Final answer:
Question D 'How many books did Ms. Cooper read last year?' is not a statistical question because it focuses on a single event's specific outcome without variability. Statistical questions involve data collection with variability, such as questions A, B, and C each of which deals with a group and expects a range of data responses.
Step-by-step explanation:
A statistical question is one that can be answered by collecting data and where there will be variability in that data. For example, 'How old are the students in my school?' (A) is a statistical question because there will be a range of ages. 'How tall is everyone on the basketball team?' (B) is also a statistical question as player heights will vary. 'How many hours do Ms. Cooper’s students spend on homework?' (C) is a statistical question because different students will spend different amounts of time on homework. However, 'How many books did Ms. Cooper read last year?' (D) is not a statistical question because it refers to a singular event with a specific number and does not involve variability in the data collected.
In terms of research method terminology, the population refers to the entire group that is being studied, which in our example could be all students who attended the high school last year (a). The sample is a subset of that population, such as a group of students who graduated from the high school last year, randomly selected (d). A parameter is a summary measure that describes a characteristic of the entire population, while a statistic is a summary measure that describes a characteristic of a sample. The cumulative GPA of one student who graduated from the high school last year (b) is an example of a variable.