honor code.
In addition to this document, you will use the Midterm Exam Workbook to complete your
calculations and record your answers. As soon as you open the workbook, save it to your
computer and save it frequently throughout the 3 hours and 15 minutes.
After reading each question, locate any relevant data in the associated tab in the Midterm Exam
Workbook. Complete your calculations on the associated Question tab, and record your
answers on the Answer tab. For example, for Question 2, you will read each part of the question
below, review the relevant data on the Question 2 tab in the Midterm Exam Workbook, and
complete your calculations in the same worksheet below the data. You will then record your
answer in the indicated cell(s) of the Answer worksheet tab.
Submit the Midterm Exam Workbook for grading.
Good luck!
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Midterm Exam
Question 1 (5 parts): A salesperson who sells an appliance to small businesses calls on 4
potential buyers every day. Based on historical information, the probability of making a sale is
12% for every potential buyer. Potential buyers’ decisions are are assumed to be independent.
Let the random variable X be the total count of successful sales that the salesperson makes on
a given day.
a. What is the probability that the salesperson fails to make any sales on a given day?
b. What is the probability that the salesperson makes multiple sales (more than one) on
a given day?
c. If the selling price of the appliance is $999, what is probability that the revenue from
the salesperson’s sales exceeds $1000 on a given day?
d. Calculate the expected number and standard deviation of successful sales on a
given day.
e. Assuming again that the selling price of the appliance is $999, what is the expected
revenue from the salesperson’s sales for a 5-day workweek?
Question 2 (4 parts): A software company has undertaken a major project for an important
client. The project involves three major phases: design, development, and testing. The
amount of time it takes to complete each phase is normally distributed with parameters given in
the table below.
Phase Mean () Standard Deviation ()
Design 30 weeks 10 weeks
Development 45 weeks 15 weeks
Testing 8 weeks 2 weeks
Assume that the time it takes to complete each phase is independent of the others.
a. What is the probability that the development phase is completed in less than 52
weeks (i.e., one year)?
b. What is the probability that the entire project is completed in less than 78 weeks (i.e.,
a year and a half)? Hint: the entire project requires the completion of each phase,
one after the other.
c. What is the probability that the entire project is completed in more than 104 weeks
(i.e., two years)? Hint: the entire project requires the completion of each phase, one
after the other.
d. As an incentive for the software company to work faster, the client has offered to pay
a $100,000 bonus if the entire project is completed in less than a year and a half, but
will charge a $100,000 penalty if the project takes more than two years. Should the
software company take this deal? Briefly explain your answer.
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Midterm Exam
Question 3 (4 parts): Quality Control (QC) and random sampling play important roles in
modern manufacturing. The QC specification for manufacturing a particular component part is
that no more than 4.5% of randomly sampled parts can be found defective. Over the course of
30 consecutive shifts, 17 of 249 randomly sampled parts were found defective.
a. Compute a 90% confidence interval for the true population proportion, 𝑝, of
defective parts.
b. Set up the appropriate hypothesis test to determine whether the sample provides
strong evidence that the proportion of defective parts exceeds the QC specification.
Specifically, state the null hypothesis, the alternative hypothesis, and compute the
test statistic. Is this a one-tailed test to the left, a one-tailed test to the right, or a
two-tailed test?
c. What is the p-value for the test statistic computed in (b)? Also, write the Excel
function you used to determine this p-value, including the inputs that you
entered in the Excel function (do not give cell references; write in the actual
numbers and use quotes on your answer tab to show the details).
d. Based on the results from (c), what is your conclusion about the true
population proportion, 𝑝, of defective parts at α = .05.
Question 4 (8 parts):
The amount of diluted acid injected into a chemical processing vat has to be precise for the
chemical reaction to occur properly. Specifically, the amount (volume) of diluted acid injected
into the vat needs to average 256 ml with a standard deviation of less than 5 ml. Recently,
some partial reactions have led to the suspicion that the amount of diluted acid injected into
the vat does not meet specifications. To test this suspicion, a random sample of 45 diluted
acid injections were taken. The amounts are recorded the Midterm Exam Workbook.
a. Conduct the appropriate hypothesis test to determine whether there is strong
evidence that diluted acid injections are NOT in compliance with the mean volume
requirement. Specifically, state the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis,
then compute the relevant test statistic. Is this a one-tailed test to the left, a one-
tailed test to the right, or a two-tailed test?
b. What is the p-value for the test statistic in (a)? Write the Excel function you used to
determine this p-value, including the inputs that you entered in the Excel function
(do not give cell references; enter the numbers you used).
c. Based on the results from (a) and (b), what is your conclusion about the average
volume of diluted acid injected at α = .05?
d. Compute a 98% confidence interval for the average volume of diluted acid.
e. Is your hypothesis test conclusion from (c) consistent with the confidence interval in
(d)? Why or why not?
f. Conduct the appropriate hypothesis test to determine whether there is strong
evidence that the diluted acid injections are NOT in compliance with the volume
standard deviation requirement (Hint: convert standard deviation to variance).
Specifically, state the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis, then compute
the relevant test statistic.
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Midterm Exam
g. Is this a one-tailed test to the left, a one-tailed test to the right, or a two-tailed test?
What is the p-value for the test statistic in (f)? Write the Excel function you used to
determine this p-value, including the inputs that you entered in the Excel function
(do not give cell references; enter the numbers you used).
h. Based on the results from (f) and (g), what is your conclusion about the diluted acid
injections’ compliance with the standard deviation requirement at α = .05?
Question 5 (4 parts): The designers of this year’s Mazda3 have been working on their braking
system to improve the vehicle’s stopping distance. Stopping distances of 34 randomly sampled
vehicles were gathered from this year’s improved model and 30 randomly sampled vehicles
from last year’s model. Based on the sample data, you suspect that the new model has a lower
average braking distance than last year’s model. The stopping distances are recorded in the
Midterm Exam Workbook.
a. Are the data paired or unpaired? What are the variances of the two samples of data?
What the appropriate test of two means—for paired data, unpaired data with equal
variances, or unpaired data with unequal variances?
b. Conduct the appropriate hypothesis test to determine whether there is strong evidence
to say that the new model has a lower average braking distance than last year’s model.
Specifically, state the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis, then compute the
relevant test statistic.
c. Is the hypothesis test one- or two-tailed? What is the p-value for the test statistic in (b)?
d. Based on the results from (b) and (c), what is your conclusion about the Mazda3’s
stopping distance at α = 0.05?
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Midterm Exam
