7011GBS: Is Earth Actually Warming- Australian Exports & Imports- Quantitative Methods Assignment

Internal Code: 1GHBC

Quantitative Methods Assignment:

Task: QUESTION 1- Australian exports and imports of merchandise goods with its major trading partners in 2009 and 2011 are shown in the table stored in file TRADE.XLS. Using this data, answer the questions below. (a) Use an appropriate graphical technique to compare the value of Australian exports (in $m) in 2009and 2011, broken down by country of export destination. (b) Use an appropriate graphical technique to compare the percentage value of Australian imports (in %) in 2009and 2011, broken down by country of import origin. (c) Comment your observations in parts (a) and (b). QUESTION 2- A sociologist hypothesized that people who watch television frequently may be exposed to many commercials, which in turn lead them to shop more and incur more debt. To test this belief, astatistician surveyeda sample of 395families across the country. For each family, the number of hours the television is turned-on per week and the total debt were recorded. The data are stored in file TV-DEBT.XLS. Using this data, answer the questions below. First, the statisticianwould like to utilize appropriate graphical descriptive methods to presentthe data. (a) He suggests using classintervals 0< X ? 6, 6< X ? 12, 12< X ? 18, …for one variable and class intervals 0< X ? 30000, 30000 < X ? 60000, 60000 < X ? 90000, ...., for the other variable. (i) Explain how he could have decided onthe number of classes and the above class intervals. (ii) Use appropriate BIN values to draw a histogram for each variable and comment on the shape of the two distributions. (b) Use an appropriate plot to investigate the relationship between the two variables. Briefly explain the selection of each variable on the X and Y axes and why? On the same plot, fit a linear line including the equation and the coefficient of determination. Second, the researcher wishes to use the numerical descriptive measures to summarize the data. (c) Prepare a numerical summary report about the data on the two variables by including the summary measures: mean, median, range, variance, standard deviation, smallest and largest values and the three quartiles (1 st quartile, 2 nd quartile and 3 rd quartile), for each variable. Provide interpretation on the reported values of the mean, median, standard deviation and the third quartile, for each variable. QUESTION 3- In the last part of the 20th century, scientists developed the theory that the planet was warming and that the primary cause was the increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), which are the product of burning oil, natural gas, and coal (fossil fuels). Although many climatologists believe in the so-called greenhouse effect, many others do not subscribe to this theory. There are three critical questions that need to be answered in order to resolve the issue. 1. Is Earth actually warming? 2. If the planet is warming, is CO 2 the cause? There are greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, without which Earth would be considerably colder. These gases include methane, water vapour, and carbon dioxide. All occur naturally in nature. Carbon dioxide is vital to our life on Earth because it is necessary for growing plants. The amount of CO 2 produced by fossil fuels is a relatively small proportion of all the CO 2 in the atmosphere. The generally accepted procedure is to record monthly temperature anomalies. To do so, we calculate the average for each month over many years. We then calculate any deviations between the latest month’s temperature reading and its average. A positive anomaly would represent a month’s temperature that is above the average. A negative anomaly indicates a month where the temperature is less than the average. GLOBAL.XLS stores the monthly data for temperature anomalies and the CO 2 levels in the atmosphere from Mar 1958 to November 2009.There are two issues in this discussion. First, is there global warming; second, if so, is carbon dioxide the cause? (a) Use a graphical technique to show whether there is global warming. Interpret the results. (b) Use a graphical technique to determine whether there is a relationship between temperature anomalies and CO 2 levels. Interpret the results.2 marks (c) Find the correlation between temperature anomalies and CO 2 levels. Interpret the results. (d) Calculate the least squares line between temperature anomalies and CO 2 levels. Interpret the findings.