1. The National Institute of Standards and Technology provides several datasets to allow any user to test the accuracy of their statistical software. Go to the website: http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/strd. Select the "Dataset Archives" section and, within that, the "Linear Regression" section. You will find the names of 11 small datasets stored in ASCII format on this page. Select one and run the data through your statistical software. Compare your results with the "official" results of the federal government.

2. As described in the examples in Chapters 11 and 12, many real estate companies and rental agencies now publish their listings on the Web. One example is the Dunes Realty Company, located in Garden City and Surfside Beaches in South Carolina. Go to the website http://www.dunes.com , select Cottage Search, then indicate 5 bedroom, accommodations for 14 people, oceanfront, and no pool or floating dock, select a period in July and August, indicate that you are willing to spend $5,000 per week, and then click on Search the Cottages. The output should include details on the cottages that met your criteria.

Develop a multiple linear regression equation using the rental price per week as the dependent variable and number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and how many people the cottage will accommodate as independent variables. Analyze the regression equations. Would you consider deleting any independent variables? What is the coefficient of determination? If you delete any of the variables, rerun the regression equation and discuss the new equation.