The age of a Pine tree was measured five times independently using a new electronic probe inserted in the tree's trunk. The measured values were 46 years old, 45 years old, 47 years old, 45 years old, and 47 years old. Later this same tree was cut down and, by counting the growth rings, it was determined that the tree was really 34 years old. Does a measurement with this new electronic device for measuring the age of trees have a larger problem with bias or with reliability? Explain.

US News and World report conducts an annual report of top colleges and universities. This report ranks each school based on the resources and reputation of the school. A critic of this ranking noted that the rankings look only at endowments, grants and other resources, but does not look at how successful students who attend the school are after they graduate. Is this critic addressing the bias, reliability or validity of the rankings? Explain.

An important factor in determining the value of a home is to examine the size of the lot on which the home is located. A local real estate agent measures the width of a lot by counting the number of squares in the sidewalk across the front of the lot. He then multiplies the number of squares by 3 feet to determine the width of the lot in feet. Another agent offered the following criticisms of this method.

Criticism 1: The squares in the sidewalk are often over 3 feet in length. Criticism 2: The squares are rarely the same size. Several lots of the same size could have very different numbers of squares and very different measurements. Criticism 3: To estimate the value of a home the agent should concentrate on the size and features of the home not on the size of the lot.

Which of these is about the reliability, which about bias, and which about validity. Explain fully.

A brand of toothpaste advertises that the new tube holds 8.6 ounces of toothpaste. The old tube held 8 ounces. Find the percent increase.