STATISTICS & PROBABILITY

CSEC MATHEMATICS
TYPES OF DATA
• Categorical data – descriptive data, e.g. colours, types of music, design of carnival
costumes.
• Numerical data – numerical information, e.g. numbers of people in a crowd, or
measurements.
There are two types of numerical data:
• Continuous data – data that is measured and can take any value e.g. the height of a
person
• Discrete data – data that is counted, can only take specific values, e.g. the number
of books in a bag
COLLECTING DATA
When we first collect data, it would be unorganized. This is called raw data.
Example: This list of test marks (out of 10) is raw data:
2, 4, 2, 6, 3, 8, 3, 3, 5, 6
We can organise it by writing the marks in order:
2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8
MEAN, MEDIAN & MODE
There are three different types of average:
• Mean
• Median
• Mode
𝒔𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔
Mean =
𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔
𝟐+𝟐+𝟑+𝟑+𝟑+𝟒+𝟓+𝟔+𝟔+𝟖 𝟒𝟐
Example: The mean mark of the set of test marks = = = 𝟒. 𝟐
𝟏𝟎 𝟏𝟎
MEAN, MEDIAN & MODE
The mode is the value that occurs most often.
Example: The modal mark for the set of test marks: 3

The median is the middle value when the values have been arranged in ascending or
descending order of size.
When there is an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle
values.
In the example of the test marks, the middle values are 3 and 4, so the median mark is 3.5

𝒏+𝟏
For any set of n values the median is the th value
𝟐
EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
1.

2.
EXAMPLE
SOLUTION
EXERCISE 3
1.

2.
EXERCISE 3
3.
ORGANISING DISCRETE DATA
This list of marks is raw, discrete data:
1, 4, 2, 5, 3, 4, 3, 5, 4, 4, 5, 3, 5, 2, 4, 2, 3, 4

For an ungrouped frequency table, we list each different value against the number of times
it occurs – this is called its frequency

This frequency table shows the marks in the list:

ORGANISING DISCRETE DATA INTO UNGROUPED FREQUENCY
TABLES
A tally chart can be used to record data as it is collected.
It is made up of three columns:
• Name of the variable
• The count or tally
• Frequency (the number of times a particular tally occurs)
A TALLY CHART
FINDING THE MODE FROM AN UNGROUPED FREQUENCY TABLE
The mode is the mark with the greatest
frequency.
In the table shown, the mark with the
greatest frequency (frequency 16) is 6
FINDING THE MEAN FROM AN UNGROUPED FREQUENCY TABLE
Example
FINDING THE MEAN FROM AN UNGROUPED FREQUENCY TABLE
We first convert the frequency table to
look like this:

To get this table:

• Calculate the values of fx
• Calculate the sum of f
• Calculate the sum of fx
FINDING THE MEAN FROM AN UNGROUPED FREQUENCY TABLE
We then calculate the mean by the formula:

∑𝑓𝑥 =
286
= 4.8
𝑥= 60
∑𝑓
- the mean value

- the sum of the frequency values

∑𝑓𝑥 - the sum of f multiplied by x

EXERCISE 4
EXERCISE 4
EXERCISE 4
EXERCISE 4
FINDING THE MEDIAN FROM AN UNGROUPED FREQUENCY TABLE
To find the median we need to draw up a cumulative frequency table with two
columns:
• One column for marks
• One column for cumulative frequency (adding
successive frequencies)

From the cumulative frequency table, the middle

cumulative frequencies (30-31) correspond to a
mark of 5
EXERCISE 5
EXERCISE 5
EXERCISE 5
STATISTICAL DIAGRAMS FOR DISCRETE, UNGROUPED DATA
The following diagrams are used to represent discrete data for ungrouped frequency
tables:
• Pie Charts
• Bar Charts
• Line Graphs
PIE CHARTS
• Pie charts are used to illustrate how the total amount is shared between different
categories.
• A pie chart is a circle divided into sectors.
• The size of each sector represents the size of each category and is given by the size of
the angle at the centre of the circle.
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXERCISE 6
EXERCISE 6
BAR CHARTS
A bar chart – used to show ungrouped, discrete data

• Each bar represents a value or category

• The height of the bar represents the frequency

• All the bars must be the same width

• All the bars must be the same distance apart

EXAMPLES OF BAR CHARTS
EXERCISE 7
EXERCISE 7
LINE GRAPHS

A line graph is used to illustrate how the value of a quantity changes over time.
This table shows the average daily temperature at noon, in degrees Celsius, for each month
of a year on an island.
LINE GRAPHS

We can draw a line graph by plotting

the temperatures against the months
and joining the points with straight
lines
EXERCISE 8
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2014 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2014 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2014 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2015 Paper 2 Q. 7
The line graph shows the
monthly sales, in
thousands of dollars, at a
car dealership for the
period July to November
2014
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2015 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2015 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2015 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2015 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2015 Paper 2 Q. 7
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2018 Paper 2 Q. 5
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2018 Paper 2 Q. 5
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2018 Paper 2 Q. 5
PAST PAPER QUESTIONS - May 2018 Paper 2 Q. 5
GROUPED DISTRIBUTION
When there are large quantities of data, it is best to arrange the data into groups.
Example: The following figures are the recorded heights (to the nearest cm of 90 five-
year-olds from one infant school.
GROUPED DISTRIBUTION
Example: There are 18 different values for the heights of the children. It is better to
organise them into groups. They will be grouped as follows:
GROUPS OR CLASSES
Each group is called a class that is sorted into a range of values.
It is defined by a class interval e.g. 40 – 45 which is made up of values 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
and 45.
For the class interval: 40 – 45

class limits
EXAMPLE

This how the tally chart will look:

CLASS BOUNDARIES
• Class limits are not enough to represent groups of continuous data.
• Class boundaries are better in representing continuous data.
How to find the class boundaries
Upper class boundary = upper class limit of one class + lower limit of the following class
2
Lower class boundary = upper class boundary of the preceding class
Class Width = the difference between the upper and lower class boundaries
Class Midpoint = upper class boundary + lower class boundary
2
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 2
PROBABILITY
• In Mathematics, probability is used to describe the likelihood of an
event occurring.
• Mathematically, the probability of an event is given as a number
between 0 and 1
HISTOGRAMS
Remember there are two types of data:
• discrete
• Continuous
Discrete data is data that can take definite values
e.g. Gender - male, female
No. of books in a bag – 6, 9, 2
Hair colour - black, brown, blonde
Bar graphs and pie charts are used to represent discrete data
HISTOGRAMS
Continuous data can take any value.
e.g. height, weight, time
Histograms are very similar to bar graphs.
• A histogram is usually used to show continuous data.
• Histograms are also often used for grouped data.
EXAMPLE
EXERCISE
EXERCISE
HISTOGRAMS OF UNGROUPED DISTRIBUTIONS
Example
EXAMPLE (continued)
Frequency Table Histogram
HISTOGRAMS OF GROUPED DISTRIBUTIONS

Tally Chart Frequency Table

HISTOGRAMS OF GROUPED DISTRIBUTIONS
Histogram
FREQUENCY POLYGONS
A frequency polygon is formed by plotting the frequencies of the groups against the mid-
class values and joining the points.
For this distribution:
FREQUENCY POLYGONS
We draw a horizontal axis for the masses, scaled from 50 to 110 kg and a vertical axis for
the frequencies, scaled from 0 to 40.
We then plot the points (54.5, 15), (64.5, 30) … (104.5, 2) and join them with straight
lines.
FREQUENCY POLYGONS
EXERCISE
CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY TABLES
A cumulative frequency is the sum of all the frequencies that have gone before.
It is a running total.
A cumulative frequency table is made by adding each frequency to the sum of all those
that have gone before.
EXAMPLE 1
This frequency table shows Ruth’s marks in some tests.
EXAMPLE 2
This frequency table shows the prices of some second-hand books
EXERCISE 1

a) Copy and complete the table.

b) Work out the number of pairs of shoes
sold that were size 8 or smaller.
c) Find how many pairs of shoes sold
were larger than size 8.
EXERCISE 2

a) Copy and complete the table.

b) Find the number of students in the
group.
c) Work out how many scored 40 or less.
d) Calculate the number that scored
more than 30.
CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVES
CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVES
Here is a table showing the length of pencils in an office.

There are two pencils up to 30 mm long, five up

to 50 mm long and 12 up to 70 mm long.
CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVES
These are cumulative frequencies and can be added to the table:
CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVES
• The last two columns of the table can be used to draw a cumulative frequency
graph.

• To draw a cumulative frequency curve, plot the first point at 0 for the
cumulative frequency and at the lowest boundary of the first class.

• Then plot the other points by treating the upper class boundary of each group
and the cumulative frequency as coordinates.

• Then draw a smooth curve through your points.

CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY CURVES
MEASURES OF DISPERSION
Dispersion means how spread out is a set of data.
There are a number of ways of measuring dispersion.

Example:
Patrick and Michael both play cricket.
Patrick’s scores over five innings are 35, 38, 41, 41 and 43.
Michael’s scores over five innings are 0, 21, 38, 38 and 98.
They both have a mean score of 39, a median of 38 and a mode of 38.
But their scores are quite different; Michael’s scores are more spread out.
RANGE
The range of a set of data is the difference between the largest value and the
smallest.

Looking at the example before:

For Patrick, the range is 43 − 35 = 8.

For Michael, the range is 98 − 0 = 98.

This shows that Michael’s scores are much more spread out than Patrick’s.
QUARTILE RANGES
• The median is the middle value of a set of data.
𝒏+𝟏
Median item = where n is number of items or values
𝟐

• The lower quartile cuts off the bottom quarter.

𝒏+𝟏
Lower quartile item = where n is the number of items or values
𝟒

• The upper quartile cuts off the top 25% of data

𝟑𝒏+𝟏
Upper quartile item = where n is the number of items or values
𝟒
EXAMPLE
11+1
• If there are 11 items, the median is the = 6th item
2

11+1
• The lower quartile will be in position =3
4

3 11 +1
• The upper quartile will be in position , or the 9th item.
4
INTERQUARTILE RANGE
The interquartile range measures the difference between the upper quartile and
the lower quartile.

It shows the range of the middle 50% of the data, and so is not affected by outliers.

The interquartile range = upper quartile − lower quartile

SEMI-INTERQUARTILE RANGE
The semi-interquartile range is half of the interquartile range.
Usually this gives a good estimate of the distance from the lower quartile to the
median, and the median to the upper quartile.

interquartile range
The semi-interquartile range = 2
EXAMPLE
Tulane took 27 Maths tests. Here are her scores:

Find her median score, the range and the interquartile

range.
USING RANGES IN CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY GRAPHS
From the previous example
we can find the quartiles and
median by dividing the 44
pencils by 4:

44 ÷ 4 = 11

So the lower quartile is

the length of the 11th pencil.
USING RANGES IN CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY GRAPHS

The median is the length of the

22nd pencil (11 × 2).
USING RANGES IN CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY GRAPHS

The upper quartile is the length

of the 33rd pencil (11 × 3).
USING RANGES IN CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY GRAPHS
These values can be read from
the red lines on the graph:
• The median is 86 mm

• The lower quartile is 68mm

the upper quartile is 101mm,
so the interquartile range is:
101 − 68= 33 mm.

• The semi-interquartile range

33
is = 16.5 mm.
2
USING RANGES IN CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY GRAPHS
To find the percentage of pencils
that are at least 80mm long:

The blue line shows that there

are 18 pencils shorter than
80mm long.
So there are 44 − 18 = 26 pencils
80 mm or longer.
26
The percentage is 44 × 100 =
59.1% (to 1 decimal place).
PROBABILITY
Probability is the measure of how likely an outcome is.
• An impossible event has a probability of 0.
• Something that is certain is given a probability of 1.
• All other probabilities lie between 0 and 1.
PROBABILITY
Probabilities can be represented by marking the position on a probability scale:
EXPERIMENTAL PROBABILITY
• Probability can be determined through experiments.
• The probability of an event occurring, P(E), will be

𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠

P(E) =
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔
EXAMPLE
Barbara performed an experiment.
She flipped a drawing pin 100 times.
It landed point up 38 times and point down 62 times.
𝟑𝟖
So it landed point up 38 times out of 100, or 𝟏𝟎𝟎

❖ Probabilities can be written as fractions, decimals or percentages,

USING PROBABILITY
• Probability can be used to say how likely something is.
• It can also help us calculate the number of times an event will occur.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑠

Probability =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠
So,
Number of times an event occurs = Probability × Total number of trials
EXAMPLE
Polly wanted to win a cuddly toy at the fair.
To win, she had to hook a plastic duck with a winning number on the bottom.
She watched people playing. Out of 40 people, 6 won a cuddly toy.
There were 100 plastic ducks. Polly wanted to know how many had a winning number.
6 3
She decided that the experimental probability of winning was =
40 20
3
So of the ducks might be winners.
20
3
of 100 = 15.
20

So she thinks there are about 15 winning ducks.