MATHEMATICS –STANDARD LEVEL

STATISTICS – PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. The following frequency distribution of marks has mean 4.5.

Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Frequency 2 4 6 9 x 9 4

(a) Find the value of x.

(4)

(b) Write down the standard deviation.

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

2. The following table gives the examination grades for 120 students.

Grade Number of students Cumulative frequency

1 9 9
2 25 34
3 35 p
4 q 109
5 11 120

(a) Find the value of

(i) p;

(ii) q.
(4)

(b) Find the mean grade.

(2)

(c) Write down the standard deviation.

(1)
(Total 7 marks)

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3. A fisherman catches 200 fish to sell. He measures the lengths, l cm of these fish, and the
results are shown in the frequency table below.

Length l cm 0 ≤ l < 10 10 ≤ l < 20 20 ≤ l < 30 30 ≤ l < 40 40 ≤ l < 60 60 ≤ l < 75 75 ≤ l < 100

Frequency 30 40 50 30 33 11 6

(a) Calculate an estimate for the standard deviation of the lengths of the fish.
(3)

(b) A cumulative frequency diagram is given below for the lengths of the fish.

Use the graph to answer the following.

(i) Estimate the interquartile range.

(ii) Given that 40 % of the fish have a length more than k cm, find the value of
k.
(6)

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 In order to sell the fish, the fisherman classifies them as small, medium or large.

Small fish have a length less than 20 cm.

Medium fish have a length greater than or equal to 20 cm but less than 60 cm.
Large fish have a length greater than or equal to 60 cm.

(c) Write down the probability that a fish is small.

(2)

The cost of a small fish is $4, a medium fish $10, and a large fish $12.

(d) Copy and complete the following table, which gives a probability distribution for
the cost $X.

Cost $X 4 10 12
P(X = x) 0.565
(2)

(e) Find E(X).

(2)
(Total 15 marks)

(e) correct substitution (of their p values) into formula for E(X) (A1)
e.g. 4 × 0.35 + 10 × 0.565 + 12 × 0.085
E(X) = 8.07 (accept $8.07) A1 N2
[15]

4. In a school with 125 girls, each student is tested to see how many sit-up exercises (sit-
ups) she can do in one minute. The results are given in the table below.

Cumulative
Number of sit-ups Number of students
number of students
15 11 11
16 21 32
17 33 p
18 q 99
19 18 117
20 8 125

(a) (i) Write down the value of p.

(ii) Find the value of q.

(3)

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 (b) Find the median number of sit-ups.
(2)

(c) Find the mean number of sit-ups.

(2)
(Total 7 marks)

5. The following is a cumulative frequency diagram for the time t, in minutes, taken by 80
students to complete a task.

(a) Write down the median.

(1)

(b) Find the interquartile range.

(3)

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 (c) Complete the frequency table below.

Time Number of
(minutes) students
0 ≤ t < 10 5
10 ≤ t < 20
20 ≤ t < 30 20
30 ≤ t < 40 24
40 ≤ t < 50
50 ≤ t < 60 6
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

6. A test marked out of 100 is written by 800 students. The cumulative frequency graph for
the marks is given below.

(a) Write down the number of students who scored 40 marks or less on the test.
(2)

(b) The middle 50 % of test results lie between marks a and b, where a < b.
Find a and b.
(4)
(Total 6 marks)

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7. A set of data is

18, 18, 19, 19, 20, 22, 22, 23, 27, 28, 28, 31, 34, 34, 36.

The box and whisker plot for this data is shown below.

(a) Write down the values of A, B, C, D and E.

A = ...... B = ...... C= ...... D = ...... E = ......

(b) Find the interquartile range.

(Total 6 marks)

8. There are 50 boxes in a factory. Their weights, w kg, are divided into 5 classes, as shown
in the following table.

Class Weight (kg) Number of boxes

A 9.5 £ w <18.5 7
B 18.5 £ w < 27.5 12
C 27.5 £ w < 36.5 13
D 36.5 £ w < 45.5 10
E 45.5 £ w < 54.5 8

(a) Show that the estimated mean weight of the boxes is 32 kg.
(3)

(b) There are x boxes in the factory marked “Fragile”. They are all in class E. The
estimated mean weight of all the other boxes in the factory is 30 kg. Calculate the
value of x.
(4)

(c) An additional y boxes, all with a weight in class D, are delivered to the factory.
The total estimated mean weight of all of the boxes in the factory is less than 33
kg. Find the largest possible value of y.
(5)
(Total 12 marks)

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9. The histogram below represents the ages of 270 people in a village.

(a) Use the histogram to complete the table below.

Mid-interval
Age range Frequency
value

0 £ age < 20 40 10

20 ≤ age < 40

40 ≤ age < 60

60 ≤ age < 80

80 ≤ age ≤100
(2)

(b) Hence, calculate an estimate of the mean age.

(4)
(Total 6 marks)

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10. The population below is listed in ascending order.

5, 6, 7, 7, 9, 9, r, 10, s, 13, 13, t

The median of the population is 9.5. The upper quartile Q3 is 13.

(a) Write down the value of

(i) r;

(ii) s.

(b) The mean of the population is 10. Find the value of t.

(Total 6 marks)

11. The four populations A, B, C and D are the same size and have the same range.
Frequency histograms for the four populations are given below.

(a) Each of the three box and whisker plots below corresponds to one of the four
populations. Write the letter of the correct population under each plot.

...... ...... ......

(b) Each of the three cumulative frequency diagrams below corresponds to one of the
four populations. Write the letter of the correct population under each diagram.

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 (Total 6 marks)

12. The 45 students in a class each recorded the number of whole minutes, x, spent doing
experiments on Monday. The results are å x = 2230.

(a) Find the mean number of minutes the students spent doing experiments on
Monday.

Two new students joined the class and reported that they spent 37 minutes and 30
minutes respectively.

(b) Calculate the new mean including these two students.

(Total 6 marks)

25
13. The mean of the population x1, x2, ........ , x25 is m. Given that åx
i =1
i = 300 and

25

å ( x – m)
i =1
i
2
= 625, find

(a) the value of m;

(b) the standard deviation of the population.

(Total 4 marks)

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14. The speeds in km h–1 of cars passing a point on a highway are recorded in the following
table.

Speed v Number of cars

v £ 60 0
60 < v £ 70 7
70 < v £ 80 25
80 < v £ 90 63
90 < v £ 100 70
100 < v £ 110 71
110 < v £ 120 39
120 < v £ 130 20
130 < v £ 140 5
v > 140 0

(a) Calculate an estimate of the mean speed of the cars.

(2)

(b) The following table gives some of the cumulative frequencies for the information
above.

Speed v Cumulative frequency

v £ 60 0
v £ 70 7
v £ 80 32
v £ 90 95
v £ 100 a
v £ 110 236
v £ 120 b
v £ 130 295
v £ 140 300

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 (i) Write down the values of a and b.

(ii) On graph paper, construct a cumulative frequency curve to represent this

information. Use a scale of 1 cm for 10 km h–1 on the horizontal axis and a
scale of 1 cm for 20 cars on the vertical axis.
(5)

(c) Use your graph to determine

(i) the percentage of cars travelling at a speed in excess of 105 km h–1;

(ii) the speed which is exceeded by 15% of the cars.

(4)
(Total 11 marks)

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