ADU4231 – PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS

TUTORIAL 03 - ANSWER GUIDE

Q1) The following data shows the number of months patients typically wait on a transplant list
before getting surgery. The data are ordered from smallest to largest. Calculate the mean and
median.

3; 4; 5; 7; 7; 7; 7; 8; 8; 9; 9; 10; 10; 10; 10; 10; 11; 12; 12; 13; 14; 14; 15; 15; 17; 17; 18; 19; 19;
19; 21; 21; 22; 22; 23; 24; 23; 24; 24; 24; 24

∑𝑥
Mean = 𝑛

3+4+5+7×4+8×2+9×2+10×5+11+12×2+13+14×2+15×2+17×2+18+19×3+21×2+22×2+23×2+24×5
= 41

591
= = 14.41
41

(41+1) th
Median = position = 21st position = 14
2

Q2) The following frequency table gives the values obtained in 40 rolls of a die.

value Frequency
1 9
2 8
3 5
4 5
5 6
6 7

(a) the sample mean

Value Frequency fx
((x) (f)
1 9 9
2 8 16
3 5 15
4 5 20
5 6 30
6 7 42
∑ 𝑓 = 40 ∑ 𝑓 𝑥 = 132
 ∑ 𝑓𝑥 132
Mean = ∑𝑓
= = 3.3
40

b)

value Frequency Cumulative frequency

1 9 9
2 8 17
3 5 22 ←
4 5 27
5 6 33
6 7 40

20th value+21st value 3+3

the sample median = = =3
2 2

c) the sample mode = 1

Q3) The following frequency table shows the number of hours studied per week by 45 students.

Class interval (Hours studied) Frequency

0–5 05
5 - 10 08
10 - 15 15
15- 20 10
20 - 25 07

i) Calculate the sample mean number of hours studied per week.

Class interval (Hours Frequency Mid-point

studied) (x) fx
0–5 05 2.5 12.5
5 - 10 08 7.5 60
10 - 15 15 12.5 187.5
15- 20 10 17.5 175
20 - 25 07 22.5 157.5
∑ 𝑓 = 45 ∑ 𝑓 𝑥 = 592.5

592.5
Mean = = 13.17 hours
45
 ii) the sample median number of hours studied per week.

Class interval (Hours studied) Frequency C.F.

0–5 05 05
5 - 10 08 13
10 – 15 ← Median class 15 28
15- 20 10 38
20 - 25 07 45

𝑛+1
( −𝐹)
Median = L + ( 2
)×h
𝑓
L= lower boundary of median class = 10
n = 45
F= cumulative frequency before median class =13
f = frequency of median class = 15
h = class width = 5
46
( −13) 10
Median = 10 + ( 2
) × 5 = 10 + 15 × 5 = 10 + 3.33 = 13.33 hours
15

iii) the modal class = 10 – 15

(𝑓1−𝑓0)
Mode = L + ((𝑓1−𝑓0)+(𝑓1−𝑓2)) × h
L= 10 = lower boundary of modal class
f1= 15 = frequency of modal class
f0 = 8 = frequency of class before (5–10)
f2=10 = frequency of class after (15–20)
h = 5 = class width
(15−8) 7
Mode = 10 + ((15−8)+(15−10)) × 5 = 10 + 12 × 5 = 10 + 2.92 = 12 .92 hours

Q4) The incomes (in $1000) of 12 households are:

28, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 45, 110, 115, 120

Calculate the 10% trimmed mean and explain why the trimmed mean is a better measure of
central tendency here than the simple mean.
28+30+32+33+35+36+38+40+45 110+115+120 662
Simple mean = = = 55.17
12 12

10% trimmed mean = 12 × 10% = 1.2 → so we trim 1 observation from each end (lowest and
highest).
Remove Lowest: 28 & Highest: 120

Remaining data:
30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 45, 110, 115
30+32+33+35+36+38+40+45 110+115 514
Trimmed mean = = = 51.4
10 10

Why is the trimmed mean better here?

The original mean (55.17) is pulled upwards by the few very high incomes (110, 115, 120),
which are outliers relative to the rest. The trimmed mean reduces the effect of these outliers by
removing the extreme values, giving a better representation of the typical household income. So,
the trimmed mean is less influenced by extreme values and thus a better measure of central
tendency when the data contains outliers.

Q5) Following is the final exam marks of 20 students in a statistics course.

55, 86, 41, 23, 39, 12, 66, 58, 81, 73, 34, 69, 57, 47, 31, 62, 75, 71, 26, 53

Order the data from smallest to largest

12, 23, 26, 31, 34, 39, 41, 47, 53, 55, 57, 58, 62, 66, 69, 71, 73, 75, 81, 86

Total = 20 values

a) 20th percentile
𝑘
Pk = (100 ) × (n + 1) position

20 21
P20 = (100 ) × (20 + 1) = = 4.2 position
5
This means the 20th percentile lies between the 4th and 5th values in the ordered
data.
4th value = 31 & 5th value = 34
31+34
the average = = 32.5
2

b) 80th percentile
𝑘
Pk = (100 ) × (n + 1) position
80
Pk = (100 ) × (20 + 1) position = 16.8 position
This means the 80th percentile lies between the 16th and 17th values in the ordered
data.
16th value = 71 & 17th value = 73
 71+73
the average = = 72
2

Q6) Following the temperature (in ̊ c) data that was recorded over a 3 – week period in May.

M T W Th F S Su
18 20 23 23 19 18 15
16 21 24 28 28 21 20
22 17 18 22 26 30 29

15, 16, 17, 18, 18, 18, 19, 20, 20, 21, 21, 22, 22, 23, 23, 24, 26, 28, 28, 29, 30

a) first quartile
25 22
Q1=P25=100×(n+1) = = 5. 5 position
4
This means the first quartile lies between the 5th and 6th values in the ordered data.
5th value = 18 & 6th value = 18
18+18
the average = = 18
2

b) median = second quartile

50 22
Q2 = P50 = 100×(n+1) = = 11 position
2

c) third quartile
75 66
Q3=P75=100×(n+1) = = 16. 5 position
4
This means the third quartile lies between the 16th and 17th values in the ordered data.
16th value = 24 & 17th value = 26
24+26
the average = = 25
2

Q7) eighty randomly selected light bulbs were tested to determine their lifetimes (in hours).

The following frequency distribution was obtained. Find Q1 & Q3.

Classes limits Class boundaries Classes Frequency Cumulative

Frequency
54 – 63 53.5 – 63.5 06 06
64 – 73 63.5 – 73.5 12 18
74 - 83 73.5 – 83.5 25 43
84 - 93 83.5 – 93.5 18 61
94 - 103 93.5 – 103.5 14 75
104 - 113 103.5 – 113.5 05 80
 𝑛 80
Q1 position = 4 = = 20
4

The 20th value lies in the 74–83 class (since cf = 18 before it, and 43 after it)

𝑖×𝑛 𝑤
Q1 (First Quartile) = L + ( − 𝑐𝑓)×
4 𝑓

L- lower boundary of the class containing Q1

w- class width
i - quartile
f - frequency of the class containing Q1.
n -Total number of observations
c.f- cumulative frequency of the class preceding the class containing Q1.

1×80 10
Q1 (First Quartile) = 73.5 + ( − 18)× 25 = 73.5 + 0.8 = 74.3
4

3×𝑛 3×80
Q3 position = = = 60
4 4
The 60th value lies in the 84–93 class (cf before is 43, next cf is 75)
3×𝑛 𝑤 3×80 10
Q3 (third Quartile) = L + ( − 𝑐𝑓)× = 83.5 + ( − 43)× 18 = 83.5 + 9.4
4 𝑓 4
= 92.9