2.

CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 2 MC

FURTHER MATHEMATICS
The time spent by shoppers at a hardware store on a Saturday is approximately normally distributed
CORE, Data Distributions
with a mean of 31 minutes and a standard deviation of 6 minutes.
Normal Distribution If 2850 shoppers are expected to visit the store on a Saturday, the number of shoppers who are
Teacher: Kate Feagan expected to spend between 25 and 37 minutes in the store is closest to
Exam Equivalent Time: 136.5 minutes (based on VCE allocation of 2.25 min/mark for A. 16
FUR1, and 1.5 min/mark for FUR2)
B. 68
C. 460
Questions
D. 1900
1. CORE, FUR1 2013 VCAA 5-6 MC E. 2400

The time, in hours, that each student spent sleeping on a school night was recorded for 1550
secondary-school students. The distribution of these times was found to be approximately normal 3. CORE, FUR1 2010 VCAA 5-6 MC
with a mean of 7.4 hours and a standard deviation of 0.7 hours.
The lengths of the left feet of a large sample of Year 12 students were measured and recorded.
These foot lengths are approximately normally distributed with a mean of 24.2 cm and a standard
Part 1
deviation of 4.2 cm.
The time that 95% of these students spent sleeping on a school night could be
Part 1
A. less than 6.0 hours.
A Year 12 student has a foot length of 23 cm.
B. between 6.0 and 8.8 hours. The student’s standardised foot length (standard score) is closest to
C. between 6.7 and 8.8 hours. A. –1.2
D. less than 6.0 hours or greater than 8.8 hours. B. –0.9
E. less than 6.7 hours or greater than 9.5 hours. C. –0.3
D. 0.3
Part 2 E. 1.2
The number of these students who spent more than 8.1 hours sleeping on a school night was closest
to
Part 2
A. 16
The percentage of students with foot lengths between 20.0 and 24.2 cm is closest to
B. 248
A. 16%
C. 1302
B. 32%
D. 1510
C. 34%
E. 1545
D. 52%
E. 68%
4. CORE, FUR1 2011 VCAA 9-10 MC 5. CORE, FUR1 2018 VCAA 3-5 MC
The length of a type of ant is approximately normally distributed with a mean of 4.8 mm and a The pulse rates of a population of Year 12 students are approximately normally distributed with a
standard deviation of 1.2 mm. mean of 69 beats per minute and a standard deviation of 4 beats per minute.
Part 1
Part 1
From this information it can be concluded that around 95% of the lengths of these ants should lie
between A student selected at random from this population has a standardised pulse rate of
A. This student’s actual pulse rate is
B. A. 59 beats per minute.
C. B. 63 beats per minute.
D. C. 65 beats per minute.
E. D. 73 beats per minute.
E. 79 beats per minute.
Part 2
A standardised ant length of corresponds to an actual ant length of Part 2

A. Another student selected at random from this population has a standardised pulse rate of

B. The percentage of students in this population with a pulse rate greater than this student is closest to

C. A. 2.5%

D. B. 5%

E. C. 16%
D. 68%
E. 84%

Part 3
A sample of 200 students was selected at random from this population.
The number of these students with a pulse rate of less than 61 beats per minute or greater than 73
beats per minute is closest to
A. 19
B. 37
C. 64
D. 95
E. 190
6. CORE, FUR1 2006 VCAA 4 MC 9. CORE, FUR1 2009 VCAA 7 MC
The head circumference (in cm) of a population of infant boys is normally distributed with a mean of The level of oil use in certain countries is approximately normally distributed with a mean of 42.2
49.5 cm and a standard deviation of 1.5 cm. units and a standard deviation of 10.2 units.
Four hundred of these boys are selected at random and each boy’s head circumference is measured. The percentage of these countries in which the level of oil use is greater than 32 units is closest to
The number of these boys with a head circumference of less than 48.0 cm is closest to A. 5%
A. B. 16%
B. C. 34%
C. D. 84%
D. E. 97.5%
E.
10. CORE, FUR1 2012 VCAA 4 MC
7. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 3 MC A class of students sat for a Biology test and a Legal Studies test. Each test had a possible
maximum score of 100 marks. The table below shows the mean and standard deviation of the
A student obtains a mark of 56 on a test for which the mean mark is 67 and the standard deviation
marks obtained in these tests.
is 10.2.
The student’s standardised mark (standard -score) is closest to
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The class marks in each subject are approximately normally distributed.

8. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 4 MC Sashi obtained a mark of 81 in the Biology test.
The mark that Sashi would need to obtain on the Legal Studies test to achieve the same standard
The length of 3-month-old baby boys is approximately normally distributed with a mean of 61.1 cm
score for both Legal Studies and Biology is
and a standard deviation of 1.6 cm.
A. 81
The percentage of 3-month-old baby boys with length greater than 59.5 cm is closest to
B. 82
A.
C. 83
B.
D. 87
C.
E. 95
D.
E.
11. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 4-5 MC 12. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 4-5 MC
The foot lengths of a sample of 2400 women were approximately normally distributed with a mean The weights of male players in a basketball competition are approximately normally distributed with
of 23.8 cm and a standard deviation of 1.2 cm. a mean of 78.6 kg and a standard deviation of 9.3 kg.
Part 1
Part 1 There are 456 male players in the competition.
The expected number of these women with foot lengths less than 21.4 cm is closest to The expected number of male players in the competition with weights above 60 kg is closest to
A. A.
B. B.
C. C.
D. D.
E. E.

Part 2 Part 2
The standardised foot length of one of these women is = – 1.3 Brett and Sanjeeva both play in the basketball competition.
Her actual foot length, in centimetres, is closest to When the weights of all players in the competition are considered, Brett has a standardised weight of
A. = – 0.96 and Sanjeeva has a standardised weight of = – 0.26

B. Which one of the following statements is not true?

C. A. Brett and Sanjeeva are both below the mean weight for players in the basketball competition.

D. B. Sanjeeva weighs more than Brett.

E. C. If Sanjeeva increases his weight by 2 kg, he would be above the mean weight for players in the
basketball competition.
D. Brett weighs more than 68 kg.
E. More than 50% of the players in the basketball competition weigh more than Sanjeeva

13. CORE, FUR1 2019 VCAA 6 MC

The time taken to travel between two regional cities is approximately normally distributed with a
mean of 70 minutes and a standard deviation of 2 minutes.
The percentage of travel times that are between 66 minutes and 72 minutes is closest to
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
14. CORE, FUR1 2019 VCAA 7 MC 17. CORE, FUR1 2021 VCAA 7-8 MC
The volume of a cup of soup served by a machine is normally distributed with a mean of 240 mL and 800 participants auditioned for a stage musical. Each participant was required to complete a series
a standard deviation of 5 mL. of ability tests for which they received an overall score.
A fast-food store used this machine to serve 160 cups of soup. The overall scores were approximately normally distributed with a mean score of 69.5 points and a
standard deviation of 6.5 points.
The number of these cups of soup that are expected to contain less than 230 mL of soup is closest
to
Part 1
A. 3
Only the participants who scored at least 76.0 points in the audition were considered successful,
B. 4
Using the 68-95-99.7% rule, how many of the participants were considered unsuccessful?
C. 8
A. 127
D. 26
B. 128
E. 156
C. 272
D. 672
15. CORE, FUR1 2020 VCAA 8 MC
E. 673
The wing length of a species of bird is approximately normally distributed with a mean of 61 mm
and a standard deviation of 2 mm.
Part 2
Using the 68–95–99.7% rule, for a random sample of 10 000 of these birds, the number of these
birds with a wing length of less than 57 mm is closest to To be offered a leading role in the stage musical, a participant must achieve a standardised score of
at least 1.80
A. 50
Three participants' names and their overall scores are given in the table below.
B. 160
C. 230 Participant Overall score
D. 250
Amy 81.5
E. 500
Brian 80.5

16. CORE, FUR1 2020 VCAA 9 MC Cherie 82.5

The lifetime of a certain brand of light globe, in hours, is approximately normally distributed.
Which one of the following statements is true?
It is known that 16% of the light globes have a lifetime of less than 655 hours and 50% of the light
globes have a lifetime that is greater than 670 hours. A. Only Amy was offered a leading role.

The mean and the standard deviation of this normal distribution are closest to B. Only Cherie was offered a leading role.
C. Only Brian was not offered a leading role
A. mean = 655 hours standard deviation = 10 hours
D. Both Brian and Cherie were offered leading roles.
B. mean = 655 hours standard deviation = 15 hours
E. All three participants were offered leading roles.
C. mean = 670 hours standard deviation = 10 hours
D. mean = 670 hours standard deviation = 15 hours
E. mean = 670 hours standard deviation = 20 hours
18. CORE, FUR1 2021 VCAA 9 MC 19. CORE, FUR1-NHT 2019 VCAA 5-7 MC
The heights of females living in a small country town are normally distributed: The birth weights of a large population of babies are approximately normally distributed with a mean
of 3300 g and a standard deviation of 550 g.
16% of the females are more than 160 cm tall.
Part 1
2.5% of the females are less than 115 cm tall.
A baby selected at random from this population has a standardised weight of
The mean and the standard deviation of this female population, in centimetres, are closest to Which one of the following calculations will result in the actual birth weight of this baby?
A. mean = 135 standard deviation = 15
B. mean = 135 standard deviation = 25 A.

C. mean = 145 standard deviation = 15 B.

D. mean = 145 standard deviation = 20 C.

E. mean = 150 standard deviation = 10 D.

E.

Part 2
Using the 68–95–99.7% rule, the percentage of babies with a birth weight of less than 1650 g is
closest to
A. 0.14%
B. 0.15%
C. 0.17%
D. 0.3%
E. 2.5%

Part 3
A sample of 600 babies was drawn at random from this population.
Using the 68–95–99.7% rule, the number of these babies with a birth weight between 2200 g and
3850 g is closest to
A. 111
B. 113
C. 185
D. 408
E. 489
20. CORE, FUR1 2008 VCAA 6-7 MC 21. CORE, FUR1 2017 VCAA 8-10 MC
The pulse rates of a large group of 18-year-old students are approximately normally distributed with The scatterplot below shows the wrist circumference and ankle circumference, both in centimetres, of
a mean of 75 beats/minute and a standard deviation of 11 beats/minute. 13 people. A least squares line has been fitted to the scatterplot with ankle circumference as the
explanatory variable.
Part 1
The percentage of 18-year-old students with pulse rates less than 75 beats/minute is closest to 20
A. 32%
B. 50%
19
C. 68%
D. 84% wrist
circumference 18
E. 97.5% (cm)

17
Part 2
The percentage of 18-year-old students with pulse rates less than 53 beats/minute or greater than 86
beats/minute is closest to 16
21 22 23 24 25 26
A. 2.5% ankle circumference (cm)
B. 5%
Part 1
C. 16%
The equation of the least squares line is closest to
D. 18.5%
A. ankle = 10.2 + 0.342 × wrist
E. 21%
B. wrist = 10.2 + 0.342 × ankle
C. ankle = 17.4 + 0.342 × wrist
D. wrist = 17.4 + 0.342 × ankle
E. wrist = 17.4 + 0.731 × ankle

Part 2
When the least squares line on the scatterplot is used to predict the wrist circumference of the person
with an ankle circumference of 24 cm, the residual will be closest to
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Part 3
The residuals for this least squares line have a mean of 0.02 cm and a standard deviation of 0.4 cm.
The value of the residual for one of the data points is found to be – 0.3 cm.
The standardised value of this residual is
A. 22. CORE, FUR2 2019 VCAA 2
B.
The parallel boxplots below show the maximum daily temperature and minimum daily temperature, in
C. degrees Celsius, for 30 days in November 2017.
D.
E.

a. Use the information in the boxplots to complete the following sentences.

For November 2017

i. the interquartile range for the minimum daily temperature was °C (1 mark)

ii. the median value for maximum daily temperature was °C higher than the

median value for minimum daily temperature (1 mark)

the number of days on which the maximum daily temperature was less than the median value
iii. for

minimum daily temperature was (1 mark)

b. The temperature difference between the minimum daily temperature and the maximum daily
temperature in November 2017 at this location is approximately normally distributed with a mean
of 9.4 °C and a standard deviation of 3.2 °C.
Determine the number of days in November 2017 for which this temperature difference is expected
to be greater than 9.4 °C. (1 mark)
23. CORE, FUR2 2021 VCAA 1 c. In shot-put, athletes throw a heavy spherical ball (a shot) as far as they can.
Athlete number six, Jamilia, threw the shot 14.50 m.
In the sport of heptathlon, athletes compete in seven events. Calculate Jamilia's standardised score ( ).
Round your answer to one decimal place. (1 mark)
These events are the 100 m hurdles, high jump, shot-put, javelin, 200 m run, 800 m run and long
jump. d. In the qualifying competition, the heights jumped in the high jump are expected to be approximately
normally distributed.
Fifteen female athletes competed to qualify for the heptathlon at the Olympic Games.
Chara's jump in this competition would give her a standardised score of
Their results for three of the heptathlon events – high jump, shot-put and javelin – are shown in Use the 68–95–99.7% rule to calculate the percentage of athletes who would be expected to jump
Table 1. higher than Chara in the qualifying competition. (1 mark)

e. The boxplot below was constructed to show the distribution of high jump heights for all 15 athletes
in the qualifying competition.

Explain why the boxplot has no whisker at its upper end. (1 mark)

f. For the javelin qualifying competition (refer to Table 1), another boxplot is used to display the
distribution of athlete's results.
An athlete whose result is displayed as an outlier at the upper end of the plot is considered to be a
potential medal winner in the event.
What is the minimum distance that an athlete needs to throw the javelin to be considered a
potential medal winner? (2 marks)

a. Write down the number of numerical variables in Table 1. (1 mark)

b. Complete Table 2 below by calculating the mean height jumped for the high jump, in metres, by the
15 athletes. Write your answer in the space provided in the table. (1 mark)
24. CORE, FUR2 2012 VCAA 1 25. CORE, FUR2 2020 VCAA 2
The dot plot below displays the maximum daily temperature (in °C) recorded at a weather station on The neck size, in centimetres, of 250 men was recorded and displayed in the dot plot below.
each of the 30 days in November 2011.

a. From this dot plot, determine

i. the median maximum daily temperature, correct to the nearest degree (1 mark)

ii. the percentage of days on which the maximum temperature was less than 16 °C.
Write your answer, correct to one decimal place. (1 mark)

Records show that the minimum daily temperature for November at this weather station is
approximately normally distributed with a mean of 9.5 °C and a standard deviation of 2.25 °C.
b. Determine the percentage of days in November that are expected to have a minimum daily
temperature less than 14 °C at this weather station.
Write your answer, correct to one decimal place. (1 mark) a. Write down the modal neck size, in centimetres, for these 250 men. (1 mark)

b. Assume that this sample of 250 men has been drawn at random from a population of men whose
neck size is normally distributed with a mean of 38 cm and a standard deviation of 2.3 cm.
i. How many of these 250 men are expected to have a neck size that is more than three standard
deviations above or below the mean?
Round your answer to the nearest whole number. (1 mark)

ii. How many of these 250 men actually have a neck size that is more than three standard
deviations above or below the mean? (1 mark)
c. The five-number summary for this sample of neck sizes, in centimetres, is given below.

Use the five-number summary to construct a boxplot, showing any outliers if appropriate, on the
grid below. (2 marks)
26. CORE, FUR2 2006 VCAA 1
Table 1 shows the heights (in cm) of three groups of randomly chosen boys aged 18 months, 27
months and 36 months respectively.

a. Complete Table 2 by calculating the standard deviation of the heights of the 18-month-old boys.
Write your answer correct to one decimal place. (1 mark)

A 27-month-old boy has a height of 83.1 cm.

b. Calculate his standardised height ( score) relative to this sample of 27-month-old boys.
Write your answer correct to one decimal place. (1 mark)

The heights of the 36-month-old boys are normally distributed.

A 36-month-old boy has a standardised height of 2.
c. Approximately what percentage of 36-month-old boys will be shorter than this child? (1 mark)

Using the data from Table 1, boxplots have been constructed to display the distributions of heights
of 36-month-old and 27-month-old boys as shown below.
 27. CORE, FUR2 2017 VCAA 1
The number of eggs counted in a sample of 12 clusters of moth eggs is recorded in the table below.

Number of eggs 172 192 159 125 197 135 140 140 138 166 136 131

a. From the information given, determine

i. the range (1 mark)

ii. the percentage of clusters in this sample that contain more than 170 eggs. (1 mark)

In a large population of moths, the number of eggs per cluster is approximately normally distributed
with a mean of 165 eggs and a standard deviation of 25 eggs.
b. Using the 68–95–99.7% rule, determine
i. the percentage of clusters expected to contain more than 140 eggs (1 mark)

ii. the number of clusters expected to have less than 215 eggs in a sample of 1000 clusters. (1
mark)

c. The standardised number of eggs in one cluster is given by

Determine the actual number of eggs in this cluster. (1 mark)
d. Complete the display by constructing and drawing a boxplot that shows the distribution of heights
for the 18-month-old boys. (2 marks)
e. Use the appropriate boxplot to determine the median height (in centimetres) of the 27-month-old
boys. (1 mark)
The three parallel boxplots suggest that height and age (18 months, 27 months, 36 months) are
positively related.
f. Explain why, giving reference to an appropriate statistic. (1 mark)
28. CORE, FUR2 2013 VCAA 3 29. CORE, FUR2 2014 VCAA 4
The development index and the average pay rate for workers, in dollars per hour, for a selection of 25 The scatterplot below shows the population density, in people per square kilometre, and the area, in
countries are displayed in the scatterplot below. square kilometres, of 38 inner suburbs of the same city.

The table below contains the values of some statistics that have been calculated for this data.

For this scatterplot,

a. Describe the association between the variables population density and area for these suburbs in
terms of strength, direction and form. (1 mark)
b. The mean and standard deviation of the variables population density and area for these 38 inner
suburbs are shown in the table below.

a. Determine the standardised value of the development index ( score) for a country with
a development index of 91.
Write your answer, correct to one decimal place. (1 mark)
b. Use the information in the table to show that the equation of the least squares regression line for a
country’s development index, , in terms of its average pay rate, , is given by

(2 marks)
i. One of these suburbs has a population density of 3082 people per square kilometre.
c. The country with an average pay rate of $14.30 per hour has a development index of 83. Determine the standard -score of this suburb’s population density.
Determine the residual value when the least squares regression line given in part (b) is used Write your answer, correct to one decimal place. (1 mark)
to predict this country’s development index.
Assume the areas of these inner suburbs are approximately normally distributed.
Write your answer, correct to one decimal place. (2 marks)
ii. How many of these 38 suburbs are expected to have an area that is two
standard deviations or more above the mean?
Write your answer, correct to the nearest whole number. (1 mark)
 iii. How many of these 38 inner suburbs actually have an area that is two Worked Solutions
standard deviations or more above the mean? (1 mark)

VCE Mathematics examination questions reproduced by permission, VCAA. VCE is a registered trademark of the VCAA. The VCAA does not
1. CORE, FUR1 2013 VCAA 5-6 MC
endorse or make any warranties regarding this study resource. Current and past VCE exams and related content can be accessed directly at
www.vcaa.vic.edu.au.
2. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 2 MC 4. CORE, FUR1 2011 VCAA 9-10 MC

3. CORE, FUR1 2010 VCAA 5-6 MC

5. CORE, FUR1 2018 VCAA 3-5 MC 6. CORE, FUR1 2006 VCAA 4 MC

7. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 3 MC

8. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 4 MC

9. CORE, FUR1 2009 VCAA 7 MC 11. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 4-5 MC

10. CORE, FUR1 2012 VCAA 4 MC

12. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 4-5 MC 13. CORE, FUR1 2019 VCAA 6 MC

14. CORE, FUR1 2019 VCAA 7 MC

15. CORE, FUR1 2020 VCAA 8 MC

-2 z-score
16. CORE, FUR1 2020 VCAA 9 MC 18. CORE, FUR1 2021 VCAA 9 MC

17. CORE, FUR1 2021 VCAA 7-8 MC

19. CORE, FUR1-NHT 2019 VCAA 5-7 MC 20. CORE, FUR1 2008 VCAA 6-7 MC

♦ Mean mark 44%.

MARKERS’ COMMENT: Two
applications of the 68-95-99.7%
rule are required. A good strategy
is to first draw a normal curve and
shade the required areas.
21. CORE, FUR1 2017 VCAA 8-10 MC 22. CORE, FUR2 2019 VCAA 2

a.i.

a.ii.

a.iii.

b.
23. CORE, FUR2 2021 VCAA 1 24. CORE, FUR2 2012 VCAA 1
a. a.i.
.

b.
a.ii.

c.

b.

d.

e.

f.
25. CORE, FUR2 2020 VCAA 2 26. CORE, FUR2 2006 VCAA 1
a. a.

b.i. ♦ Mean mark part b.i. 40%.

b.

b.ii. ♦ Mean mark part b.ii. 42%.

c.
♦♦ MARKER’S
COMMENT: Attention required
here as this standard question was
“very poorly answered”.

c.

d.

e.

MARKER’S COMMENT: A boxplot

statistic was required, so mean
f. values were not relevant.
27. CORE, FUR2 2017 VCAA 1 28. CORE, FUR2 2013 VCAA 3

a.i. MARKER’S COMMENT: Many

a.
students made a careless error by
using the Average pay rate ( -
variable).

a.ii.

b. ♦ Parts (b) and (c) had a combined

mean mark of 48%.

b.i.

68%
16% 16%
−1 1 z -scor

b.ii. c.

2.5% 2.5%
95%

−2 2 z -scor

c.
 29. CORE, FUR2 2014 VCAA 4

a. ♦♦ Mean mark 30%.

MARKER’S COMMENT: The most
common error was to describe the
association as positive.

b.i

b.ii.

b.iii.

♦♦ Very few students answered this

² part correctly.

Copyright © 2016-2023 M2 Mathematics Pty Ltd (SmarterMaths.com.au)

Show annotation
toolbar