Statistics worksheet — GCSE Foundation

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

2.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.

3.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.

4.The mean of the numbers x, 20 and 30 is equal to the mean of the numbers 15 and 25. Work out the value of x.

5.The mean of 5 numbers is 8. Work out the total of the 5 numbers.

6.Two classes sat the same test. The 30 pupils in Class A had a mean mark of 72. The 20 pupils in Class B had a mean mark of 82. Work out the mean mark of all 50 pupils.

7.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.

8.A shop records the colour of every car that uses its car park one Tuesday. Its frequency table reads: black 44, silver 37, blue 26, red 18, white 12. Write down the frequency of black cars.

9.Work out the median of these five numbers: 2, 4, 7, 12, 26

10.Ben and Chloe each sat five maths tests. Ben's marks were 62, 64, 65, 66 and 68. Chloe's marks were 40, 52, 65, 78 and 90. Both pupils have a mean mark of 65. Their teacher says the mean on its own does not describe the two sets of marks well. Give a reason why the teacher is right.

11.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.

12.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.

13.A scatter graph of the number of ice creams sold at a seaside kiosk in Bournemouth and the number of sunburn cases treated at a nearby pharmacy, recorded on the same 30 days, shows strong positive correlation. Which statement about this correlation is correct?

14.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.

15.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.