Statistics worksheet — GCSE Foundation

1.A scatter graph shows the midday temperature, x °C, and the number of ice creams sold at a seaside kiosk, y. The line of best fit is y = 3x − 20. Give a reason why the y-intercept of this line of best fit is not a sensible estimate of the number of ice creams sold.

2.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.

3.A scatter graph plots the shoe size and the spelling test score of 25 pupils. The points are scattered with no pattern across the graph. Write down the type of correlation shown.

4.The mean mass of four parcels is 17 kg. Three of the parcels have masses 12 kg, 16 kg and 18 kg. Work out the mass of the fourth parcel.

5.A town council wants to find out about the eating habits of the people who live in the town. It asks only the members of a local sports club. Give a reason why this sample is biased.

6.A two-way table records whether each of the 30 pupils in a class passed maths and whether they passed science. 18 pupils passed maths, 12 pupils passed science and 8 pupils passed both. Work out how many pupils passed at least one of the two subjects.

7.A café in York counts the number of customers in each of the nine hours it is open on one day: 4, 4, 4, 11, 13, 15, 18, 22 and 25. The owner says that a typical hour has about 4 customers, because 4 is the mode. Is the owner right? Give a reason for your answer.

8.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.

9.Five friends have heights, in cm, of 150, 152, 155, 158 and 160. A sixth friend, with a height of 170 cm, joins the group. Write down what happens to the mean and the range of the heights once this sixth friend is included.

10.A teacher records the number of pets owned by each of 25 pupils in a class; each pupil owns 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 pets. The teacher wants to show how many pupils own each number of pets. Write down the most suitable type of chart for this data, and give a reason for your answer.

11.The masses of eight school bags, in kilograms, are 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11. Work out the median mass.

12.The marks scored by four pupils in a quiz were 8, 8, 8, 8. Work out the mean, the median and the mode of these marks.

13.On a scatter graph the horizontal axis shows height in centimetres and the vertical axis shows mass in kilograms. One point is plotted at (170, 65). Write down the height and the mass of that person.

14.In a scatter graph of the age, in years, and the wingspan, in cm, of 20 birds of the same species, all the points lie close to a rising line of best fit except one, which lies a long way below the line. That bird was later found to have a damaged wing. Give a reason why this point should not be used when drawing the line of best fit.

15.The number of pets owned by each of 19 pupils in a class is recorded: 0 pets — 7 pupils, 1 pet — 3 pupils, 2 pets — 4 pupils, 3 pets — 5 pupils. Work out the median number of pets.