L6

Grade: 3
Progression: Medium
Comparing Two Sets of Data
ANSWERS
1) Jenna has been conducting a survey to find out how many hours of TV pupils watch. Jenna
asked a random sample of fifteen Year 7 pupils and fifteen Year 13 pupils how many hours
they spend watching TV each day. The results are shown in the bar charts below.
Year 7 Year 13
Time4 Time4
(hou (hou
rs) 3 rs) 3

2 2

1 1

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Number of people Number of people
a. Find the mean and range for Year 7 pupils. mean: 1.93 hours range: 3 hours
b. Find the mean and range for Year 13 pupils. mean: 1.03 hours range: 2.5 hours
c. Briefly comment on how the two sets of data compare.
Year 7 watch more TV on average each day, although wider spread of results.
2) Here are two sets of data for the actual weights of a sample of two different brands that sell
2 litre drinks. Which brand would you rather buy and why?
Wavey Juice (Litres) Fruity Sip (Litres)
1.99 1.97
2.03 2.00
2.02 2.01
2.04 2.08
1.98 1.96
mean: 2.012 median: 2.02 range: 0.06 mean: 2.004 median: 2.00 range: 0.12
Wavey Juice get more on average, could end up with a lot less with Fruity Sip due to larger range.
3) Use the mode and median to compare the amount of time spent browsing the internet each
day by thirty men and women.
Time
(to the nearest minute)
0-9 10 - 19 20 - 39 40 - 59 60 - 89 90 - 120

Number of women 1 0 5 8 12 4
Number of men 0 1 3 7 9 10
Women mode: 60 - 89 minutes median: 60 - 89 minutes
Men mode: 90 - 120 minutes median: 60 - 89 minutes
More men spend longer browsing the internet. Same median ignores extremes.
4) The time it took for two runners to complete ten 400 metre laps are shown below.
Which is the better runner and why?
Runner A 69.1 68.0 63.1 65.9 67.2 74.7 65.2 66.3 64.4 70.1
Runner B 67.1 66.5 68.7 66.3 69.2 65.8 64.0 67.9 66.1 65.2
Runner A median: 66.75 secs mean: 67.4 secs range: 11.6 secs
Runner B median: 66.4 secs mean: 66.68 secs range: 5.2 secs

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www.cazoommaths.com Statistics . Level 6 . Averages . Comparing Two Sets of Data
 Runner B quicker on average (median and mean), even though runner A got the quickest time
(63.1 secs)) they have a much larger range (11.6 secs) so therefore they are less consistent.

© Visual Maths Resources Ltd

www.cazoommaths.com Statistics . Level 6 . Averages . Comparing Two Sets of Data