Chapter 7- The Normal Probability Distribution

Question 1

discrete variable

Answer 1

A variable that has a minimum-sized unit that cannot be further subdivided.

Question 2

index (or scale)

Answer 2

A composite measure that combines several variables into a single unified measure of a concept.

Question 3

normal curve

Answer 3

A classic bell-shaped curve or distribution indicating that observations at or close to the mean occur with highest probability, and that the probability of occurrence progressively decreases as observations deviate from the mean.

Question 4

z score

Answer 4

The number of standard deviations an item is from the mean; z scores can be calculated for raw data, means, slopes, regression estimates, and so on.