Last Saturday there was a

boat race across Turtle Lake.
Which of these questions
about the race is a statistical
question?
Who was the race
winner?
What color was the
winning boat?
How many boats
finished the race?
What were the finish
times of all the boats?

1 answer

A statistical question is one that anticipates variability in the data and typically requires data collection and analysis to answer. Among the options provided, the question that fits this definition is:

What were the finish times of all the boats?

This question implies that there will be different finish times for different boats, allowing for analysis of that data (e.g., mean finish time, distribution of times, etc.).

The other questions (who was the race winner?, what color was the winning boat?, and how many boats finished the race?) have definitive answers and do not involve variability in the same way.