MUBAS Fundamentals of Statistics

Mathematical Sciences Department STA-214 - Test 2

BAF, BCTM, BCME, BAC, BAM, BAU & Date: 31st March, 2023
BBA (Year 2: Generic & Weekend) Time Allowed: 105 min

a) What is the main advantage of using the mean as a suitable measure of central location?
(2 marks)
b) The following table gives the number of students in different age groups within Naperi Area.
Verify that the modal age of the distribution is 7.9730 years. (5 marks)

Age Group : 0-4 5-9 10 - 14 15 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 29

Total No. of
15 125 50 66 40 4
Students :

c) The sales of a balloon seller on seven days of a week are as given below:

Days Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

Sales (in K’000) 100 150 120 140 160 200 250

i. Find his average sales per day. (3 marks)

ii. Determine the standard deviation for the sales. (6 marks)
iii. Find the median sales. (3 marks)
iv. Determine the Pearsons measure of skewness and interpret. (3 marks)

d) A student graduated from a 4-year college with an outstanding loan of K965,000 where the
average debt is K845,500 with a standard deviation of K186,500. Another student graduated
from a university with an outstanding loan of K1,236,000 where the average of the
outstanding loans was K1,032,600 with a standard deviation of K214,300. Which student
had a higher debt in relationship to his or her peers? (5 marks)

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e) From the following table, showing the wage distribution of workers, find the range of
incomes earned by middle 50% of the workers. Hint: Use quartiles. (10 marks)

Monthly Income (K’000) No. of workers

0 - 200 150
0 - 400 250
0 - 600 330
0 - 800 380
0 - 1000 400

f) The following is the distribution of weights (in lbs.) of 60 students of a class:

Weights No. of students

93 - 97 2
98 - 102 5
103 - 107 12
108 - 112 f1
113 - 117 14
118 - 122 f2
123 - 127 3
128 - 132 1
Total 60

If the mean weight of the students is 110.917, find the missing frequencies; f1 and f2.
(8 marks)

g) The average sale price of new one-family houses in Blantyre for 2021 was K24,630,000.
Find the range of values in which at least 75% of the sale prices will lie if the standard
deviation is K4,850,000. (5 marks)
(Total: 50 Marks)

End of Paper

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 Formulae
∑x
[ D1 + D2 ] ( 2 fm − fm−1 − fm+1 )
D1 fm − fm−1
x̄ = mode = L + ×c =L + ×c
n
∑ fx m ea n − m o d e x̄ − Mo d e
x̄ = psk1 = =
∑f std dev σ
∑ (x − x̄ )2 3(m e a n − m e d i a n) 3(x̄ − M D)
sx2 = p sk 2 = =
n −1 std dev σ

∑ (x − μ)2 σ
σx2 = C Va r = * 100
N μ
∑ | x − x̄ | s
m ea n d e vi a t ion = C Va r = * 100
n x̄
n ∑ f x 2 − ( ∑ f x)2
Va r (x) = IQ R = Q3 − Q1
n (n − 1)
2
∑ f x2 Q3 − Q1
( ∑f )
∑ fx
Va r (x) = − qd =
∑f 2

σ = Va r (x) Q1 − 1.5(IQ R ), Q3 + 1.5(IQ R )

N
−Fm−1
2
m e d i a n = Lm + × Cm Q1 − 3(IQ R ), Q3 + 3(IQ R )
fm

i∑ f i∑ f
−FQ −FP
4 i−1 100 i−1
i th Q u a r t i l e = Qi = L Q +
i
× cQ
i i th P e r c e n t i l e = Pi = LP + × cP
fQ i fP i
i i

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 Solutions
a) The advantage of the means as suitable measure of central location because it is found using all
values in the dataset. A2. (2 marks)

b) Modal age of students

The class with the highest frequency is 5 - 10. M1

∴ L = 5, D1 = 125 − 15 = 110, D2 = 125 − 50 = 75, and cm = 5 M2

( D1 + D2 )
D1
mode = L + ×c

( 110 + 75 )
110
Hence mode = 5 + ×5 M1

∴ MD = 7.9730 A1 (5 marks)

c) Balloon sales

Days Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Total

Sales (in K’000) 100 150 120 140 160 200 250 1120
(S − S̄ ) -60 -10 -40 -20 0 40 90
(S − S̄ )2 3600 100 1600 400 0 1600 8100 15400

Sales Total = M1, (S − μS)=M1 (S − μS) = M2

2

∑S 1120
i. μS = = = 160 M1, M1 (3 marks)
N 7
∑ (S − μS)
2
15400
ii. σ = = = 2200 = 46.9042 M1, M1, A1. (6 marks)
N 7

iii. The median of sales

Arrange the sales in ascending order
100, 120, 140, 150, 160, 200, 250 M1
n +1 7+1
Position of MD = = = 4th position M1
2 2
Hence MD = 150 A1 (3 marks)

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 iv. Pearsons measure of skewness
3(μS − MD)
PSK2 =
σ
3(160 − 150)
PSK2 = = 0.6396 M1, M1
46.9042
The Pearsons measure of skewness shows that the dataset is approximately symmetrical. A1
(3 marks)

d) Relative Position
x −μ
Z=
σ
965,000 − 845,500
For College: Z= = 0.64 M1, M1
186500
1,236,000 − 1,032,600
For University: Z= = 0.95 M1, M1
214,300
The student from university has a relatively higher debt than college student. A1 (5 marks)

e) The range of incomes for the middle 50% of the workers is given by Q3 − Q1 M1
1 ( ∑ f + 1) 300 + 1
Position for Q1 = = = 75.25
4 4
Q1 class is 0 − 200 M1
400
4
−0
∴ Q1 = 0 + × 200 = 133.3333 M2
150

3 ( ∑ f + 1) 3(300 + 1)
Position for Q3 = = = 225.75
4 4
Q3 class is 400 − 600 M1
3(400)
4
− 250
∴ Q3 = 400 + × 200 = 525 M2
80

Thus, Q3 − Q1 = 525 − 133.33 = 391.67 M1, M1

Therefore the 50% range is K391,670.00. A1 (10 marks)

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f) Let the class 108 − 112 have the frequency f1 M1
And frequency for 118 − 122 is 60 − (2 + 5 + 12 + f1 + 14 + 3 + 1)
60 − (37 + f1)
23 − f1 M1

Weights No. of students f Midpoint (X) f *x

93 - 97 2 2 95 190
98 - 102 5 5 100 500
103 - 107 12 12 105 1260
108 - 112 ? 17 110 1870
113 - 117 14 14 115 1610
118 - 122 ? 6 120 720
123 - 127 3 3 125 375
128 - 132 1 1 130 130
Total 60 60 6655
M1 M1
∑ fx
x̄ =
∑f
We are given that x̄ = 110.917

190 + 500 + 1260 + 110f1 + 1610 + 2760 − 120f1 + 375 + 130

∴ 110.917 = M1
60

6825 − 10f1
∴ 110.917 = M1
60
6655.02 = 6825 − 10f1
10f1 = 169.98
169.98
f1 =
10
f1 = 16.998 ≈ 17 A1
∴ 23 − f1 ⟹ 23 − 17 = 6 A1 (8 marks)

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g) By the the chebyshev’s theorem, 75% or three fourths of data lie within 2 standard deviations
Lower bound x̄ − 2s
Upper bound x̄ + 2s
x̄ − 2s ⟹ 24,630,000 − 2(4,850,000) = 14,930,000.00 M1, M1
and
x̄ + 2s ⟹ 24,630,000 + 2(4,850,000) = 34,330,000.00 M1, M1

∴ At least 75% of new one-family house are within the range K14.9 mil to K34.3 mil. A1
(5 marks)

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