Question

Identify statistical and non-statistical questions.

a) How many donuts do $6^{\text{th}}$ graders eat in a day?

b) How many days are there in June?

c) How many hours do students of EdMath Middle School spend on mowing their lawns?

d) What is the average lifespan of an Emperor Penguin?

• A. (a), (c) and (d) are statistical questions, whereas (b) is a non-statistical question.
• B. All are statistical questions.
• C. (b) and (c) are statistical questions, whereas (a) and (d) are non-statistical questions.
• D. All are non-statistical questions.

Answer 1

The correct option is A (a), (c) and (d) are statistical questions, whereas (b) is a non-statistical question.

Statistical questions are the ones whose answers require data collection, presentation and respective analysis.

Let's go through the given questions one by one.

a) How many donuts do $6^{\text{th}}$ graders eat in a day?

$\bullet$ To answer this question, a lot of data collection is required in terms of the population of all $6^{th}$ grade students, and need to analyze the consumption of donuts.

Hence, this is a statistical question.

b) How many days are there in June?

$\bullet$ We know that June has $30$ days. As no analysis is required to answer, it is a non-statistical question.

c) How many hours do students of EdMath Middle School spend on mowing their lawns?

$\bullet$ This is a statistical question as it involves analyzing data of all the school students regarding the time involved for mowing their lawns.

d) What is the average lifespan of an Emperor Penguin?

$\bullet$ This also involves analysis of data regarding the life span of each emperor penguin, collected as a whole.