Statistics worksheet — GCSE Foundation

1.For each of 30 fires in one county, the number of fire engines sent and the cost of the damage were recorded. The scatter graph of the data shows strong positive correlation. A newspaper prints the headline "Sending more fire engines causes more damage". Is the newspaper right? Give a reason for your answer.

2.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.

3.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.

4.The weekly wages of the five people who work at a small garage in Norwich are £420, £440, £460, £480 and £1,500. Write down which average better describes a typical wage at this garage, and give a reason for your answer.

5.A study found that people who drink more coffee tend to concentrate better at work. A coffee company says that this shows that drinking coffee improves concentration. Give the reason why this conclusion cannot be drawn.

6.The lowest temperature in a garden in Sheffield was recorded on each of seven days: 3 °C, 5 °C, 2 °C, 7 °C, 4 °C, 6 °C and 3 °C. Write down what the range of these seven temperatures describes.

7.Grace asked 12 children how many brothers and sisters they have. Her results, in order, were 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6. Work out the median number of brothers and sisters.

8.The rainfall, in millimetres, was recorded in Cambridge on six days: 12, 5, 9, 15, 3 and 11. Work out the range of the rainfall.

9.Write down the statement that correctly describes the difference between correlation and causation.

10.Four pairs of variables are listed below. Write down the pair that you would expect to show no correlation.

11.A stacked bar for one day at a café in Norwich shows total drink sales of 50 drinks, split into three parts: 22 were tea, 15 were coffee and the rest were hot chocolate. Work out the number of hot chocolates sold.

12.A bar chart is drawn for a set of categorical data. Write down what the height of each bar represents.

13.A scatter graph shows the height, x cm, and the mass, y kg, of 20 pupils in Year 10. The heights on the graph run from 150 cm to 180 cm, and the line of best fit is y = 0.9x − 85. Nadia puts x = 90 into this equation to estimate the mass of a two-year-old child who is 90 cm tall. Is her estimate reliable? Give a reason for your answer.

14.A scatter graph has 12 plotted points. Four pupils each draw a line of best fit on the same graph and count how many of the 12 points lie above their line and how many lie below it: Amir — 10 above, 2 below. Priya — 6 above, 6 below. Kofi — 2 above, 10 below. Leah — 0 above, 12 below. Write down the name of the pupil whose line was drawn correctly, so that the points are roughly balanced above and below it.

15.Five pupils spent these numbers of minutes on their homework: 50, 65, 55, 90, 60. Work out the median time.