Statistics worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.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.

2.In a histogram of the lengths, x cm, of some rods, the bar for 10 ≤ x < 30 has a frequency density of 3 per cm. The bar for 30 ≤ x < 45 is twice as tall as the bar for 10 ≤ x < 30. Work out the number of rods with a length in the class 30 ≤ x < 45.

3.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.

4.Four pairs of variables are listed below. Write down the pair that you would expect to show negative correlation.

5.A vet records the masses, m kg, of 30 dogs at a clinic in Preston: 0 < m ≤ 10 — 11 dogs, 10 < m ≤ 20 — 5 dogs, 20 < m ≤ 30 — 5 dogs, 30 < m ≤ 40 — 9 dogs. Work out an estimate for the mean mass, in kg, using the midpoint of each class interval.

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.

7.A gym draws a histogram of the times, t minutes, that its members spend on one machine. The bar for 0 ≤ t < 10 has a frequency density of 1.8 per minute, the bar for 10 ≤ t < 25 has a frequency density of 3.2 per minute, and the bar for 25 ≤ t < 55 has a frequency density of 0.9 per minute. Members who spend 10 minutes or more on the machine pay an extra charge. Work out the number of members who pay the extra charge.

8.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.

9.A garden centre's sales, in thousands of pounds, at the end of each quarter last year were: quarter 1 — 18, quarter 2 — 34, quarter 3 — 30, quarter 4 — 22. Work out the increase in sales from quarter 1 to the quarter with the highest sales.

10.In a histogram of the distances, d metres, thrown by some athletes, the bar covering 20 ≤ d < 60 has a constant frequency density of 1.8 per metre. Estimate the number of throws of at least 20 metres but less than 35 metres.

11.The delivery times, in minutes, of 15 parcels are given in order: 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 34. Work out the interquartile range of these times.

12.A bus company runs two routes into the centre of Exeter. On ten weekdays the journey time on Route 1 was, in minutes: 22, 23, 24, 24, 25, 25, 26, 26, 27 and 28. On Route 2 it was: 18, 19, 20, 20, 21, 22, 26, 30, 36 and 38. A commuter must reach the centre on time every day. Work out the mean and the range for each route, and write down which route she should take.

13.A quality inspector weighs a random sample of 50 packets of crisps from one day's production and finds their mean mass is 32.4 g. The factory makes 20,000 packets that day. Work out an estimate for the total mass, in kg, of all the packets made that day.

14.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.

15.A school has 1,500 pupils. The head teacher takes a random sample of 150 of them from the school register and asks how long they spend on homework. Rory says the sample is too small for the result to mean anything. Is Rory right? Give a reason for your answer.