Section 1: Practice Questions (Students are to attempt all these questions)

Concept of Random and Non-random Samples

1 [2007/NJC/P2/Q6i]
A departmental store wanted to find out about the shopping preferences of people working
near its location. Two store employees are stationed at two different MRT exits next to the
store and each of them is given a quota of 20 people to survey. The two employees
approached people entering or leaving the MRT station at random to interview until they
have fulfilled their quota.
Explain if the sample obtained is random or non-random.
[Solution]
Reasons why the sample is a non-random sample:
Such a sample is biased as only people who travel by MRT will be surveyed.
The employees may only reach out to those who appear approachable. Only people who are
willing to be interviewed will be included.

2 The head of student welfare at EJC wants to find out what students think of the food
provided by the canteen. He asks the civics tutor of each class to randomly pick five
students from his or her class to take part in a survey.

Explain, with a reason, whether the sample obtained is random.

[Solution]
Since the class size is (typically) different for each class, students from classes with a small
enrolment will have a higher chance of being selected compared to those from bigger classes.
Thus the sample is not a random sample.

3 A surveyor is required to interview a sample of 30 people from a new private housing

estate to find out whether they are satisfied with the facilities. He decides to choose 30
households at random and then randomly choose a member of each household. Explain
whether this method produces a random sample of the residents in the estate for the survey.
[Solution]
[TJC 2017 FM Tutorial]
Suppose there are 100 households in the estate.
Then the probability of a member of a household consisting of n members, to be selected is
1
100n . Thus with different number of members in each household, this method does not
ensures that every resident in the estate has an equal chance of being selected. Therefore this
method does not produce a random sample.

Page 1 of 15
4 “Question Removed”

5 A random variable X is normally distributed with mean 24 and standard deviation 2. A

random variable Y is normally distributed with mean 15 and standard deviation 1.5.
50 independent observations of X and 30 independent observations of Y are taken randomly.
(i) Find the probability that the sample mean of the 50 observations of X is more than
23.5.
(ii) Find the probability that the average of the 50 observations of X and 30 observations
of Y is at most 20.5.
[Ans: (i) 0.961 (ii) 0.270]
[Solution]
X~N(24, 22) Y~N(15, 1.52)
X 1  X 2  ...  X 50  22 
(i) X N  24, 
50  50 

 
P X  23.5  0.961
X 1  ...  X 50  Y1  ...  Y30  50  24  30 15 50  22  30 1.52 
(ii) Let T  ~ N , 
80  80 802 
 165 107 
i.e. T ~ N  , 
 8 2560 
 
P T  20.5  0.270

6 The heights of a new variety of sunflower can be modelled by a normal distribution with
mean 2 m and standard deviation of 40 cm.
(i) A random sample containing 50 sunflowers is taken and the mean height calculated.
What is the probability that the sample mean lies between 195 cm and 205 cm?

(ii) A hundred such samples, each of 50 observations, are taken. In how many of these
would you expect the sample mean to lie between 195 cm and 205 cm?
[Ans: (i) 0.623 (ii) 62.3]
[Solution]
Let X be the height of a sunflower (in cm). X ~ N  2, 0.42 
 0.42 
X ~ N  2, 
When n = 50,  50 

(i) 
P 1.95  X  2.05  0.623 
(ii) Let Y be the number of samples out of 100 which have the sample mean between
195cm and 205cm. Y ~ B 100,0.623
E Y   np  62.3

Page 2 of 15
7 Components made by a machine have mean weight 0.50 g and standard deviation 0.02 g.
If two samples are taken, both of 1000 components each, what is the probability that their
means will differ by more than 0.002 g? State one assumption necessary for your
calculation.
Explain why it is not necessary to assume that the weight of the components is normally
distributed.
[Ans: 0.0253]
[Solution]
Let X be the weight of a component.
E(X) = 0.5, Var(X) = 0.022
Let X and Y be the mean weight of the 2 samples.
Since n = 1000 is large, by Central Limit Theorem,
 0.022   0.022 
X N  0.5,  approximately and Y N  0.5,  approximately
 1000   1000 
 0.022 0.022 
X Y N  0,  
 1000 1000  i.e. X  Y N  0,8 107 

   
P X  Y  0.002  1  P 0.002  X  Y  0.002  0.0253

Assumptions:
 the two samples are random samples;
 the observations of the weight of components are independent of each other (i.e. mutually
independent).

Since sample size n=1000 is large, by Central Limit Theorem, the sample means X and Y
are approximately normally distributed EVEN if the weight of the components is not.

8 A large number of random samples of size n are taken from B(20, 0.2). Approximately
90% of the sample means are less than 4.354. Estimate n.
[Ans: 42]
[Solution]
Let X B(20,0.2) .
Then E(X ) = 20(0.2) = 4, Var(X ) = 20(0.2)(0.8) = 3.2
 3.2 
Assume n is sufficiently large, by Central Limit Theorem, X N  4,  approximately
 n 
 
P X  4.354  0.90

 
Using GC, when n  41, P X  4.354  0.89745

when n  42, P  X  4.354   0.90016 .

when n  43, P  X  4.354   0.90280 Hence, n  42

OR,

Page 3 of 15
  
4.354  4 
P  Z   0.90
 3.2 
 n 
0.354
 1.281552
3.2
n
n  41.9  42
Note: n  42 is sufficiently large so the assumption is valid.
9 The mass of an abalone of a certain grade follows a normal distribution with mean 180g
and standard deviation 14.2 g.
(i) Find the probability that the mean mass of a sample of sixty abalones chosen at
random differs from the population mean mass by more than 2g.

(ii) This grade of abalones is priced at 450 dollars per kilogram. A customer orders
five abalones. Find the probability that the customer ends up paying an average of
more than 84 dollars per abalone.
[Ans: (i) 0.275 (ii) 0.147]
[Solution]
Let X be mass of an abalone in grams.

X ~ N 180,14.22 
 14.22 
(i) For sample size n  60, X ~ N 180,  [Note: CLT not used here]
 60 

   
P X  180  2  P X  180  2  P ( X  180  2)


 2 P X  180  2  or 2P( X  180  2) 
 
 2 P  X  182  or 2P( X  178) 
 
 0.27528
 0.275 (3 s.f.)

(ii) Let C be cost of one abalone in dollars.

X ~ N 81, 6.392 
450
C
1000

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  6.392 
For sample size n  5, C  ~ N  81, 
5  5 

 
P C  84  0.14690  0.147 (3 s.f.)

Page 4 of 15
Alternatively,
X1  X 2  X 3  X 4  X 5  14.22 
For sample size n  5, X ~ N 180, 
5  5 

Probability required  P  450 X  84 

 1000 
 560 
 P X  
 3 
 0.14678  0.147 (3 s.f.)

10 The random variable X has the distribution N(1, 20).

(i) Given that P( X  a)  2P( X  a) , find a.
(ii) A random sample of n observations of X is taken. Given that the probability that the
sample mean exceeds 1.5 is at most 0.01, find the possible values of n. [N03/II/27]
[Ans: (i) 2.93 (ii) n  433 ]

[Solution]
X ~ N 1, 20 
(i) P( X  a)  2P( X  a)
P( X  a)  2 1  P( X  a) 
2
P( X  a) 
3
a  2.9263  2.93 (3s.f.)

 20 
(ii) X ~ N 1, 
 n 
Given P( X  1.5)  0.01
 
 1.5  1 
P Z   0.01 0.01
 20 
 n
0.5
From GC,  2.3263
20
n
2.3263 20
n
0.5
n  20.807
n  20.807 2 ( both sides +ve)
 432.93

n  433 (n  )

Page 5 of 15
 4
11 The continuous random variable X has E(X) = 0 and Var(X) = . The random variable Y
5
is defined by Y = aX + b, where a and b are positive constants. It is given that E(Y) = 50
and Var(Y) = 80. Find a and b.
A random sample consists of 160 independent observations of Y. Find an approximate
value for the probability that the sample sum lies between 7840 and 8080.
[modified N97/II/9]
[Ans: 10, 50; 0.682 ]
[Solution]
Y  aX  b
Using E(Y )  50
E(aX  b)  50
aE( X )  b  50
 b  50
Using Var(Y )  80
Var(aX  b)  80
a 2 Var( X )  0  80
4
a 2    80
5
a 2  100  a  10 ( a  0)
 a  10, b  50

For n  160, Y1  Y2  ...  Y160  160Y

Since n=160 is large, by CLT,

 80 
Y ~ N  50,  approx.
 160 
 1
i.e. Y ~ N  50,  approx.
 2
Y1  Y2  ...  Y160  160Y ~ N  8000, 12800  approx.

P(7840 < Y1  Y2  ...  Y160  8080)  0.68160  0.682 (3 s.f.)

Page 6 of 15
12 The ‘reading age’ of children about to start a secondary school is a measure of how good
they are at reading and understanding printed text. A child’s reading age, measured in
years, is denoted by the random variable X. The distribution of X is assumed to be
X ~ N  ,  2  .
(a) The reading age of a random sample of 20 children were measured and the data
obtained is summarised by
 x  232.6,  x2  2756.22 .
Calculate unbiased estimates of  and  2, giving your answers correct to 2 decimal
places.
(b) In order to obtain a more accurate estimate of  , it is proposed that a larger sample
be taken. Estimate the sample size needed so that we can be 95% certain that the
sample mean reading age will differ from the true mean reading age by less than 6
months. Assume that it is known from previous studies that  2  2.25 .
[Ans: (a) 11.63, 2.69 (b) 35]
[Solution]
(a)

Unbiased estimate of population mean  = x 

 x  232.6  11.63
20 20
Unbiased estimate of population variance  2 is
     1   232.6  
2 2
1 x
s 
2
 x 
2
   2756.22  
n 1  n  19  20 
 
 2.69
(b) Let X be the mean reading age of children in a sample of size n.
 2.25 
Then X ~ N   , 
 n 
Since 6 months = 0.5 year,

P X    0.5  0.95
 

P Z 
0.5 
 0.95
 2.25  
 n
z
 0.5 n  0.05
P  Z  
 1.5  2
0.5 n
 1.959964
1.5
n  34.6  35

Page 7 of 15
13 A sample of the weights of 150 students gives  x  9000 and  ( x  60)2  200. Find the
unbiased estimates of the population mean and variance.
200
[Ans: 60, ]
149
[Solution]

Unbiased estimate of population mean  is x   

x 9000
 60
150 150
Unbiased estimate of population variance  2 is
1 1
s2 
n 1
 ( x  x )2  
149
 ( x  60) 2 ( x  60)

200
 or 1.34 (3 s.f.)
149

14 The power consumption of a certain brand of light-bulb is nominally 100 watts, and may
be assumed to follow a normal distribution with mean 100 watts and standard deviation 2
watts. Calculate the probability that the mean power consumption of 50 randomly selected
bulbs is less than 99.5 watts.
Following a change in the manufacturing process, a sample of 100 bulbs was tested.
Denoting the power consumption in watts of a bulb by w, it was found that
 (w 100)  52 and  (w 100)2  93. Calculate unbiased estimates of the new mean
and variance of the power consumption of a light-bulb.

[Exploration: Summarising data in coded form]

It is given above that the power consumption (in watts) of a bulb is denoted by w. However,
we notice that the power consumption readings for the sample of 100 bulbs are given in
the coded form:
x  w  100
where x is the power consumption for each bulb, in excess of 100 watts.

(i) Give an advantage of working with values of x instead of values of w.

(ii) Find the expectation and variance of X in terms of E(W) and Var(W) where
X  W  100 . Comment on the relationship between the average of W and X, and
the relationship between the variance of W and X.
[Ans: 0.0385; 100.52, 0.666]

[Solution]
Let X be the power consumption of 1 light bulb. X ~ N 100, 4 
 4
Then for a sample of 50 bulbs, X ~ N 100, 
 50 
 
Thus, P X  99.5  0.0385

Unbiased estimate of population mean  is w 

 (w 100)  100  52
 100  100.52
100 100

Page 8 of 15
 Unbiased estimate of population variance  2 is
     1   52  
2
1 ( w  100) 2

s 
2
 ( w  100) 
2
  93  
n 1  n  99  100 
 
 0.66626  0.666 (3 s.f.)

Exploration: Summarising data in coded form

(i) Since x  w 100 , then the power consumption, w, for each bulb is given by
w  x  100 . Working with the original values of w will result in having to sum larger
quantities and having to work with the even larger values for  w and  w2 for a
sample of size 100.
So the advantage of coding the data using the excesses of 100 is so that we can work
with smaller values in our computation.

(ii) E( X )  E(W  100)

 E(W )  E(100)
 E(W )  100
For x  w  100 i.e. w  x  100, the average of W is simply given by w  x  100

Var( X )  Var(W 100)

 Var(W )  Var(100)
 Var(W )  0  Var(W )
The variance of W and X are the same. We can see that the variance of W is unaffected
by the coding formula.

15 [2015 AJC/II/10 (modified)]

A farmer takes a random sample of 10 melons grown on his farm and recorded the weight, x kg,
of each melon as follows:
1.037 0.914 1.019 1.234 1.110
1.417 1.008 0.846 1.105 1.331
The population mean and variance of X are denoted by  and  2 respectively.
Calculate unbiased estimates of  and  2 .

Another random sample of 40 melons is weighed and the results are as follows:

 x  45.738 and  x2  72.576

Combining the two samples into a single sample, find unbiased estimates of  and  2 .

[Ans: 1.1021, 0.0322; 1.14, 0.420]

Page 9 of 15
 [Solution]
Unbiased estimate of population mean = x  1.1021

Unbiased estimate of population variance is

s 2  0.1795032  0.0322 (3 s.f.)

1st sample : n = 10,  x  11.021 and  x2  12.436237

2nd sample : n = 40,  x  45.738 and  x2  72.576
Thus, for the combined sample : n = 50,

 x  11.021  45.738  56.759 and  x2  12.436237  72.576  85.012237

56.759
Unbiased estimate of population mean =  1.13518
50

Unbiased estimate of population variance =

1 
85.012237 
 56.759  2

  0.420 (3 s.f.)
49  50 


16 From past trends, the National Health Board (NHB) of a certain country reported a mean
cholesterol level of 199 mg/dL (milligrams per decilitre) for the country’s population. A
NHB employee was tasked to investigate if the cholesterol level of people has changed.
She collected a random sample of 30 that yields a sample mean of x mg/dL and a sample
variance of 281.5 (mg/dL)2 .

(i) By finding the unbiased estimate of the population variance, state the approximate
distribution of the sample mean.

(ii) Another random sample of 30 is chosen. Given that the probability of the sample
mean being less than c mg/dL is not more than 0.05, find the largest value of c.
[Ans: (i) 291.207 (ii) 193]
[Solution]
From the sample, n  30, an unbiased estimate of the population variance is
n 30
s2  (sample variance)  (281.5)  291.207
n 1 30  1

 291.207 
Since n  30 is large, X ~ N 199,  approximately by CLT
 30 

Given P( X  c)  0.05

Therefore, c  xc  193.875 , largest value of c = 193 (3 s.f.)

Page 10 of 15
Section 2: Supplementary Questions (For students to practice after going through tutorial for
extra practice)
17 (In this question you should state clearly the values of the parameters of any normal
distribution you use.)
The mass, in grams, of a randomly chosen jar of Tasty brand jam is a random variable with
the distribution N(300, 42). The mass, in grams, of a randomly chosen Yummy brand jam
is a random variable with the distribution N(350, 52).

(i) Find the probability that the masses of 2 randomly selected jars of Tasty brand jam
differ by more than 10g. [3]
(ii) Find the probability that out of four randomly chosen jars of Yummy brand jam,
exactly one weighs more than 355g and the other three weigh not more than 345g each.
[3]
(iii) A crate contains ten jars of Tasty brand jam and five jars of Yummy brand jam. Find
the probability that the average mass of fifteen jars of jam in a randomly chosen crate
lies between 317g and 322g. [4]
[IJC 2011 Prelim/II/10]
[Ans: (i) 0.0771 (ii) 0.00253 (iii) 0.384]
[Solution]
Let T be the r.v. denoting “the mass of a randomly chosen jar of Tasty jam”, and
Y be the r.v. denoting “the mass of a randomly chosen jar of Yummy jam”.
T ~ N(300, 42), Y ~ N(350, 52).
(i) T1 – T2 ~ N( 0, 32)
P( | T1 – T2 | > 10 ) = 2P( T1 – T2 > 10 )
= 0.0771
(ii) 4!
P Y  355  P Y  345  3  0.00253
3!
(iii) T   T10  Y1   Y5
Let A = 1
15
1 4750 950
E(A) =  300 10  350  5  
15 15 3

Var(A) =
1
152
 42 10  52  5 
19
15

 950 19 
A ~ N , 
 3 15 
P(317 < A < 322 ) = 0.384

Page 11 of 15
18 The weight, x kg, of each student in a random sample of 120 students from a secondary
school is measured, and the results are summarized by

 ( x  50)  100 ,  ( x  50)2  1158

(i) Find unbiased estimates of the population mean and variance. [2]
(ii) Another random sample of n students (n ≥ 50) is taken from the school. Given that the
probability of the sample mean weight exceeding 49.9 kg is at most 0.01, find the least
value of n. [4]
[RJC 2011 Prelim/II/12(modified)]
[Ans: (i) 49.2, 9.03 (ii) 91]

(i) [Solution]
Unbiased estimate of population mean

=  ( x  50)  50  100  50
n 120
1
 49 or 49.167 (5 s.f )  49.2 (3 s.f )
6
Unbiased estimate of population variance

1    ( x  50)  
2


n 1 
 ( x  50) 
2

n


 
1 (100) 2
 (1158  )  9.0308  9.03 (3 s.f )
119 120
Since n = 120 is large, by Central Limit Theorem,
9.0308
X N (49.167, ) approximately.
n

(ii) P( X  49.9)  0.01

Method 1 : Using Standardization

P( X  49.9)  0.99
49.9  49.167
P( Z  )  0.99
9.0308
n
49.9  49.167
From GC ,  2.3263
9.0308
n
n  90.960
 Least value of n  91

Page 12 of 15
 Method 2 : Using table of values

Key in Y1 = normalcdf(49.9, E99, 49.167, 9.0308 / X )

n P( X  49.9)

90 0.01033 > 0.01

91 0.00999 < 0.01
92 0.00965 < 0.01

 Least value of n = 91

19 (In this question, state clearly the mean and variance of any normal distribution you use in
your calculation.)
In an office building in Shenton Way, there are 640 male employees and 560 female
employees. The weights, in kg, of male employees and female employees are modelled as
having independent normal distributions with mean and standard deviations as shown in the
table.

Mean weight Standard deviation

Male 68 2
Female 50 2

[3]
(i) Calculate the probability that the total weight of 4 female employees is less than three
times the weight of a male employee. [3]

(ii) Calculate the probability that the mean weight of a random sample of 80 male
employees differs from their mean by at most 0.5 kg. [3]

(iii) 25 employees are randomly chosen of which k of them are male. If the probability
that the total weight of these 25 employees exceeding 1500 kg is approximately 0.987,
find the value of k. [5]
[TPJC 2011 Prelim/II/9(modified)]
[Ans: (i) 0.710 (ii) 0.975 (iii) 15]
[Solution]
(i) Let Y be the weight of female employees in kg
Then Y ~ N(50, 22 )
Let X be the weight of male employees in kg
Then X N  68, 22 
Y1  Y2  Y3  Y4  N  50  4, 22  4  i.e. Y1  Y2  Y3  Y4  N  200,16 
3X ~ N  68  3, 22  32  i.e. 3X ~ N  204, 36 
Let T  Y1  Y2  Y3  Y4  3 X

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 Then T ~ N  200  204,16  36  i.e. T ~ N  4, 52 
P T  0   0.71045  0.710

(ii) Let X be the weight of male employees in kg

 22 
X ~ N  68, 22  and X ~N  68, 
 80 
    
P | X   | 0.5 =P 68  0.5  X  68  0.5 =P 67.5  X  68.5 
 0.97465  0.975

(iii) Let M be the total weight of k male employees in kg

M ~ N  68  k , 22  k  i.e. M ~ N  68k , 4k 
Let F be the total weight of 25  k female employees in kg
F ~ N  50  (25  k ), 22  (25  k )  i.e. F ~ N 1250  50k ,100  4k 
Then M  F ~ N 1250  18k ,100 
P  M  F  1500   0.987
 250  18k 
P Z    0.013
 100 
250  18k
 2.2262
100
Solving gives k  15.125  15

20 A fruit seller grades apples according to their mass. It is given that the mass of a randomly
chosen apple follows a normal distribution with mean  g and standard deviation 30 g.
Apples with a mass exceeding 150 g are graded as ‘large’ while apples with a mass less
than 70 g are graded as ‘small’. The proportion of ‘large’ apples is the same as the
proportion of ‘small apples’.
(i) Explain why  is 110 g. [1]
(ii) Find the probability that the total mass of two randomly chosen apples exceeds
230g. [2]
(iii) Find the probability that a buyer who picks 50 apples randomly will have at least
three apples which are graded as ‘large’. [4]

The fruit seller also grades oranges according to their mass. It is given that the mass of a
randomly chosen orange has an independent normal distribution with mean 190 g and
standard deviation 24 g. The fruit seller sells the apples at $0.20 per 100 g and the oranges
at $0.15 per 100 g.
(iv) Find the probability that the average cost of an apple and two oranges exceeds
$0.25. [3]
[YJC 2011 Prelim/II/8]
[Ans: (ii) 0.407 (iii) 0.846 (iv) 0.694 ]

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 [Solution]
(i) Let X be the random variable of the mass of an apple.

X ~ N ( ,302 )

x
70

70  150

2
  110 g (by symmetry)

(ii) X1  X 2 ~ N (220,1800)

P X 1  X 2  230  0.40683185  0.407

(iii) Let W be the random variable of the number of apples (out of 50) which are graded as
‘large’.
W ~ B(50, P( X  150))

W ~ B(50,0.09121121)

P W  3  1  P W  2   0.846

(iv) Let Y be the random variable of the mass of an orange.

Y ~ N (190, 242 )

0.002 X  0.0015Y1  0.0015Y2

C
3
C ~ N  0.2633333, 0.000688

P(C  0.25)  0.69438853  0.694

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