APPLICATION OF STATISTICAL CONCEPTS IN

THE DETERMINATION OF WEIGHT VARIATION

IN SAMPLES
BLAS, MARTINA ALLYSON C.
INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGY, COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY 1101, PHILIPPINES
DATE SUBMITTED: 2 FEBRUARY 2016
DATE PERFORMED: 28 JANUARY 2016

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS REPORT

1.

Give the significance of Grubbs test.

Outliers are extreme values that stand out from other values of a distinct data set. They have a
substantial impact on statistics and consequently should be removed in most cases. Many
statistical methods are sensitive to the presence of these outliers. The Grubbs test is used to
detect an outlying value in a set. It determines whether or not it can be classified as suitable to
the same data set, and can therefore be omitted from succeeding calculations if it is deemed
unfitting and erroneous.

2.

Give the significance of the mean and standard deviation.

The mean is a measure of central tendency. It is primarily the model of the data set, the value
that is most typical. However, it is easily affected by extreme data present in a set, because it is
concluded by averaging values with no regard for assosciated probabilities. The mean is ideal
to use when the data set has values that are evenly spread with no exceptional high or low
values.
The standard deviation is a measure of variation in data, how dispersed and spread out the
data set is from your mean. It can be used to determine the proportion of values that lie within
the range of the mean value. Essentially, it lets you know how reliable the concluded average is
as a representation of your data.

3.

Give the significance of the confidence interval.

The confidence interval is a range of values for a variable of interest that has a specified
probability of including the true value of the variable. It provides an aproximate interval
around the point estimate within which the true value can be anticipated to be included in, as
determining the accurate point is not too feasible.

4.

How do the statistics calculated from data set 1 differ from those obtained from data set 2?
The first data set has a 3.6137 mean while the second data set has 3.6198. There is a 0.0061
difference between the two means. Having different means, this would result to different

standard deviations and consequently, relative standard deviations. The first sets standard
deviation is 0.0352 and relative standard deviation is 9.7396 while the latter has 0.0284 as its
standard deviation and 7.8440 as its relative standard deviation.
Having different values prompted to different highest and lowest values. Thus, the range, and
consequentially the relative range, has changed also. The range of the first data set is 0.0898
while the second data sets is 0.0973.
Despite the second data set having the same first six values as the values from the first data
set, the particular statistics calculated are of different values. This is because the data sets have
different samples, different number of samples, thus having to result to a different set of values,
different means, standard deviations, etc.

CALCULATIONS (for data set 1)

Mean:

RSD=

Range:

X = i=1
n

3.6165++ 3.6383
X =
6
X =3.6137
Relative Standard Deviation:

RSD=

0.0352
x 1000
3.6137

R= X highest X lowest
R=3.63833.5442
R=0.0898
Relative Range:

R
x 1000
X
0.0898
RR=
x 1000
3.6137
RR=

RR=24.850

RSD=9.7396
Confidence Limits:

CI =3.58CI =3.64

ts
Confidencelimit= X
n
CI =3.6137

2.45(0.0352)
6

s
x 1000
X

Grubbs test:

g=

max
i=1,n

|X i x|
s

REFERENCES
Grubbs, F. E. (1950). Sample Criteria for Testing Outlying Observations. The Annals of Mathematical
Statistics, 21(1), pp. 27-58. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/journal/annamathstat
Holt, M. & Scariano, S. (2009) Mean, Median and Mode from a Decision Perspective. Journal of
Statistics Education, 17(3) Retrieved from http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v17n3/holt.html
Weisstein, E. Standard Deviation. From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource.
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/StandardDeviation.html
Davies, H. T. & Crombie, I. K. (2009) What are confidence intervals and P-values? Retrieved from
http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/painres/download/whatis/What_are_Conf_Inter.pdf
Sim, J. & Reid, N. (1998). Statistical Inference by Confidence Intervals: Issues of Interpretation and
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