Questions and Answers of The Analysis Of Biological Data

Spot the flaw. Since 1953, when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest, many climbers have attempted to scale the world’s two highest mountains, Everest and K2.
Smoking is a major risk factor for a number of diseases, including strokes. Smoking is particularly dangerous for people who have already had a stroke. One way to help such people to quit smoking is
A “Mediterranean diet” (high in fish, olive oil, red wine, etc.) has been touted as a key to a long life. A study by Trichopoulou et al. (2005) looked at the death rates of people according to
The MathWorld web page on hypothesis testing declares that “Hypothesis testing is the use of statistics to determine the probability that a given hypothesis is true” (Weisstein 2018). Is this
For each of the following scenarios, state a good graphical method to display the data, and state the most appropriate statistical test to address the question.a. Do whales swim past a detector with
Calculation practice: Normal approximation to a binomial test. From 1995 to 2008 in the United States, 531 of the 648 people who were struck by lightning were men. Test whether this proportion is
A recent cohort study found an increased risk of childhood leukemia in children born to mothers who had previously chosen to use hormonal contraception (Hargreave et al. 2018). The study also noted
Assume that ZZ is a number randomly chosen from a standard normal distribution. Use the standard normal table to calculate each of the following probabilities: a. Pr[Z > 1.34] Pr [Z > 1.34]b. Pr[Z <
Use the three distributions labeled i, ii, and iii to answer the following questions.a. Which of these distributions is most like the normal distribution? On what basis would you exclude the other
It was rumored that Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5 has an upper limit on the height of its spies, on the assumption that tall people stand out (although MI5 denies it). The rumor said
In the accompanying pairs of graphs of normal distributions, which distribution has the highest mean? Which has the highest standard deviation? Pay careful attention to the changes in scale of the
The babies born in singleton births in the United States have birth weights that are approximately normally distributed with mean 3.296 kg and standard deviation 0.560 kg (Martin et al.
In the accompanying graph, the red region accounts for 0.67 of the probability density. Estimate the standard deviation of this normal distribution. Probability density 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 -30 -20
Use the two distributions labeled i and ii below to answer the following questions. a. If we drew repeated random samples of individuals from each distribution and calculated the mean for each
A survey of European mitochondrial DNA variation has found that the most common haplotype (genotype), known as “H,” occurs in 40% of people (Roostalu et al. 2007). If we were to sample 400
The following table lists the means and standard deviations of several different normal distributions. For each, a sample of 10 individuals was taken, as well as a sample of 30 individuals. For each
Ninety-one out of 220 people working as cast and crew of the movie The Conqueror, which was filmed in 1955 downwind from nuclear bomb tests, ultimately contracted cancer (see Practice Problem 5 in
Assume that ZZ is a number randomly chosen from a standard normal distribution. Use the standard normal table to calculate each of the following probabilities: a. Pr[Z > 0.24]Pr[Z > 0.24]b. Pr[Z <
The following data are 40 measurements of diameter growth rate of the tropical tree Dipteryx panamensis from a long-term study at La Selva, Costa Rica (Clark and Clark 2012). The data are
The highest recorded temperature during the month of July for a given year in Death Valley, in California, has an approximately normal distribution with a mean of 123.8°F (!) and standard deviation
Draw a distribution that is approximately normal, with mean equal to 10 cm and variance equal to 360. On the same graph, draw the distribution of the means of samples taken from this distribution, if
In Europe, 53% of flowers of the rewardless orchid, Dactylorhiza sambucina, are yellow, whereas the remaining flowers are purple (Gigord et al. 2001). For this problem, you may use the normal
Recall from Example 10.4 that more women (29.1%) than men (11.1%) are excluded from the astronaut pilot program by the minimum and maximum height restrictions. What value of minimum height for women
Draw a probability distribution that isn’t normal. Describe the features of your distribution that identify it as non-normal.
Examine the following figure, which displays hypothetical measurements of a sample of individuals from three groups.a. What type of graph is this?b. In which of the groups is the frequency
The following graph shows the maximum age of all individuals whose deaths were recorded in a given year, worldwide (Dong et al. 2016).a. What kind of graph is this?b. Since the data describe a
Following is a list of all the named hurricanes in the Atlantic between 2001 and 2010, along with their category on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, which categorizes each hurricane by a label
The following graph illustrates an association between two variables. It shows percent changes in the range sizes of different species of native butterflies (red), birds (blue), and plants (black) of
How do the insects that pollinate flowers distinguish individual flowers with nectar from empty flowers? One possibility is that they can detect the slightly higher humidity of the air—produced by
The gene for the vasopressin receptor V1a is expressed at higher levels in the forebrain of monogamous vole species than in promiscuous vole species. Can expression of this gene influence monogamy?
The data in the accompanying table are from an ecological study of the entire rainforest community at El Verde in Puerto Rico (Waide and Reagan 1996). Diet breadth is the number of types of food
Francis Galton (1894) presented the following data on the flight speeds of 3207 “old” homing pigeons traveling at least 90 miles. a. What type of graph is this?b. Examine the graph and
A study of the endangered saiga antelope (pictured at the beginning of the chapter) recorded the fraction of females in the population that were fecund in each year between 1993 and 2001
Accurate prediction of the timing of death in patients with a terminal illness is important for their care. The following graph compares the survival times of terminally ill cancer patients with the
Convert the following statistics, calculated on samples in English units, to the metric equivalents.(Conversion factors are given as well.)a. Mean: 100 miles (1 km=0.62 miles) b. Standard
Measurements of lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of individual wild animals reveal the disparate contributions they make to the next generation. Jensen et al. (2004) estimated LRS of male and
As in other vertebrates, individual zebrafish differ from one another along the shy–bold behavioral spectrum. In addition to other differences, bolder individuals tend to be more aggressive,
Eunuchs (castrated human males) were often used as servants and guards in harems in Asia and the Middle East. In males of some mammal species, castration increases life span. Do eunuchs also have
As the Arctic warms and winters become shorter, hibernation patterns of arctic mammals are expected to change. Sheriff et al. (2011) investigated emergence dates from hibernation of arctic ground
Examine the frequency distribution of gene lengths in the human genome displayed in Figure 4.1-1. Is the population median gene length in the human genome likely to be larger, smaller, or equal to
As a general rule, is the spread of the sampling distribution for the sample mean mainly determined by the magnitude of the mean or by the sample size?
In a poll of 1641 people carried out in Canada in November 2005, 73% of people surveyed agreed with the statement that “you don’t really expect that politicians will keep their election promises
The following data are flash durations, in milliseconds, of a sample of 35 male fireflies of the species Photinus ignitus (Cratsley and Lewis 2003; see Assignment Problem 19 in Chapter
Imagine that the results of a study calculated a sample mean of zero, with a narrow 95% confidence interval for the population mean. The most appropriate conclusion is that (choose one):a. The
One of the great discoveries of biology is that organisms have a class of genes called “regulatory genes,” whose only job is to regulate the activity of other genes. How many genes does the
Imagine that a collection of 1600 pea plants from one of Mendel’s experiments had 900 that were tall plants with green pods, 300 that were tall with yellow pods, 300 that were short with green
Refer to the previous question.a. Draw a frequency distribution of startle durations measured on the first occasion.b. Describe the shape of the frequency distribution: is it skewed or symmetric?
Male fireflies of the species Photinus ignitus attract females with pulses of light. Flashes of longer duration seem to attract the most females. During mating, the male transfers a spermatophore to
The accompanying graph depicts a frequency distribution of beak widths of 1017 black-bellied seedcrackers, Pyrenestes ostrinus, a finch from West Africa (Smith 1993).a. What is the mode of the
When its numbers increase following favorable environmental conditions, the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, undergoes a dramatic transformation from a solitary, cryptic form into a gregarious
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development was undertaken in north London (U.K.) to investigate the links between criminal behavior in young men and the socioeconomic factors of their upbringing
Swordfish have a unique “heater organ” that maintains elevated eye and brain temperatures when hunting in deep, cold water. The following graph illustrates the results of a study by Fritsches et
The following graph displays the net number of species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act between 1980 and 2002 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2001):a. What type of graph is this?b. What
Spot the flaw. Examine the following figure, which displays the frequency distribution of similarity values (the percentage of amino acids that are the same) between equivalent (homologous) proteins
The following data give the photosynthetic capacity of nine individual females of the neotropical tree Ocotea tenera, according to the number of fruits produced in the previous reproductive season
Examine the accompanying figure, which displays the percentage of adults over 18 with a “body mass index” greater than 25 in different years. Body mass index is a measure of weight relative to
When a courting male of the small Indonesian fish Telmatherina sarasinorum spawns with a female, other males sometimes sneak in and release sperm, too. The result is that not all of the female’s
The graph below shows the distribution of age at death for males from Australia.a. What kind of graph is this?b. Describe the shape of the distribution. Is it symmetric or skewed? If it is skewed,
The following graph was drawn using a very popular spreadsheet program in an attempt to show the frequencies of observations in four hypothetical groups. Before reading further, estimate by eye the
In Poland, students are required to achieve a score of 21 or higher on the high-school Polish language “maturity exam” to be eligible for university enrollment. The following graph shows the
More than 10% of people carry the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The following table gives data from Prague on 15- to 29-year-old drivers who had been involved in accidents. The table gives the
The cutoff birth date for school entry in British Columbia, Canada, is December 31. As a result, children born in December tend to be the youngest in their grade, whereas those born in January tend
Calculation practice: Law of total probability. The survey in the previous problem was conducted on men as well: 34% say Brussels sprouts are “very repulsive,” 19% say that they are “somewhat
Calculation practice: General addition rule. Among women voluntarily tested for sexually transmitted diseases in one university, 24% tested positive for human papilloma virus (HPV) only, 2% tested
The pizza below, ordered from the Venn Pizzeria on Bayes Street, is divided into eight slices:The slices might have pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and/or anchovies.Imagine that, late at night, you
Calculation practice: General multiplication rule. In the 1980s in Canada, 52% of adult men smoked. It was estimated that male smokers had a lifetime probability of 17.2% of developing lung cancer,
In the first hour of a hunting trip, the probability that a pride of Serengeti lions will encounter a Cape buffalo is 0.035. If it encounters a buffalo, the probability that the pride successfully
The accompanying bar graph gives the relative frequency of letters in texts from the English language. Such charts are useful for deciphering simple codes.a. If a letter were chosen at random from a
Cavities in trees are important nesting sites for a wide variety of wildlife, including the white-breasted nuthatch shown on the first page of this chapter.Cavities in trees are much more common in
After graduating from your university with a biology degree, you are interviewed for a lucrative job as a snake handler in a circus sideshow. As part of your audition, you must pick up two
Five different researchers independently take a random sample from the same population and calculate a 95% confidence interval for the same parameter.a. What is the probability that all five
Schrödinger’s cat lives under constant threat of death from the random release of a deadly poison. The probability of release of the poison is 0.01 per day, and the release is independent on
Rapid HIV tests allow for quick diagnosis without expensive laboratory equipment. However, their efficacy has been called into question. In a population of 1517 tested individuals in Uganda, 4 had
Medical diagnostic tests have “sensitivity” and “specificity.” The sensitivity of a test for a given medical condition is the proportion of all afflicted individuals (i.e., those who have the
Kalani et al. (2008) discovered cells responsive to Wnt proteins in the subventricular zone of developing brains of mouse embryos. These cells included a high fraction of self-renewing stem cells,
If you have ever tried to take a family photo, you know that it is very difficult to get a picture in which no one is blinking. It turns out that the probability of an individual blinking during a
A normal deck of cards has 52 cards, consisting of 13 each of four suits:spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. Hearts and diamonds are red, while spades and clubs are black. Each suit has an ace, nine
The human genome is composed of the four DNA nucleotides: A, T, G, and C. Some regions of the human genome are extremely G–C rich (i.e., a high proportion of the DNA nucleotides there are guanine
In Vancouver, British Columbia, the probability of rain during a winter day is 0.58, for a spring day is 0.38, for a summer day is 0.25, and for a fall day is 0.53. Each of these seasons lasts one
When asked an embarrassing question in a survey—such as whether the respondent has ever shoplifted—individuals may be reluctant to answer truthfully. However, answers might be more truthful if
The Hox genes are responsible for determining the anterior–posterior identity of body regions (segments) in the developing insect embryo. Different Hox genes are turned on (expressed) in different
Imagine that a long stretch of single-stranded DNA has 30% adenine, 25% thiamine, 15% cytosine, and 30% guanine. (These make up the nucleotides of the DNA.) What is the probability of randomly
The flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, has 10 chromosomes, roughly equal in size, and it also has eight Hox genes (Brown et al. 2002; see Assignment Problem 24). If the eight Hox genes were randomly
A seed randomly blows around a complex habitat. It may land on any of three different soil types: a high-quality soil that gives a 0.8 chance of seed survival, a medium-quality soil that gives a 0.3
A flycatcher is trying to catch passing bugs. The probability that it catches a bug on any given try is 20%.a. What is the probability that it catches its first bug on its fourth try?b. What is the
Ignoring leap years, there are 365 days in a year.a. If people are born with equal probability on each of the 365 days, what is the probability that three randomly chosen people have different
The figure at the bottom of the page shows the probability density of colony diameters (in mm) in a hypothetical population of Paenibacillus bacteria. The distribution is continuous, so the
During the Manhattan Project, the physicist Enrico Fermi asked Leslie R. Groves, the general in charge, “How do you define a ‘great general’?”General Groves replied, “Any general who wins
“After taking 10 mammograms, a patient has a 50% chance of having had at least one false alarm.” (A false alarm is a false-positive result.) Given this information (from Elmore et al. 2005), and
Refer to the figure accompanying Assignment Problem 31. Consider the case in which two colonies are randomly sampled from the probability distribution shown.a. Are the events “the first diameter
A boy mentions that none of the 21 kids in his third-grade class has had a birthday since school started 56 days previously. Assume that kids in the class are drawn from a population whose birthdays
Three variants of the gene encoding the β-globin component of hemoglobin occur in the human population of the Kassena-Nankana district of Ghana, West Africa. The most frequent allele, A, occurs at
Refer to Table 5.5-1. It turns out that blood type is controlled by two unlinked genes. One gene determines ABO blood type, and the other determines Rh factor (+ or −). Using the probabilities
Refer to Assignment Problem 22 in Chapter 2, which gives a data set about the number of criminal convictions for 395 boys in north London. Imagine that you randomly chose one of the 365 boys from
Refer to Assignment Problem 36. If a randomly sampled child has the aa genotype, what is the probability that both its parents were also aa?Data from problem 36Some people are hypersensitive to the
The following table was compiled by the U.S. Social Security Administration (2018) and the U.S. Census Bureau (2018). It lists the annual probabilities of death for U.S. residents in their early 20s
Artists often represent abstract concepts with human personifications. Are painters more likely to use a person of the same gender as the grammatical gender of the word describing that concept in
Examine Figure 5.5-2. Using the probability statements on the right-hand side of that figure, what is the probability that exactly one of A or B occurs (i.e., the outcome is just A or just B, but not
Imagine that you are using a random sample of data to test a null hypothesis. Answer whether the following statement is true or false: A parameter estimate with high sampling error will result in a
Answer the following questions:a. Define Type II error.b. Define significance level.c. If the significance level of a test is increased, will the probability of making a Type II error increase,

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