Preparing for Test 4.
FAQ (frequently asked questions) (See below for answers.)
1. Will I be asked specifically to use the four-step process on any problems on the test?
2. How will the questions be stated on the test?
3. What types of problems / what chapters / might be on this test?
4. Are there any hints for how to read a problem and decide which type of technique to use?
5. What do I need to know about the conditions for the various techniques?
6. What should I have on my notes for the test?
7. Will I need to compute sample means, sample standard deviations, and sample proportions on the test?
8. What kind of calculator can I use on the test?
9. What can I use to practice for the test?
10. How do I check my answers on the sample test?
11. Why can’t I replace a low grade on Test 4 with my grade on Test 5?
12. Will I be able to do make-up on Test 4 if I make a really low grade?
13. Sometimes when I work a two-sample problem from Ch. 19 or 21, I get answers that have negative numbers when the answer key has positive numbers. Is that wrong?
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1. Will I be asked specifically to use the four-step process on any problems on the test?
No. But many of the problems on the test will require you to do the various parts of it, so it is very useful for you to have practiced doing the four-step process.
2. How will the questions be stated on the test?
See these examples for typical problem statements, model solutions, and some discussion.
3. What types of problems / what chapters / might be on this test?
Read the Test 4 Review . While most of the test will cover problems from Chapters 18-21, it is crucial that you still be able to solve problems and interpret results from Chapters 11 (sampling distribution problems but NOT control chart problems), 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.
4. Are there any hints for how to read a problem and decide which type of technique to use?
See the first page of this handout. (Here's the version for e-book users, without page numbers.)
5. What do I need to know about the conditions for the various techniques?
See the second page of this handout (Here's the version for e-book users, without page numbers.)
6. What should I have on my notes for the test?
Include whatever you need to answer the questions about the conditions for each technique. Include any formulas that you haven’t memorized. Students frequently forget to include material on these two: the technique for finding probabilities in the sampling distribution of the sample mean in Chapter 11 and the formula for finding the sample size for estimating a mean in Chapter 14.
7. Will I need to compute sample means, sample standard deviations, and sample proportions on the test?
You will need to compute sample means and sample proportions, but you WILL NOT be required to compute sample standard deviations.
8. What kind of calculator can I use on the test?
A scientific calculator. You MAY NOT use a graphing calculator.
9. What can I use to practice for the test?
A sample test is available – actually two sample tests. You must wait to do the sample test until you finish the homework and prepare your notes for the test. Then take the sample test (odd-numbered problems) using only those notes. Then give me your answers and I will let you look at an answer key to check yourself. If you aren’t satisfied with your grade on that, a second one is available (which is the even-numbered problems.)
I have used this process for several semesters and almost all students took it seriously and did it according to the directions (mostly grumbling the entire time!) Students who take it seriously and complete it using only their test notes, and then do a second sample test if they need more practice, have always passed Test 4 – in fact have almost always made above 80. Students who did not follow all those directions made somewhat lower scores, but generally better than they had done on previous tests. Students who didn’t take it almost always failed Test 4.
In previous semesters, the textbook did not explicitly talk about the “four-step process” or ask students to do all of those on so many problems. In my opinion, students who have used the four-step process on all the homework and quiz problems that require it should be much better prepared for Test 4 than my students were in the past, even before the sample test. However, those students still will need quite a lot of practice on choosing the appropriate technique for a problem. So they still need to use the sample test for that.
When I require you to turn in your
work on the sample test, if you only turn in one phrase per problem (that is,
the phrase that says which technique to use) you will earn half the
credit. If you turn in fully-worked
problems, you will earn full credit. You
will be allowed to view an answer key that will
enable you to check the type of answers you turn in, but not more. I expect each of you to make an appropriate
decision about how much practice you need.
10. How do I check my answers on the sample test?
When you have actually answered the questions for one of the sample tests, you will be given access to an answer key so that you can tell if your answers are correct. You will NOT be able to look at an answer key before then. The point is to use this as a sample test – which means to work all the problems without getting help and without looking at answers. If you want to do problems and get help (and answers) while you are doing them, use the problems in the textbook.
Submitting the answers: Do these problems by hand. If you are in my Distance Learning class (or in my classroom class, but miss the deadline for submitting the answers) you may send me answers by email very efficiently. (Be sure to put 1342 in the subject line of the message.) Obviously, the one-phrase answers are easy to send via email. For the full solutions, you must send me at least some numbers to convince me that you computed something (like the t-score and p-value or the end points of the confidence interval) and you must say something about the conditions/assumptions to convince me that you answered that. You DO NOT have to send a full answer via email. Two sentences (about 1.5 to two lines in an email message) per problem will be adequate, as long as I can tell that you actually did a reasonable amount of work on that problem.
11. Why can’t I replace a low grade on Test 4 with my grade on Test 5?
Test 4 is over so much material that students are often intimidated. When I first started teaching this course, and I let students replace whatever their previous low test grade was with the Final Exam (Test 5) I found that students were too prone to say “I like my grades on Tests 1-3 all right, and this material is a lot harder. So I’ll just not do all this and hope I do better on Test 5.” But they didn’t, because the later material requires that you master the ideas in these chapters. So I found that allowing the students to replace Test 4 with Test 5 was encouraging them to not do some very crucial material in the course and contributing to their failing the class.
12. Will I be able to do make-up work on Test 4 if I make a really low grade?
No. There is not enough time after Test 4 for you to do make-up work and also prepare adequately for Test 5. Also, what make-up work I might have given was all incorporated into the sample tests for Test 4. You need to do this work BEFORE Test 4.
13. Sometimes when I work a two-sample problem from Ch. 19 or 21, I get answers that have negative numbers when the answer key has positive numbers. Is that wrong?
Not necessarily. There are two different correct ways to do any of these problems. See this example, worked both ways.
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April 3 , 2007. Mary Parker