PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS I

BMA 11O4
CAT 1
INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt all questions
TOTAL MARKS : This CAT constitutes half of your overall CAT marks, so it will be converted to a
score out of 15.
SUBMMISSION: The CAT submission must be handwritten, and you are required to scan your work
and submit it as a single PDF file. Ensure that your registration number and name are clearly
written on the first page of your submission.
1. Given a set of data: 12, 19, 18, 13, 15
i. Calculate the arithmetic mean. (2 marks)
ii. Calculate the geometric mean (2 marks)
iii. Calculate the harmonic mean. (2 marks)
iv. State the median. (1 mark)
v. Calculate the standard deviation. (3 marks)
2. Differentiate between discrete and continuous random variables. (2 marks)
3. Differentiate between descriptive and inferential statistics. (2 marks)
4. State three reasons why a researcher may prefer to study a sample instead of the whole population. (3
marks)
5. Using a clearly labeled diagram, show the position of the mode, mean, and median of a positively skewed
distribution. (2
marks
6. In a certain set of data, the following measures were found:
Minimum value = 13
Q1=15
Median = 18
Q3=22
Maximum value = 30
i. Construct a box plot to represent the above information.
(3 marks)
ii. Comment on the skewness of the data involved.
(1 mark)
7. State Chebyshev’s theorem. (3
marks)
8. Equity Bank Ltd is studying the number of times their automatic teller machine located at Tom Mboya
Street is used daily. The following is a list of the number of times the teller was used during the last 30
days:

83, 64, 84, 76, 54, 84, 75, 59, 70, 61,
63, 83, 84, 70, 68, 52, 65, 90, 52, 77,
95, 36, 78, 61, 59, 84, 95, 87, 47, 60

Construct a stem-and-leaf chart to represent the information above. (4 marks)

 9. The manager of a fast food restaurant is concerned that the customers are waiting for too long for their
food. She decides to gather some statistics on customer waiting times, and the following times (in minutes
are recorded).

1.25, 2.5, 8.5, 4.6, 10.5, 3.4, 3.7, 6.25, 7.7, 4.1, 5.15, 5.95, 7.35, 5.8,
2.9, 3.4, 6.6, 8.8, 2.7, 10.2, 4.5, 5.2, 4.1, 2.5, 3.8, 2.1, 5.5, 6.25, 4.3,
1.8, 3.7, 4.4, 6.2, 3.3, 7.2, 8.6, 3.45, 6.55, 2.85, 9.4, 4.25, 5.6, 11.9,
6.4, 4.8, 5.8, 2.5, 4.1, 8.1, 6.1

(a) Group this data into classes of 0 - 1.9, 2 - 3.9, etc. and construct a frequency table that also shows cumulative
frequencies. (4 marks)

(b) Construct a histogram for the data. (4 marks)

(c) Construct a less-than ogive for the data and answer the following questions:
i. How many customers have to wait for less than 4 minutes to be served? (2 marks)
ii. What percentage of customers has to wait for less than 5 minutes for their food? (2 marks)
iii. If the restaurant’s goal is for 90% of the customers to be served within 8 minutes, are they achieving this goal?
(2 marks)
iv. What is the mean waiting time? (2 marks)

9 A random sample of 51 people was asked to record the number of miles they traveled by car in a given
week. The distances to the nearest mile are shown below:

42, 93, 46, 52, 72, 77, 53, 41, 48, 86, 62, 54, 85, 60, 58, 43, 58, 43, 58, 74, 52, 82, 78, 86, 94, 63, 72, 63, 72, 44, 78,
56, 80, 44, 52, 74, 68, 82, 57, 47

i. Construct a stem-and-leaf diagram to represent these data. (4 marks)

ii. Find the median and the quartiles of this distribution. (4 marks)
iii. Draw a box plot to represent these data. (4 marks)
iv. Give one advantage of using:
1. A stem-and-leaf diagram. (2 marks)
2. A box plot. (2 marks)

10 At the end of a statistics course, Diana sits for two written papers, P1 and P2, and hands in a piece of
coursework. Her marks out of 100 were 76 for P1, 67 for P2, and she gained 81 marks for her
coursework. Her overall percentage is to be weighted so that the two written papers account for 40%
while the coursework accounts for 20%. Calculate Diana’s overall percentage mark.
(4 marks)
11 Given the set of data: 2, 3, 7, 4, 9. Calculate the sample standard deviation.
(4 marks)
12 The variation of incomes of executives is to be compared with the variation of incomes of unskilled
employees. For a sample of executives, the mean = KSh 500,000 and standard deviation = KSh 50,000.
For a sample of unskilled employees, the mean = KSh 12,000 and standard deviation = KSh 2,000. Is
the variation among the executives greater than the variation among the unskilled employees? Justify
your answer. (5 marks)
13 At the end of a statistics course, Diana sits for two written papers, P1 and P2, and hands in a piece of
coursework. Her marks out of 100 were 76 for P1, 67 for P2, and she gained 81 marks for her
coursework. Her overall percentage is to be weighted so that the two written papers account for 40%
while the coursework accounts for 20%. Calculate Diana’s overall percentage mark.
(4 marks)
 14 What is a discrete variable?
(2 marks)
15 Dispersion is a statistical name for spread or variability while skewness describes how non-symmetric
the data is. True or False?
(2 marks)
16 State three characteristics of the median as a measure of central tendency.
(3 marks)
17 A shopkeeper wanted to investigate whether or not there was a correlation between the prices of food
10 years ago in 1992, with their prices today. He chose 8 everyday items, and the prices are given in
the table below:

Item 1992 Price ($) 2002 Price ($)

Sugar 1.44 2.20

Milk 0.80 1.04

Eggs 2.16 2.64

Rolls 1.80 3.00

Tea Bags 0.92 1.32

Coffee 3.16 2.28

Potatoes 1.32 1.92

Flour 1.12 1.44

i. Calculate the mean and the standard deviation of the prices in 1992 and 2002. (4 marks)

ii. Given that sxy=0.3104, calculate the correlation coefficient and comment on the relationship between the prices. (4
marks)

iii. Find the equation of the line of best fit in the form y=mx+c. (3 marks)

iv. What would you expect to pay now for an item costing $2.60 in 1992? (1 mark)

v. Which item would you omit to increase the correlation coefficient? (2 marks)

(b) For a skewed distribution, the mean is 86, the median is 20, and the standard deviation is 5. Calculate Pearson’s
coefficient of skewness and sketch the curve. (2 marks)

(c) Briefly explain any two instances in which the knowledge of Business Statistics may be applied in making a
managerial decision. (4 marks)
 PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS I
BMA 11O4
CAT 2
INSTRUCTIONS: Attempt all questions
TOTAL MARKS: This CAT constitutes half of your overall CAT marks, so it will be converted to a
score out of 15.
SUBMMISSION: The CAT submission must be handwritten, and you are required to scan your work
and submit it as a single PDF file. Ensure that your registration number and name are clearly
written on the first page of your submission.

1. Using a well-labeled diagram, show the position of the mean, mode, and the median in a negatively skewed
distribution. (3 marks)
2. The weighted mean of the two numbers 30 and 15 is 20. If the weightings are 2 and x, find x. (3 marks)
3. State three reasons why a researcher may prefer to study a sample instead of the whole population. (3
marks)
4. State three properties of the normal distribution. (3 marks)
5. Given a set of data: 12, 19, 18,14, 17, 16
i. Calculate the arithmetic mean (2 marks)
ii. Calculate the geometric mean (2 marks)
iii. Calculate the harmonic mean (2 marks)
iv. State the median (1 mark)
v. Calculate the standard deviation. (3 marks)
6. A factory produces lightbulbs, and the probability that any one lightbulb is defective is 0.02. If a random
sample of 100 lightbulbs is selected, use the binomial distribution to find the probability that exactly 3
lightbulbs will be defective.
(3 Marks)
7. Indicate the level of measurement in each of the following:
i. Marital status of a group of senior citizens. (1 mark)
ii. Level of satisfaction with a meal at a family restaurant. (1 mark)
iii. Rank of officers in an army regiment. (1 mark)
iv. The weight of dog food. (1 mark)
v. Time spent in a park. (1 mark)

8. The following frequency distribution shows the daily milk deliveries for Maziwa Farmers' Union:

Amt of milk (ltrs) No. of farmers

6–10 5

10–14 8

14–18 12

18–22 10

22–26 8

26–30 2
Amt of milk (ltrs) No. of farmers

30–34 4

34–38 0

38–42 1

i. Construct a relative frequency histogram for this information. (4 marks)

ii. How many farmers delivered at least 22 liters of milk daily? (2 marks)
iii. What percent of farmers delivered less than 10 liters of milk daily? (2 marks)
iv. What proportion of farmers delivered less than 10 liters of milk daily? (2 marks)

9. Research was carried out to determine whether there is a relation between absenteeism and passing the exam.
The table below shows some results:

Number of days absent Pass Fail Total

Less than 4 days 135 110

Less than 7 days 36 4

Less than 45 days 9 6

i. Calculate the probability that a student selected at random:

i. Was absent for less than four days. (2 marks)
ii. Passed the exam. (2 marks)
iii. Was absent for less than seven days. (2 marks)
iv. Passed given that he/she was absent for less than four days. (2 marks)
v. Failed given that he/she was absent for less than seven days. (2 marks)

10. Differentiate between nominal and ordinal scales of measurement. (2

marks)

11. Given the set of data: 2, 3, 7, 4, 9

Calculate the sample standard deviation. (4 marks)

12. The variation of incomes of executives is to be compared with the variation of incomes of unskilled employees.
For a sample of executives, the mean = Ksh 500,000 and standard deviation = Ksh 50,000. For a sample of unskilled
employees, the mean = Ksh 12,000 and standard deviation = Ksh 2,000. Is the variation among the executives
greater than the variation among the unskilled employees? Justify your answer. (5 marks)

13. At the end of a statistics course, Diana sits for two written papers, P1 and P2, and hands in a piece of
coursework. Her marks out of 100 were 76 for P1, 67 for P2, and she gained 81 marks for her coursework. Her
overall percentage is to be weighted so that the two written papers account for 40% while the coursework accounts
for 20%. Calculate Diana’s overall percentage mark.
(4 marks)

14. What is a discrete variable? (2 marks)

15. Dispersion is a statistical name for spread or variability while skewness describes how non-symmetric the data
is. True or False? (2
marks)
16. State three characteristics of the median as a measure of central tendency. (3 marks)

17. Marks out of 100 for 100 students were tabulated as shown below:

Marks Frequency

11–20 4

21–30 16

31–40 27

41–50 32

51–60 15

61–70 4

71–80 2

i. Calculate the mean mark. (4 marks)

ii. Draw an ogive to represent the above data. (4 marks)
iii. Use the ogive to estimate the upper quartile and the lower quartile. (2 marks)
iv. Estimate from your ogive the minimum marks required to get grade A if only 5 students are to get grade A.
(2 marks)
v. How many students were to pass if the pass mark was set at 25 marks? (2 marks)

18. A group of students has measured the heights of 90 trees. The class calculated the mean height to be x̄ =12.4 m
with a standard deviation s=5.35 m. One student notices that two of the measurements, 44.5 m and 43.2 m, are much
too big and must be wrong.
i. How many standard deviations away from the mean of 12.4 is the value 44.5? (3 marks)
ii. The incorrect measurements of 44.5 m and 43.2 m must be removed from the data. Calculate the new value of x̄
after removing the two unwanted values. (3 marks)

19. The following data relates to daily bill on consumption of a certain commodity for 60 households:

Daily bills (KSh) No. of households

10–20 6

20–30 7

30–40 11

40–50 10

50–60 6

60–70 5

70–80 9

80–90 3

90–100 3

i. Calculate the mean. (4 marks)

ii. Calculate the median. (3 marks)
iii. Calculate the standard deviation. (3 marks)
iv. Calculate the coefficient of skewness. (4 marks)
v. Comment on the skewness of this distribution. (2 marks)
vi. Calculate the coefficient of variation. (4 marks)