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Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Maths: Your notes

Extended
Averages & Range
Contents
Discrete & Continuous Data
Mean, Median & Mode
Calculations with the Mean
Averages from Tables
Averages from Grouped Data
Range & Interquartile Range
Comparing Data Sets

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Discrete & Continuous Data

Your notes
Discrete & Continuous Data
What is discrete and continuous data?
Numerical data (quantitative data) can be either continuous or discrete
Continuous data can take any numerical value on a scale
e.g. height, length, weight, mass
For continuous data the measurements can become more and more accurate the more you 'zoom
in'
Discrete data can only take particular numerical values on a scale
Often these are integers
e.g. numbers of people or objects
But they don't have to be integers
e.g. shoe sizes, which include 'half sizes'

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Do you need some sort of scale to measure it? If so, it's likely to be continuous data.

Worked Example
State whether the data in the following examples is discrete or continuous.
(a) The weights of dogs participating in a dog show.
Weight can take any value, so it is continuous
Continuous
(b) The lengths of leaves taken from a particular tree.
Length can take any value, so it is continuous

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Continuous
(c) The number of computers owned by each household in a particular city. Your notes
Only integer (i.e. whole number) values are possible, so it is discrete
Discrete
(d) The time taken, to the nearest hour, to complete a task by each person out of a group of people.
Although this is time, it wants it 'to the nearest hour', not measured continuously
Therefore only certain values are possible, so it is discrete
Discrete
(e) The time taken to swim 100 metres by each member of a swimming club.
Here there are no constraints placed on the measurement of time, therefore it could take any
value, so is continuous
Continuous

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Mean, Median & Mode

Your notes
Mean, Median & Mode
What is the mode?
The mode is the value that appears the most often
The mode of 1, 2, 2, 5, 6 is 2
There can be more than one mode
The modes of 1, 2, 2, 5, 5, 6 are 2 and 5
The mode can also be called the modal value

What is the median?

The median is the middle value when you put values in size order
The median of 4, 2, 3 can be found by
ordering the numbers: 2, 3, 4
and choosing the middle value, 3
If you have an even number of values, find the midpoint of the middle two values
The median of 1, 2, 3, 4 is 2.5
2.5 is the midpoint of 2 and 3
The midpoint is the sum of the two middle values divided by 2

What is the mean?

The mean is the sum of the values divided by the number of values
The mean of 1, 2, 6 is (1 + 2 + 6) ÷ 3 = 3
The mean can be fraction or a decimal
It may need rounding
You do not need to force it to be a whole number
You can have a mean of 7.5 people, for example!

How do I know when to use the mode, median or mean?

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The mode, median and mean are different ways to measure an average
In certain situations it is better to use one average over another Your notes
For example:
If the data has extreme values (outliers) like 1, 1, 4, 50
The mode is 1
The median is 2.5
The mean is 14
Don't use the mean (it's badly affected by extreme values)
If the data has more than one mode
Don't use the mode as it is not clear
If the data is non-numerical, like dog, cat, cat, fish
You can only use the mode

Worked Example
15 students were timed to see how long it took them to solve a mathematical problem. Their times, in
seconds, are given below.

12 10 15 14 17

11 12 13 9 21

14 20 19 16 23

(a) Find the mean time, giving your answer to 3 significant figures.
Add up all the numbers (you can add the rows if it helps)
12 + 10 + 15 + 14 + 17 = 68
11 + 12 + 13 + 9 + 21 = 66
14 + 20 + 19 + 16 + 23 = 92
Total = 68 + 66 + 92 = 226
Divide the total by the number of values (there are 15 values)

226
= 15. 066 666 . . .
15
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Write the mean to 3 significant figures

Remember to include the units
Your notes
The mean time is 15.1 seconds (to 3 s.f.)
(b) Find the median time.
Write the times in order and find the middle value

9 10 11 12 12 13 14 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 23
The median time is 14 seconds
(c) Explain why the median is a better measure of average time than the mode.
Try to find the mode (the number that occurs the most)
There are two modes: 12 and 14
Explain why the median is better
There is no clear mode (there are two modes, 12 and 14), so the median is better
(d) If a 16th student has a time of 95 seconds, explain why the median of all 16 students would be a
better measure of average time than the mean.
The16th value of 95 is extreme (very high) compared to the other values
Means are affected by extreme values
The mean will be affected by the extreme value of 95 whereas the median will not

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Calculations with the Mean

Your notes
Calculations with the Mean
How do I solve harder problems involving the mean?
Remember what the mean is
Mean = total of values ÷ number of values
It is a formula involving three quantities
if you know any two, you can find the other one
A question may require you to work backwards from a known mean
It helps to rearrange the formula
Total of values = mean × number of values
Find the total of the values before and after to help with question that involve:
missing values
adding in, or taking out, a value

Examiner Tips and Tricks

It helps to start thinking of the mean as a formula which you can rearrange
Total of values = mean × number of values

Worked Example
A class of 24 students has a mean height of 1.56 metres.
A new student joins the class.
The mean height of the class is now 1.57 metres.
Find the height of the new student.
Rearrange the formula for mean to get 'total of heights = mean height × number of students'
Find the total of heights before
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Total of heights before = 1.56 × 24 = 37.44

Find the total of heights after Your notes
Remember there are now 25 students
Total of heights after = 1.57 × 25 = 39.25
The height of the new student is the difference of the two totals above
39.25 - 37.44 = 1.81
The height of the new student is 1.81 metres

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Averages from Tables

Your notes
Averages from Tables & Charts
What are frequency tables?
Frequency tables are used to summarise data in a neat format
They also put the data in order
For example, the table below shows the number of pets in different houses along a street
The number of pets is the data value, x
The number of houses is the frequency, f
The frequency is how many times a data value is recorded (or seen)
The total frequency, n, can be calculated by adding together all the values in the frequency column

Number of pets Number of houses

(data value, x) (frequency, f)

0 2

1 7

2 6

3 4

4 1

Total frequency (n) = 20

How do I find the mode from a frequency table?

The mode is the data value with the highest frequency
The mode for the example above is 1 pet per house
The mode is not the frequency, 7, this is the number of houses that have exactly 1 pet

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How do I find the median from a frequency table?

The median is the data value in the middle of the frequency Your notes

⎛ n +1 ⎞⎟ th
It is the ⎜⎜ ⎟ value, where n is the total frequency
⎝ 2 ⎠
⎛ 20 + 1 ⎞⎟ th
From above, n = 20 so the median is the ⎜⎜ ⎟ = 10.5th value in the table
⎝ 2 ⎠
The first two rows have a combined (cumulative) frequency of 2 + 7 = 9
The first three rows have a combined frequency of 2 + 7 + 6 = 15
Therefore the 10th and 11th values are in the third row (x = 2)
The median is 2 pets per house

How do I find the mean from a frequency table?

The mean from a frequency table has the following formula:

total of 'data value × frequency'

mean =
total frequency
It helps to create a new column of 'data value × frequency'
Add up the values in this column
Divide by the total frequency

35
The mean is = 1.75 pets per house
20
Means do not need to be whole numbers

Number of pets Number of houses data value × frequency

(data value, x) (frequency, f) (xf)

0 2 0×2=0

1 7 1×7=7

2 6 2 × 6 = 12

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3 4 3 × 4 = 12
Your notes
4 1 4×1=4

Total = 20 Total = 35

How do I find the range from frequency tables?

The range is the difference of the largest and smallest data values
The range above is 4 - 0 = 4
The range is not the difference of the largest and smallest frequencies

What else should I know about frequency tables?

Tables can be converted back into a list of data values using their frequencies
From above, 0 pets were recorded twice, 1 pet was recorded 7 times, 2 pets were recorded 6
times, etc
The list of pets recorded is 0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,2,2,2,2,2,2,3,3,3,3,4
You could then find the mode, median and mean from this list of numbers

Worked Example
The table shows data for the shoe sizes of pupils in class 11A.

Shoe size Frequency

6 1

6.5 1

7 3

7.5 2

8 4

9 6

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10 11

11 2 Your notes

12 1

(a) Find the mean shoe size for the class, giving your answer to 3 significant figures.
It helps to label shoe size (x) and frequency (f)
Add an extra column and calculate the values of 'shoe size × frequency', (xf)
Find the total frequency and total xf value

Shoe size (x) Frequency (f) xf

6 1 6×1=6

6.5 1 6.5 × 1 = 6.5

7 3 7 × 3 = 21

7.5 2 7.5 × 2 = 15

8 4 8 × 4 = 32

9 6 9 × 6 = 54

10 11 10 × 11 = 110

11 2 11 × 2 = 22

12 1 12 × 1 = 12

Total = 31 Total = 278.5

Use the formula that the mean is the total of the xf column divided by the total frequency

278 . 5
Mean = = 8 . 983 870 . . .
31
Give your final answer to 3 significant figures
The mean shoe size is 8.98 (to 3 s.f.)
Note that the mean does not have to be an actual shoe size
(b) Find the median shoe size.

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⎛ n +1 ⎞⎟ th
The median is the ⎜⎜ ⎟ value where n is the total frequency
⎝ 2 ⎠ Your notes
n + 1 31 + 1 32
= = = 16
2 2 2
The median is the 16th value
There are 1 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 4 = 11 values in the first five rows of the table
There are 11 + 6 = 17 values in the first six rows of the table
Therefore the 16th value must be in the sixth row
The median shoe size is 9
(c) Find the range of the shoe sizes.
The range is the highest shoe size subtract the lowest show size
12 - 6
The range of the shoe sizes is 6

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Averages from Grouped Data

Your notes
Averages from Grouped Data
What is grouped data?
Data can be collected into groups or class intervals
It is useful for organising data if you have a lot of individual data points
You can present grouped data in a grouped frequency table
Grouped data may be discrete or continuous
Discrete data is numerical data that can only take on specific values, it needs to be counted
E.g. Shoe size
Continuous data can take any value within a range of infinite values, it needs to be measured
E.g. Length of a foot in cm

Why do I find an estimate for the mean from grouped data?

It is impossible to find the mean for grouped data, because we don't have access to the original data
values
i.e. there is no way to find the exact sum of all the data values

sum of values
so we can't use the formula, mean =
number of values
However we can estimate the mean for grouped data
To do this we use the class midpoints as our data values
e.g. if a class interval is 150 ≤ x < 160
we assume that all the data values are equal to the midpoint, 155

Examiner Tips and Tricks

When presented with data in a table it may not be obvious whether the data is grouped or not

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When you see the phrase “estimate the mean” you know that you are in the world of
grouped data!
Your notes
How do I find an estimate for the mean from grouped data?
To find an estimate for the mean from grouped data, complete the following steps:
STEP 1
Draw an extra two columns on the end of a table of the grouped data
In the first new column write down the midpoint of each class interval
If the midpoint isn't obvious, add the endpoints and divide by 2
e.g. if a class interval is 150 ≤ x < 160

150 + 160 310

the midpoint is = = 155
2 2
STEP 2
Calculate "frequency" × "midpoint" (this is often called fx)
Write these values in the second column you added to the table
STEP 3
Find the total for the fx column
If the question does not tell you the total number of data values (i.e. the total frequency), find the
total of the frequency column also
STEP 4
Estimate the mean by using the formula

total of ( midpoints × frequencies)

estimated mean =
total frequency
i.e. divide the total of the fx column by the total number of data values

How do I find the modal class?

For grouped data we talk about the modal class instead of the mode
This is the class with the highest frequency
Find the highest frequency in the table
The corresponding class interval tells you the modal class

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How do I find the class interval that the median lies in?
n +1 Your notes
Find the position of the median using , where n is the number of data values (total of the
2
frequency column)

⎛ n +1 ⎞⎟ th
Use the table to deduce the class interval containing the ⎜⎜ ⎟ value
⎝ 2 ⎠
e.g. if the median is the 7th value and the frequency of the first two class intervals are 4 and 7
the median will lie in the second class interval of the table
Note that rather than 'the median' we refer to the 'class interval containing the median'

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Be careful not to confuse the modal class with its frequency
e.g. if the highest frequency in the table is 34, corresponding to the class interval
40 ≤ x < 50
then the modal class is 40 ≤ x < 50 , not '34'!
This also applies to the interval containing the median

Worked Example
The weights of 20 three-week-old Labrador puppies were recorded at a vet's clinic. The results are
shown in the table below.

Weight, w kg Frequency

3 ≤ w < 3.5 2

3.5 ≤ w < 4 4

4 ≤ w < 4.5 6

4.5 ≤ w < 5 5

5 ≤ w < 5.5 2

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5.5 ≤ w < 6 1
Your notes
(a) Estimate the mean weight of these puppies.
First add two columns to the table
Complete the first new column with the midpoints of the class intervals
Complete the second extra column by calculating "fx"
A total row is also useful

Weight, w kg Frequency Midpoint "fx"

3 ≤ w < 3.5 2 3.25 2 × 3.25 = 6.5

3.5 ≤ w < 4 4 3.75 4 × 3.75 = 15

4 ≤ w < 4.5 6 4.25 6 × 4.25 = 25.5

4.5 ≤ w < 5 5 4.75 5 × 4.75 = 23.75

5 ≤ w < 5.5 2 5.25 2 × 5.5 = 10.5

5.5 ≤ w < 6 1 5.75 1 × 5.75 = 5.75

Total 20 87

Now we can find the mean using

total of ( midpoints × frequencies)

estimated mean =
total frequency
87
estimated mean = = 4 . 35
20
4.35 kg
(b) Write down the modal class.
The highest frequency in the table is 6
This corresponds to the interval 4 ≤ w < 4.5
4 ≤ w < 4.5
A common error here would be to write down 6
(the frequency) as the modal class
(c) Find the interval that contains the median.

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There are 20 dogs

The median interval will be the interval containing the 10.5th dog
Keep a running total Your notes

Weight, w kg Frequency Running Total

3 ≤ w < 3.5 3 3

3.5 ≤ w < 4 4 3+4=7

4 ≤ w < 4.5 6 7 + 6 = 13

4.5 ≤ w < 5 5 13 + 5 = 18

5≤w<6 2 18 + 2 = 20

The 10.5th dog is in the third interval

The median is in the interval 4 ≤ w < 4.5

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Range & Interquartile Range

Your notes
Range & IQR
What is the range?
The range is the difference between the highest value and the lowest value
range = highest - lowest
For example, the range of 1, 2, 5, 8 is 8 - 1 = 7
It measures how spread out the data is
Ranges of different data sets can be compared to see which is more spread out
The range of a data set can be affected by very large or small values
Be careful with negatives
The range of -2, -1, 0, 4 is 4 - (-2) = 6

How do I know when to use the range?

The range is a simple measure of how spread out the data is
The range does not measure an average value
It should not be used if there are any extreme values (outliers)
For example, the range of 1, 2, 5, 80 is 80 - 1 = 79
This is not a good measure of spread
The range is affected by extreme values

What are quartiles?

The median splits the data set into two parts
Half the data is less than the median
Half the data is greater than the median
Quartiles split the data set into four parts
The lower quartile (LQ) lies a quarter of the way along the data (when in order)
One quarter (25%) of the data is less than the LQ

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Three quarters (75%) of the data is greater than the LQ

The upper quartile (UQ) lies three quarters of the way along the data (when in order)
Your notes
Three quarters (75%) of the data is less than the UQ
One quarter (25%) of the data is greater than the UQ
You may come across the median being referred to as the second quartile
How do I find the quartiles?
Make sure the data is written in numerical order
Use the median to divide the data set into lower and upper halves
If there are an even number of data values, then
the first half of those values are the lower half,
and the second half are the upper half
All of the data values are included in one or other of the two halves
If there are an odd number of data values, then
all the values below the median are the lower half
and all the values above the median are the upper half
The median itself is not included as a part of either half
The lower quartile is the median of the lower half of the data set
and the upper quartile is the median of the upper half of the data set
Find the quartiles in the same way you would usually find the median
just restrict your attention to the relevant half of the data

What is the interquartile range (IQR)?

The interquartile range (IQR) is the difference between the upper quartile (UQ) and the lower quartile
(LQ)
Interquartile range (IQR) = upper quartile (UQ) - lower quartile (LQ)
The IQR measures how spread out the middle 50% of the data is
The IQR is not affected by extreme values in the data

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Examiner Tips and Tricks

If asked to find the range in an exam, make sure you show your subtraction clearly (don't just Your notes
write down the answer)

Worked Example
Find the range of the data in the table below.

3.4 4.2 2.8 3.6 9.2 3.1 2.9 3.4 3.2

3.5 3.7 3.6 3.2 3.1 2.9 4.1 3.6 3.8

3.4 3.2 4.0 3.7 3.6 2.8 3.9 3.1 3.0

Range = highest value - lowest value

9.2 - 2.8
The range is 6.4

Worked Example
A naturalist studying crocodiles has recorded the numbers of eggs found in a random selection of
20 crocodile nests
31 32 35 35 36 37 39 40 42 45
46 48 49 50 51 51 53 54 57 60
Find the lower and upper quartiles for this data set.
There are 20 data values (an even number)
So the lower half will be the first 10 values
The lower quartile is the median of that lower half of the data
31 32 35 35 36 37 39 40 42 45
So the lower quartile is midway between 36 and 37 (i.e. 36.5)
Do the same thing with the upper half of the data to find the upper quartile
The upper quartile is the median of the upper half of the data

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46 48 49 50 51 51 53 54 57 60
So the upper quartile is midway between 51 and 51 (i.e. 51) Your notes
Lower quartile = 36.5
Upper quartile = 51

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Comparing Data Sets

Your notes
Comparing Distributions
How do I compare two data sets?
You may be given two sets of data that relate to a context
To compare data sets, you need to
compare their averages
Mode, median or mean
compare their spreads
Range

How do I write a conclusion when comparing two data sets?

When comparing averages and spreads, you need to
compare numbers
describe what this means in real life
Copy the exact wording from the question in your answer
There should be four parts to your conclusion
For example:
"The median score of class A (45) is higher than the median score of class B (32)."
"This means class A performed better than class B in the test."
"The range of class A (5) is lower than the range of class B (12)."
"This means the scores in class A were less spread out than scores in class B."
Other good phrases for lower ranges include:
"scores are closer together"
"scores are more consistent"
there is less variation in the scores"

What restrictions are there when drawing conclusions?

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The data set may be too small to be truly representative

Measuring the heights of only 5 pupils in a whole school is not enough to talk about averages and Your notes
spreads
The data set may be biased
Measuring the heights of just the older year groups in a school will make the average appear too
high
The conclusions might be influenced by who is presenting them
A politician might choose to compare a different type of average if it helps to strengthen their
argument!

What else could I be asked?

You may need to choose which, out of mode, median and mean, to compare
Check for extreme values (outliers) in the data
Avoid using the mean as it is affected by extreme values
You may need to think from the point of view of another person
A teacher might not want a large spread of marks
It might show that they haven't taught the topic very well!
An examiner might want a large spread of marks
It makes it clearer when assigning grade boundaries, A, B, C, D, E, ...

Examiner Tips and Tricks

When comparing data sets in the exam, half the marks are for comparing the numbers and the other
half are for saying what this means in real life.

Worked Example
Julie collects data showing the distances travelled by snails and slugs during a ten-minute interval.
She records a summary of her findings, as shown in the table below.

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Median Range

Snails 7.1 cm 3.1 cm Your notes

Slugs 9.7 cm 4.5 cm

Compare the distances travelled by snails and slugs during the ten-minute interval.
Compare the numerical values of the median (an average)
Describe what this means in real life
Slugs have a higher median than snails (9.7 cm > 7.1 cm)
This suggests that, on average, slugs travel further than snails
Compare the numerical values of the range (the spread)
Describe what this means in real life
Snails have a lower range than slugs (3.1 cm < 4.5 cm)
This suggests that there is less variation in the distances travelled by snails

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