Printable · GCSE Foundation · ages 14-16

Sampling and inference about populations worksheet — GCSE Foundation

Fifteen questions on "sampling and inference about populations" — DfE statement S1. Print it, or print three versions so neighbours cannot copy by letter; the key gives the letter for each version.

VersionsA only A + B A + B + Csame questions, different order

AnswersQuestions only With answer key Key only

CalculatorMixed Non-calculator (Paper 1)Calculator (Papers 2 and 3)

New sheet

Sampling and inference about populations worksheet — GCSE Foundation

Maths · GCSE Foundation · S1 · Sampling and inference about populations · 15 questions

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

1.A council in Leeds wants to know what local people think about letting shops stay open later in the evening. It rings landline telephone numbers between 10 am and 2 pm on a Tuesday. Write down which group is most likely to be under-represented in the sample, and give a reason for your answer.
(a)Children, as most of them are at home at that time
(b)Unemployed people, as most of them are out at that time
(c)Retired people, as most of them are at work then
(d)Full-time workers, as most are at work at that time
2.A company makes 50,000 light bulbs a day and wants to check how long they last before they fail. Testing a bulb to find out how long it lasts destroys it. Give a reason why the company should test a sample of bulbs rather than every bulb it makes.
(a)A sample is always more accurate than a census.
(b)It is against the law to test every bulb made.
(c)Testing every bulb uses too much electricity.
(d)Testing destroys bulbs, so testing all leaves none to sell.
3.A random sample of 50 pupils at a school were asked whether they prefer sport to music. 30 of the 50 pupils said they prefer sport. The school has 500 pupils altogether. Work out an estimate for the number of the 500 pupils who prefer sport.
(a)150 pupils
(b)200 pupils
(c)60 pupils
(d)300 pupils
4.A school has 1200 pupils. A teacher wants to take a random sample of 60 of them. Write down which of these methods gives a random sample.
(a)Drawing 60 names at random from a list of all 1200 pupils
(b)Asking the 60 pupils nearest the door at the first break
(c)Asking every pupil in two of the Year 10 classes
(d)Asking the 60 pupils who volunteer to take part
5.Isla wants to find out the favourite television programme of the pupils at her school. She asks only her own close group of friends. Write down what is wrong with her sample.
(a)It is fine, as everyone she asked goes to her school
(b)It is too small, though it was picked at random
(c)It is not representative, as she picked her own friends
(d)It is too large, so she gets more replies than she needs
6.A factory makes 4,000 light bulbs a day. In a random sample of 80 of one day's bulbs, 3 were faulty. Work out an estimate for the number of faulty bulbs the factory makes in a day.
(a)150 bulbs
(b)240 bulbs
(c)120 bulbs
(d)50 bulbs
7.A council wants to find out what all residents of a town think about a new cycle lane. It posts a survey only on its website and asks people to fill it in online. Give a reason why this sample is likely to be biased.
(a)People might lie on an online survey.
(b)The survey is free, so too many people will respond.
(c)Online surveys cannot stay anonymous.
(d)Only internet users reach the website; others are excluded.
8.A pupil writes this question for a school survey: “Do you agree that learning matters and that we should be set more homework?” Write down what is wrong with the survey question.
(a)It uses long words that most pupils will not understand
(b)It is too short for the reader to see the point
(c)It is fine, as it can be answered yes or no
(d)It asks two things at once and invites agreement
9.A factory made 3,000 phone cases last week. Shift A checked a random sample of 100 cases and found that 34 were scratched. Shift B checked a different random sample of 50 cases and found that 21 were scratched. Using the COMBINED results from both shifts, work out an estimate for the number of scratched cases made last week.
(a)1140
(b)1020
(c)1260
(d)1100
10.There are 10,000 pupils in a city. A researcher picks a sample of 500 of them by drawing names at random from a list of every pupil in the city. Give the reason why this method gives a representative sample.
(a)Because the pupils most willing to help are chosen
(b)Because the sample must be exactly 5% of the population
(c)Because every pupil has an equal chance of being picked
(d)Because 500 is large enough however they are chosen
11.A school has 1,000 pupils. A student wants to estimate how many of them walk to school, so she asks 8 pupils in her own class. She says her sample is large enough to give a reliable estimate for the whole school. Is she right? Give a reason for your answer.
(a)Yes — any sample size is equally reliable.
(b)No — because the sample was not taken online.
(c)No — 8 from one class is too small to represent the school.
(d)Yes — because 8 is more than half of her class.
12.Priya wants to find out the favourite sport of the 900 pupils at her school. She asks 5 pupils, chosen at random. Give a reason why her sample may not give a reliable result.
(a)5 pupils are far too few to represent 900 pupils
(b)A sample must hold at least half of the population
(c)5 pupils were not chosen at random from the 900
(d)The 5 pupils may each name a different sport
13.A sports club has 300 women members and 200 men members, 500 members in total. The club committee wants to choose a sample of 40 members that is in proportion to the club's membership. Work out how many women should be in the sample.
(a)16
(b)20
(c)30
(d)24
14.A gardener plants 600 daffodil bulbs. In March she digs up 20 of them, chosen at random, and finds that 17 have flowered. Write down what she can conclude about the 600 bulbs.
(a)Exactly 510 of the 600 bulbs have flowered
(b)Exactly 17 of the 600 bulbs have flowered
(c)About 20 of the 600 bulbs are likely to have flowered
(d)About 510 of the 600 bulbs are likely to have flowered
15.A sports centre in Ipswich has 2,000 members. It wants to know what its members think of its opening hours, so it asks a random sample of 100 of them. Write down what the population is in this survey.
(a)Everybody who lives in Ipswich.
(b)All 2,000 members of the sports centre.
(c)The members who say they are unhappy with the opening hours.
(d)The 100 members who were asked.

Build your own mix at the worksheet builder.