Final answer:
The appropriate statistical test for a study with independent variable race/ethnicity and dependent variable pulse rate is typically a t-test, or in cases of non-normal data, the Mann-Whitney U-test.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has asked which statistical test is appropriate for a study with independent variable race/ethnicity (white/nonwhite) and dependent variable pulse rate. In this scenario, we are dealing with one qualitative independent variable (race/ethnicity) and one quantitative dependent variable (pulse rate).
Therefore, the appropriate statistical test to determine if there is a difference in the pulse rates between the two groups (white and nonwhite) would typically be a t-test, specifically an Aspin-Welch t-test if the population standard deviations are unknown and possibly unequal. However, if the data does not meet the assumptions of normality, a non-parametric test like the Mann-Whitney U-test would be a suitable alternative to compare two independent groups.