Question

when spending large amounts to purchase advertising time, companies want to know what audience theyll reach. a poll asked randomly selected american adults whether they planned to watch the upcoming football championship game. men and women were asked separately whether they were looking forward more to the football game or to watching the commercials. among the men who planned on watching, 70% were watching for the game. among women, 60% were looking forward primarily to the game.
a) was this a stratified sample or a blocked experiment? explain.
b) was the design of the study appropriate for the advertisers questions?

a) was this a stratified sample or a blocked experiment? explain.
a. this was a blocked experiment because the goal of the poll was to estimate proportions for the populations of males and females, not the actual samples.
b. this was a stratified sample because there were two strata (american adults who planned on watching the game and those who were not).
c. this was a blocked experiment because the individuals were grouped into two blocks (american adults who were looking forward more to the football game and those that were looking forward more to watching the commercials).
d. this was a stratified sample because no treatment was applied, so the poll was not an experiment.
e. this was a blocked experiment because the individuals were grouped into two blocks (men and women).
f. this was a stratified sample because there were two strata (american adults who were looking forward more to the football game and those that were looking forward more to watching the commercials).
g. this was a blocked experiment because the individuals were grouped into two blocks (american adults who planned on watching the game and those who were not).

Explanation:

To determine if it's a stratified sample or blocked experiment, we analyze:

• A stratified sample involves dividing the population into strata (groups) and sampling from each, with no treatment applied.
• A blocked experiment involves applying treatments to blocks (groups) to reduce variability.

In this poll, no treatment was applied (just asking a question), and the population (American adults) was divided into strata? No—wait, the key is: the poll is observational (no treatment), so it's a stratified sample? Wait, no: the options. Let's check the options:

Option D: "This was a stratified sample because no treatment was applied, so the poll was not an experiment."

Because a blocked experiment requires an experiment (applying a treatment), but here it's a poll (survey, observational), so it's a stratified sample (dividing into groups—men and women? Wait, the strata here: the population is American adults, and they sampled by gender? Wait, the poll asked men and women separately, but the key is: since it's a survey (no treatment), it's a stratified sample (strata: maybe men and women, but the option D says "no treatment was applied, so the poll was not an experiment"—so since it's not an experiment (no treatment), it must be a stratified sample (as experiments use blocking, surveys use stratification when sampling from groups).

So the correct option is D: This was a stratified sample because no treatment was applied, so the poll was not an experiment.

Answer:

D. This was a stratified sample because no treatment was applied, so the poll was not an experiment.