Question

A cell phone service provider has 14,000 customers. Recently, the sales department selected a random sample of 400 customer accounts and recorded the number of minutes of long distance time used during the previous billing period. The data for this variable is considered to be nominal since the values are based on sample data.

True
False

Answer 1

The claim that long distance time used is nominal data is false; it should be classified as ratio or interval since it can be quantified. Understanding these terms is part of high school and college mathematics education.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that the data for the number of minutes of long distance time used during a previous billing period is considered to be nominal because the values are based on sample data is false. In statistical terms, 'nominal' refers to data that can be categorized but not quantified or ranked. The correct classification for data on minutes used would either be 'ratio' or 'interval', as these minutes can be measured and ordered in a meaningful way. The sampling of customer accounts to collect data on usage falls under statistical analysis and hypothesis testing, commonly covered in high school and college mathematics courses.