MEP: Demonstration Project Y9A, Unit 8

UNIT 8 Statistical Diagrams Activities

Activities

8.1 Shortest Journey

8.2 Estimation of Mean Distances
8.3 Correlation
8.4 Football Results
8.5 Stretching Springs
Notes and Solutions (2 pages)

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MEP: Demonstration Project Y9A, Unit 8

ACTIVITY 8.1 Shortest Journey

A car parts supplier is based in Brighton. One day a driver has to deliver parts to:
Bristol
Oxford
Taunton
Exeter
Southampton

1. Use the table shown to determine the shortest route if:

(a) he must return to Brighton at the end of the day,
(b) he can finish his jouney at any of the places he must visit.
N
TO
H
IG

L
BR

TO

E
G
IS

ID

169
BR

BR
M

120 171
CA

ER
V

82 206 124
O

ER
D

ET

175 84 251 244 Distances in miles

N
EX

O
D
N

59 120 60 77 200
LO

IC
RW

169 233 63 173 313 116

O

RD
N

TH
FO

N
U

109 74 81 146 154 56 144

X

PT
O

M
Y

218 125 292 287 44 241 353 195

PL

TH
U

66 77 131 152 109 80 193 66 152

SO

TO
N
U

160 51 218 224 34 167 280 121 75 93

TA

2. On another day the driver has to make deliveries in:

Dover
Southampton
Norwich
Cambridge
Oxford
again starting from Brighton.
Answer the previous questions for this day's visits.

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MEP: Demonstration Project Y9A, Unit 8

ACTIVITY 8.2 Estimation of Mean Distances

A small primary school needs to develop a new policy for funding contributions to pupils'
travel costs to school. At the moment, only pupils who live more than 3 miles from the
school 'as the crow flies' are given free transport, funded by the local council.
To estimate the mean distances travelled by all the pupils, the Head Teacher has pinpointed
on a map the home of each of the pupils. This is shown below.

School
Pupil

Scale: 2 cm to 1 mile

1. By first drawing concentric circles of radius

2 cm, 4 cm and 6 cm, with the school as Distance from School No. of Pupils
centre, use the data from the map to Less than 1 mile
complete a copy of the table opposite. Between 1 and 2 miles
Between 2 and 3 miles
2. Estimate the average distance from school
of all pupils, except those who live more More than 3 miles
than 3 miles away.

3. Estimate the weekly cost of a transport subsidy which pays:

• nothing to pupils who live less than 1 mile from school;
• at the rate of £2 per mile per week to pupils who live between 1 mile and
3 miles from the school.

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MEP: Demonstration Project Y9A, Unit 8

ACTIVITY 8.3 Correlation

The bodies of most people are in proportion. If you are particularly tall, then you will
probably also have long arms and legs and large hands, etc. The purpose of this activity is
to attempt to see how clear-cut these relationships are.

We say that two variables have positive correlation if they increase in proportion.
Different types of correlation are sketched below in scatter diagrams.

y y y y y

x x x x x
Strong negative Weak negative No Weak positive Strong positive
correlation correlation correlation correlation correlation

1. For your class members, or a group of 20 to 30 people, find out their

(i) height (ii) feet size (iii) arm length
(iv) hand size (v) waist size (v) circumference of head.

2. (a) Taking the y variable as height and x as one of the other variables, draw
scatter diagrams for each x variable.
(b) Determine the type of correlation in each case.

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MEP: Demonstration Project Y9A, Unit 8

ACTIVITY 8.4 Football Results

The table below gives the complete set of football Premier League results for Saturday/
Sunday 9/10 December 2000.

Home Goals Away Goals

Team Scored Team Scored
Arsenal 5 Newcastle 0
Bradford City 3 Tottemham 3
Charlton 3 Manchester United 3
Chelsea 4 Derby 1
Coventry 1 Leicester 0
Liverpool 0 Ipswich 1
Manchester City 5 Everton 0
Southampton 1 Leeds 0
Sunderland 1 Middlesbrough 0
West ham 1 Aston Villa 1

Plot the number of goals scored by each team on a scatter diagram, using
x-axis – home team score
y-axis – away team score

1. Describe the type of correlation produced by this scatter plot.

2. Repeat the exercise with a more recent set of results.
Does this show the same type of correlation?
For the next problem you will need a summary of the football results for a complete year
(see a football annual or the internet address http://www.soccernet.com).
3. (a) For last year's Premiership League champions, construct a scatter plot, using,
for each of their matches,
x – winning team's score
y – opponent' score
What type of correlation is observed?
(b) What type of correlation would you expect to find if you were to undertake the
same exercise with the club at the bottom of the league?
Check your predictions by constructing the scatter plot.

Extension
Draw scatter plots for the first 10 clubs in the league table for the year, against factors such as
(a) transfer money spent on the team,
(b) number of foreign players on the team,
(c) length of service of current manager, etc.
For each scatter plot, predict the type of correlation and then check your prediction.

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MEP: Demonstration Project Y9A, Unit 8

ACTIVITY 8.5 Stretching Springs

You will need a spring, a stand and a selection of masses.

1. Complete a table like the one below:

Mass (grams) Length of Spring (cm)

2. Plot the data on a scatter diagram, using at least 10 points.

3. Draw a line of best fit.

4. Determine the equation of the line of best fit.

Extension
Use your equation to predict the length of the spring for other masses. Test your
predictions by actually using the spring to find the values observed.

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