Statistics and probability

Investigating
data
Which capital city in Australia has the highest average
temperature? Does Melbourne have higher rainfall than
Sydney?
To answer these questions, sets of data need to be collected
and then compared by looking at the shape of their displays
or by analysing their measures of location and spread.

N E W C E N T U R Y M AT H S A D V A N C E D

ustralian Curriculum

10 10A

Shutterstock.com/Gordon Bell

for the A

n Chapter outline

n Wordbank
Proficiency strands

6-01 The shape of a

frequency distribution
6-02 Quartiles and
interquartile range
6-03 Standard deviation*
6-04 Comparing means and
standard deviations*
6-05 Box plots
6-06 Parallel box plots
6-07 Comparing data sets
6-08 Scatter plots
6-09 Line of best fit*
6-10 Bivariate data
involving time
6-11 Statistics in the media
6-12 Investigating statistical
studies*
*STAGE 5.3

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bivariate data Data that measures two variables,

represented by an ordered pair of values that can be
graphed on a scatter plot

PS R

U
U

F
F

PS R
PS

C
C

PS
PS
PS
PS

U
U

F
F
F
F
F
F

R
R
R
R
R
PS R

C
C
C
C
C
C

U
U

F
F

R
PS R

C
C

scatter plot A graph consisting of dots on a number plane

that represent bivariate data

PS R

standard deviation (symbol sn) A measure of spread that

depends on every score in the data set and their mean

U
U

boxplot (also called box-and-whisker plot) A graph that

shows the quartiles of a set of data and the highest and
lowest scores; the box contains the middle 50% of scores
while the lines or whiskers extend to the two extremes
five-number summary For a set of numerical data, the
lowest score, lower quartile, median, upper quartile and
highest score
interquartile range (IQR) The difference between the
upper quartile and lower quartiles, IQR Q3  Q1,
representing the middle 50% of scores

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Investigating data

n In this chapter you will:

construct back-to-back stem-and-leaf plots and histograms and describe data using terms such
as skewed, symmetric and bi-modal
determine quartiles and interquartile range
(STAGE 5.3) calculate and interpret the mean and standard deviation of data and use these to
compare data sets
construct and interpret box plots and use them to compare data sets
compare shapes of box plots to corresponding histograms and dot plots
use scatter plots to investigate and comment on relationships between two numerical variables
investigate and describe bivariate numerical data where the independent variable is time
evaluate statistical reports in the media and other places by linking claims to displays, statistics
and representative data
investigate reports of surveys in digital media and elsewhere for information on how data was
obtained to estimate population means and medians
(STAGE 5.3) investigate reports of studies in digital media and elsewhere for information on
their planning and implementation
find the five-number summary for a set of data and use it to construct a box-and-whisker plot
describe the strength and direction of the linear relationship of bivariate data shown on a scatter plot
(STAGE 5.3) use technology to construct a line of best fit for bivariate data and use it to make
predictions

SkillCheck
Worksheet
StartUp assignment 5
MAT10SPWK10032

Skillsheet
Statistical measures

For each set of data, find:

i the range
a 15
b 8C
c

ii the mean (correct to one decimal place)

13
3C

18
5C

14
2C

15
4C

18
7C
d

23
3C

iii the median

14
0C

20

iv the mode
16

15

12
10

Frequency

MAT10SPSS10012

Worksheet

Statistical match-up

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

8
6
4
2

MAT10SPWK10033

0
41 42 43 44 45 46 47
Score

1
2
3
4
5

188

Stem Leaf
0
1
2
0
2

3
4
3
5
6

6
4
4
7
8

7
5
8

8
5

Score
0
1
2
3
4
5

Frequency
2
5
8
4
3
1

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ustralian Curriculum

10 10A

A cricketer made the following scores in 10 innings.

34 21 78

30

26

19

41 36

16

32

i the median

ii the mean

123rf/Lance Bellers

a Find:
iii the range.

b Which score is the outlier?

c i Calculate the median, mean and range if the outlier is not included in the scores.
ii What effect does the outlier have on the mean, median and range?

6-01 The shape of a frequency distribution

Technology worksheet

A statistical distribution is the way the scores of a data set are arranged, especially when graphed.
When looking at histograms, dot plots and stem-and-leaf plots, an overall pattern can be seen
from the shape of the display.
The shape of a statistical distribution shows how the data is spread and can be seen by drawing a
curve around the graph or display.
A distribution is symmetrical if the data is evenly spread or balanced about the centre.

MAT10SPCT00005

Stem
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Leaf
0 2
1 8
2 4
0 3
2 4
2 8
3 5

4
9
5
4
4
8
7

9
6 6 7 8 8
5 5 6 7 8 9 9
4 5 5 5 5
8

15

16

17

18 19 20 21 22
Temperatures in April

23

24

Excel worksheet:
Skewness

Technology worksheet
Excel spreadsheet:
Skewness
MAT10SPCT00035

15

A distribution is skewed if most of the data is bunched or clustered at one end of the distribution
and the other end has a tail.

Tail

A distribution is positively skewed if its tail points

to the right.

9780170194662

Stem
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Leaf
3 5
0 6
5 7
0 3
1 1
0 0
3 5
0 2

Tail
8
8
2
1
7
2

9
3
1
5
4

4 8
2 2 5 5
6 6 7 7 9
5

A distribution is negatively skewed

if its tail points to the left.

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Investigating data

Frequency

A distribution is bimodal if it has two peaks. The higher peak is the mode, while the other peak
indicates another score that has a high frequency.
For example, this frequency histogram has two peaks at 2 and 7 so it is bimodal. The mode,
however, is 7.

Example

6
7
Score

10

11

For each statistical distribution:

i describe the shape

ii identify any outliers and clusters

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

b Stem
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Leaf
4 5
3 4 4
1 2 2
0 1 5
4 5 6
0 0 1
0 2

9
6 8
5 7 9 9 9
8 8
1

Solution
a i
ii
b i
ii

The shape is positively skewed (tail points towards the higher scores).
15 is an outlier and clustering occurs at 4 and 5.
The shape is symmetrical (the data is balanced about the stem of 13).
There are no outliers but clustering occurs in the 13s.

Exercise 6-01
See Example 1

The shape of a distribution

For each statistical distribution:

i describe the shape

ii identify any outliers and clusters.

Frequency

190

9 10 11 12 13
Score

b Stem
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Leaf
4 5 6
1 2 3
0 4 4
4 5 5
0 0 2
3 5 7
1 1 3
0 3 5

9
3
6
8
3
8
5
6

4 5 7 8
8 9
5 6 7 8 9 9
8 9 9
6

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ustralian Curriculum

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Number of goals scored

Frequency

10 10A

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Temperature (C)

e Stem
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Leaf
0 2
2 4
3 3
0 1
1 1
2 4
0 3
5 8
6 8

f
4
6
4
1
5
5
9

9
7
4
5
6
8

8 8 8
5 5 8 9 9 9
7 8 9 9
7

Frequency

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Score

2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10
Marks obtained in a Maths quiz

h Stem
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Leaf
3 4
0 0
2 4
5 7
3 3
2 4

4
5
5
8
6
6

6 7 8 9
9 9
6
7 8
8 8 8 8

These are the final round scores for players in a golf tournament.
66 70 67 72 75 72 70 74 75 72 74 72 73 71 71 69 70
72 69 75 73 69 75 73 69 69 67 74 72 72 73 71 73 77
a Arrange the data into a frequency table and construct a frequency histogram.
b Are there any outliers?

71
68

71
72

74
72

c Describe the shape of the distribution.

d Give a possible reason for the shape of the distribution.
e Where does clustering occur?
f Find the mode, the mean and the median and show their position in the histogram.

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Investigating data

The stem-and-leaf plot shows the number of hours that students spend on their computers
during the week.
Stem
0
1
2
3
4

Leaf
1 1
0 1
0 5
0 0
0 0

1
1
5
0

1
2
5
1

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

a How many students were surveyed?

b Where does the clustering occur?
c Are there any outliers?
d Describe the shape of the distribution.
e Give a possible reason for the shape
f Find the mean, median and mode.
of the distribution.
The following scores are the heights (in cm) of thirty Year 8 students.
162 155 153 162 182 173 165 165 142 167 164 168 150 155 143
153 123 163 170 169 153 162 161 170 160 162 172 151 160 171
a Arrange the data into an ordered stem-and-leaf plot.
b Describe the shape of the distribution.
c Are there any outliers?
d Where does clustering occur?
e Find the mode, median and mean.

The daily maximum temperatures (correct to one decimal

place) for July 2013 at the Sydney Observatory are shown
in the stem-and-leaf plot.
a Describe the shape of the distribution.
b Are there any outliers?
c What is the mode?
d Find the mean, correct to one decimal place.
e What is the median?
f Find the range.
g Is the range a good indicator of the spread of the
temperatures? Give reasons.

Stem
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

Leaf
8
9
3
0
4
1
1
5
0
4
0

2
4
2
2
6
6

4
4
5
3

4
7
6
4

7
8
8 9
4

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

6-02 Quartiles and interquartile range

Quartiles
The median, being the middle score, divides a set of data into two equal parts (halves).
Quartiles are the values Q1, Q2 and Q3 that divide the set of data into four equal parts (quarters).
Scores (in order)

Lowest score
(or lower extreme)

192

First quartile
(Q1 or QL)

Second quartile
(Q2 or median)

Third quartile
(Q3 or QU)

Highest score
(or upper extreme)

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ustralian Curriculum

10 10A

The first quartile Q1, also called the lower quartile QL, is the value that divides the lower 25% of
scores. 1 of the scores lie below Q1.
4
The second quartile Q2 is the value that divides the lower 50% of scores, so it is also the median.
1 of the scores lie below Q .
2
2
The third quartile Q3, also called the upper quartile QU, is the value that divides the lower 75% of
scores from the upper 25% of scores. 3 of the scores lie below Q3, 1 of the scores lie above it.
4
4

Summary
Finding the quartiles of a data set
sort the scores in order, find the median and call it Q2
find the median of the bottom half of the scores and call it Q1 (or QL)
find the median of the top half of scores and call it Q3 (or QU).

Example

Find the quartiles for each set of data.

a 65 84 75 82 97 70 68 76 93 48 79 54 80 79 82 96 63 85 72 70
b 9 3 8 7 6 8 4 6 2 10 9
c 15 18 7 16 23 9 15 20 16 14 13 11 19

Solution
a Arranging the 20 scores in ascending order, we have:
48 54 63 65 68 70 70 72 75 76 79 79 80 82 82 84 85 93 96 97
68 + 70
2
= 69

76 + 79
2
= 77.5

Q1 =

82 + 84
2
= 83

Q2 (median) =

Q3 =

When finding the quartiles, first find the median, then the lower and upper quartiles.
Q1 (lower quartile) 69; Q2 (median) 77.5; Q3 (upper quartile) 83
b Arranging the 11 scores in ascending order, we have:
2

Median
Q2 = 7

Lower quartile
Q1 = 4

10

Upper quartile
Q3= 9

c Arranging the 13 scores in ascending order, we have:

7

11

13

Lower quartile
11 + 13
Q1 =
2
= 12

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14

15

15

16

Median
Q2 = 15

16

18

19

20

23

Upper quartile
18 + 19
Q3 =
2
= 18.5

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Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Investigating data

Worksheet
Interquartile range
MAT10SPWK10034
Video tutorial
Interquartile range

The interquartile range

The range is a measure of spread because it gives an indication of how widely the scores are
spread in a set of data.
The interquartile range is another measure of spread. It is the difference between the upper and
lower quartiles and so it is the range of the middle 50% of the data.

MAT10SPVT10003

Summary
Interquartile range IQR upper quartile  lower quartile
Q3  Q1
interquartile range
25%

50%

lower quartile
Q1

25%

median
Q2

upper quartile
Q3

The interquartile range ignores very low or very high scores (outliers), so sometimes it is better
than the range as a measure of spread.

Example

Getty Images Sport/Cameron Spencer

The number of points scored by the NSW

Waratahs per rugby match during the 2013
season were:
17 31 6 26 30 23 29 25 19 72 21 28 22 28 12
a Find the range.
b Find the interquartile range.
c Which is the better measure of spread of the
points scored by the Waratahs  the range
or interquartile range?

Solution
First arrange the scores in order:
6

12

17

19

21

Lower quartile
Q1 = 19

a Range 72  6
66

22

23

25

26

Median
Q2 = 25

28

28

29

30

31

72

Upper quartile
Q3 = 29

b Interquartile range Q3  Q1
29  19

10
c The interquartile range is the better measure of spread as the outlier of 72 is excluded.
The score of 72 has affected the range, making it very big.

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Example

ustralian Curriculum

10 10A

Find the interquartile range of each set of data.

a

Stem
4
5
6
7
8
9

Leaf
0 1
2 5
2 8
0 3
3 4
0 3

3
6

3
5
4

4
6
5

7
8

Solution
a There are 14 scores, so the median is between
the 7th and 8th scores.
Median, Q2 4 4 4
2
Q1 is the median of the lower half of scores.
Q1 2.
Q3 is the median of the upper half of scores.
Q3 4.

Q3

Q2
Q1
1

) IQR Q3  Q1
42
2
b There are 24 scores, so the median is between
the 12th and 13th scores.
73 74
73:5
Median, Q2
2
Lower quartile, Q1 56 59 57:5
2
85

86 85:5
Upper quartile, Q3
2
) IQR 85:5  57:5
28

Exercise 6-02
1

Stem

Leaf
Q1

0 1 3

2 5 6 9

2 8

0 3 3 4 7 9

3 4 5 6 8

0 3 4 5

Q2

Q3

Quartiles and interquartile range

Find the quartiles for each set of data.

a 3
7 9
5
5
6 2
8
b 15 19 18 12 20 34 28 18
c 34 45 32 38 29 40 37 33

See Example 2

9
7
28 20 23
35 30 34

25
35

38

37 38

31

Calculate the range and the interquartile range of each data set in question 1.

Calculate the interquartile range for each set of data below.

a
b

5
2

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6
0

6
3

7
5

8
2

9
1

9
0

10
6

14
4

14
3

15
8

16
4

30

34
See Example 3

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Investigating data

The monthly rainfall figures for

Ulladulla one year were:
31 174 288 89
26
5
8 275

15
38

123
58
Getty Images/Peter Harrison

For this data, find:

a the range
b the interquartile range

See Example 4

Find the interquartile range for each set of data.

b
a

10

11

9
3
9

52

53

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

c Stem
3
4
5
6
7

Leaf
2 7
0 3
2 4
3 4
2

e Stem
10
11
12
13
14

Leaf
35 5 6 6
01 2
34 6 7 8
47
1

3
5
7

5
6

d Stem
1
2
3
4
5

Leaf
3 5
0 1
5 8
1 3
4

8
3
9

48

The pulse rates for a group of students are as follows.

82 81 72 58 79 77 62 66 92 78 80 67
a Find the range.

49

91

50

51

75 72

68

b Find the interquartile range.

c i List the scores that lie between the lower and upper quartiles.
ii What percentage of scores lie between Q1 and Q3?
d What percentage of scores lie above the lower quartile?
7

The number of goals per game scored by the Sydney Swifts netball team during 2013 were:
55
35
49
53
51
55
42
48
63
43
48
48
62
a Find:
i the range

ii the interquartile range

b Which is the better measure of spread?

c List the scores that lie in the interquartlie range. What percentage of the scores is this?

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Just for the record

ustralian Curriculum

10 10A

Statistics: Where did it all begin?

Alamy/Zev Radovan

In prehistoric times, when the number of people and animals was recorded in pictures and
symbols on the walls of caves, a simple form of statistics was being used.

Before 3000 BCE, ancient Babylonians used clay tablets to record crop yields and trade data,
and around 2650 BCE the Egyptians surveyed the population and wealth of their country
before building the pyramids. Forms of statistics were also used in the Bible in the Book of
Numbers and the First Book of Chronicles. Numerical records existed in China before
2000 BCE, and the Greeks (to help collect taxes) held a census in 594 BCE. The Roman Empire
was the first government to collect information about the population. In 1086 a census was
conducted in England. The information obtained in this census was recorded in the
Domesday Book.
Use your library or the Internet to find out more about the Domesday Book. Write a onepage report suitable for a classroom presentation.
Stage 5.3

6-03 Standard deviation

The standard deviation is another measure of spread. Like the mean, its value is calculated using
every score in a data set.

Worksheet
Statistical calculations
MAT10SPWK10209

Summary
The standard deviation is a measure of the spread of a set of scores.
The symbol for standard deviation is s or sn.
s is the lower case Greek letter
Its value is an average of how different each score is
sigma
from the mean.
Standard deviation has a complex formula so it is best calculated using the calculators statistics
mode. It is a better measure of spread than the range and interquartile range because its value
depends on every score in the data set.

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Investigating data

Stage 5.3

Example

Calculate, correct to two decimal places, the standard deviation of each set of data.
a The daily maximum temperature (in C) in Campbelltown for two weeks in January.
45.0
33.8

24.5
32.9

24.8
23.6

29.1
22.1

35.0
29.2

26.9
27.1

31.8
32.7

b The scores of Year 10 students in a Science quiz.

Score
Frequency

2
2

3
1

4
3

5
3

6
2

7
5

8
6

9
4

10
2

Solution
Follow the instructions for the statistics mode (SD or STAT) of your calculator as shown in
the tables below.
a

Operation

Casio scientific

Sharp scientific

Start statistics
mode.

MODE

STAT 1-VAR

MODE

Clear the statistical

memory.

SHIFT

1 Edit, Del-A

2ndF

SHIFT

1 Data to get table

Enter data

45.0

24.5

= , etc.

to enter in column
to leave table
Calculate the
standard deviation
(sx 5.75)

SHIFT

1 Var

Return to normal
(COMP) mode.

MODE

COMP

45.0
etc.

STAT

DEL

M+

24.5

M+

AC

RCL

MODE

s 5.75

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Operation

ustralian Curriculum

Casio scientific

Sharp scientific

Start statistics
mode.

MODE

STAT 1-VAR

MODE

Clear the statistical

memory.

SHIFT

1 Edit, Del-A

2ndF

SHIFT

1 Data to get table

Enter data

2 = 3 = , etc. to
enter in x column
2 = 1 = , etc. to
enter in FREQ column
AC to leave table
Calculate the
standard deviation
(sx 2.26)

SHIFT

1 Var

Return to normal
(COMP) mode.

MODE

COMP

10 10A

STAT

DEL

2ndF

M+

2ndF

M+

STO

STO

RCL

MODE

Stage 5.3

s 2.26

Exercise 6-03

Standard deviation

Note: In this exercise, express all means and standard deviations correct to two decimal places.
1 Calculate the standard deviation of each set of data.
a 5
4
7
8
2
9
10
b 20
23
28
24
19
25
26
24
23
x
10
11
12
13
14
15

f
2
5
9
8
3
1

d
8
Frequency

See Example 5

6
4
2
0
2

4 5
Score

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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Number of DVDs watched/week

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Investigating data

Stage 5.3

An English class of Year 10 students scored the following marks for their speeches.
12
15

15
14

14
13

16
13

16
18

12
10

11
12

18
12

7
14

10
13

a Which score is the outlier?

b Find the standard deviation of the scores:
i with the outlier

c What effect does removing the outlier have on the standard deviation?
For the three statistical distributions A, B and C shown, which one has:
a the greatest standard deviation?
b the smallest standard deviation?

B
8
6
4
2
0

2 3 4 5 6 7
Score

C
8
6
4
2
0

2 3 4 5 6
Score

Find the standard deviation of each data set.

a

Frequency

Frequency

Frequency

ii without the outlier.

6 7 8
Marks

9 10

Stem
2
3
4
5
6
7

8
6
4
2
0

2 3 4 5 6
Score

Leaf
0 2
5 5
1 2
0 3
1 5
6

7
6
4
4
5

8
5
5

9
6
9

6
9

The heights of girls in a Year 9 basketball team are as follows.

151
161
171
175
176
157
175
163
164
a Calculate the mean and standard deviation of the heights in the basketball team.
b Another girl joins the basketball team. What is the possible height of the student if the
standard deviation:
i increases

ii decreases?

The training times (in seconds) of a sprinter over 100 m are as follows.
11.2

11.0

10.9

12.3

11.8

11.1

11.4

11.6

11.0

a Find the mean and standard deviation of the training times.

b What training time would the sprinter have to do to:
i increase the standard deviation?
ii decrease the standard deviation?
7

Brookes times (in seconds) for swimming 100 m are as follows.

55.7

59.8

58.4

56.7

60.0

55.8

57.4

58.0

An error was made in recording these times and 2 s needs to be added to each of these times.
Which of the following is true? Select the correct answer A, B, C or D.
A the standard deviation will increase and the mean will stay the same
B the standard deviation will decrease and the mean will increase
C the standard deviation will stay the same and the mean will increase
D the standard deviation and the mean are unchanged

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Stage 5.3

Investigation: The formula for standard deviation

rP

x  x2
The formula for the standard deviation of a set of scores is r
where x is
n
each score, x is the mean and n is the number of scores.
The steps for calculating standard deviation are as follows.
Calculate the mean x
For every score in the data set, find the difference between the score and the mean, then
square this difference: x  x2
Calculate the average of these squared deviations by adding them and dividing their sum
P
x  x2
by the number of scores:
r
P
n
x  x2
Calculate the square root of this average:
n
We will now use this method to calculate the standard deviation of this set of scores.
4
5
6
7
2
8
6
5
2
1 Calculate the mean of these scores.
2 Copy and complete the table below by finding, for each score, its difference from the
mean and the square of this difference.
Score, x
x  x

4
1

5
0

x  x2

3 Find the mean of the squared deviations calculated in the bottom row of the table.
4 The standard deviation is the square root of this mean. Calculate the standard deviation
correct to two decimal places.
5 Check your answer by calculating the standard deviation using your calculators statistics
mode and comparing both answers.
6 Use the standard deviation formula to calculate the standard deviation of each set of scores.
a 5
4
7
8
2
9
10
b 20
23
28
24
19
25
26
24
23
Check your results by using your calculator.
7 The standard deviation is never negative. Explain why.
8 If the scores of a set of data are all the same, what is the standard deviation? Explain.

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Just for the record

The normal curve

If the heights of all of the people in Australia were graphed on

a frequency polygon, the graph would be a normal curve,
a symmetrical bell-shaped curve that peaks in the middle.
The normal curve has the following features.

Frequency

Stage 5.3

x (the mean)

The mean, median and mode are the same.

About 68% of scores lie within one standard deviation
of the mean.

68%
x+

About 95% lie within two standard deviations of the mean.

95%
x 2

x + 2

About 99.7% lie within three standard deviations of the mean.

99.7%
x + 3

x 3

Measure and analyse the heights of the students at your school. Do the data follow a normal curve?

Comparing means and standard

6-04 deviations
The mean and standard deviation can be used to compare different sets of data.

Example

The heights (in cm) of the girls and boys in a Year 10 PE class at Baramvale High were
measured.
Girls:
Boys:

163 155 171 162 165 158 172 166 163 150 160 181 160 156
174 167 164 175 189 145 165 166 165 168 167 171 169 172 168

a Calculate, correct to two decimal places, the mean and standard deviation for:
i the girls

ii the boys

iii the class.

b Which group has the greater spread of heights?

c Is there a significant difference between the heights of girls and boys?

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Solution

Stage 5.3

a Using the calculators statistics mode:

i Girls: x 163 cm, sn  7.60
ii Boys: x  168.33 cm, sn  8.64
iii Class: x  165.76 cm, sn  8.58
b The group of boys in the class has the greater spread of heights as its standard deviation
is higher.
c The mean height of boys was greater than that of the girls, but the girls had the lower
spread of heights.

Comparing measures of spread

The standard deviation is usually the most appropriate measure of spread as it uses all of the
scores in the data set.
The range is the easiest to calculate but its value only depends upon two scores: the highest score
and the lowest score.
If there are outliers in the data set, then the standard deviation and range will be affected by these
extreme scores. In this case, the interquartile range is the better measure, because it is the range of
the middle 50% of scores and so is not affected by outliers.

Example

The ages of the children using a jumping castle and visiting a petting zoo are shown.
Jumping castle:
Petting zoo:

3
3

3
4

4
5

5
6

5
6

6
7

8
8

10
8

18
10

a For each set of data, calculate:

i the range
ii the interquartile range
iii the standard deviation (to two decimal places)
b Which is the best measure of spread for each set of data?

Solution
a For the jumping castle:

For the petting zoo:

i Range 18  3
15
ii IQR 9  3:5

i Range 10  3
7
ii IQR 8  4:5

5:5
iii sn  4.48

3:5
iii sn  2.05

b The jumping castle data has an outlier, 18, that affects the range and standard
deviation. The interquartile range is the best measure for this data set.
The petting zoo data does not have an outlier, so the standard deviation is the best
measure for this data set.

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Stage 5.3

See Example 6

Exercise 6-04

Comparing means and standard

deviations

Note: In this exercise, express all means and standard deviations correct to two decimal places.
1 The pulse rates (in beats/minute) of a sample of men and women taken at a suburban
shopping centre.
Men:
68 72 75 73 81 77 69 68 79 83 65 59 60 72 70
Women: 82 61 79 77 75 68 86 81 72 77 78 81 90 83 73
a Find the mean and standard deviation of each group.
b Is there a significant difference between the mean and standard deviation for men and
women? Give reasons.
2

The reaction times (in seconds) for the dominant and non-dominant hands of a group of
athletes were measured.
Dominant hand:
0.41
0.29
0.35
0.42
0.42
0.43
0.39
0.61
0.34
0.75
0.34
0.38
0.47
0.34
0.32
0.29
Non-dominant hand: 0.46
0.34
0.38
0.39
0.39
0.39
0.51
0.50
0.40
2.60
0.34
0.39
0.51
0.35
0.37
0.31

0.38
0.30
0.47
0.32

a Find the mean and standard deviation for each data set.
b Is there a significant difference between the results? Explain your answer.
c i What are the outliers for the reaction time of the dominant hand?
ii Find the mean and standard deviation without the outliers.
iii What effect does removing the outliers have on the mean and standard deviation?
d Find the mean and standard deviation of the reaction time for the non-dominant hand
without the outlier.
e On which group has the removal of outliers had the greater effect on the mean and
standard deviation? Justify your answer.
3

The scores of two cricket teams were recorded

on a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot.

Western Tigers
5 2

a Find the mean and standard deviation for

each team.
b Which team was more consistent with its
scores?

7
8

8
7

6
5
4
5

Barrington City
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

3
0
7
4
1
7
6
6

8
6
5

Vatha and Anas times for running 100 m time trials are given below.
Vatha:
13.0
13.5
14.2
13.7
13.2
14.7
13.5
14.3
Ana:
14.2
13.2
15.1
13.8
14.2
15.2
13.9
13.5
a Find the mean and standard deviation for each runner.
b Which runner is more consistent? Give reasons.

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The dot plots show the test results of a class before and after using a tutorial website.

6 7
Marks

10

6 7
Marks

Stage 5.3

10

Which of the following is true?

A Both the mean and standard deviation increased
B The mean increased and the standard deviation decreased
C The mean decreased and the standard deviation increased
D Both the mean and standard deviation decreased
6

The marks obtained by students in a Maths and Science exams are given below.
Maths:
40 72 76 74 60 64 64 59 74 84 62 84 66
71 68 78 63 57 55 73 80 67 86 57 87 62
Science: 42 54 61 72 76 54 65 80 39 74 82 54 57
64 75 68 76 81 40 37 43 58 68 67 49 54

See Example 7

64
52
63
62

a For each subject, find:

i the range

ii the interquartile range

iii the standard deviation

b Find the mean for each subject.

c Determine which subject the students performed better in, giving reasons.
7

The points scored per match by the Roosters and the Dragons during a NRL season were:
Roosters: 10 16 8 50 22 38 34 30 16 12 18 38 12 20 18 36 40 28 42 28 56 22 22 24
Dragons: 10 6 17 25 19 13 10 18 14 32 0 14 14 16 10 0 22 18 20 26 18 18 22 19
a For each team, find:
i the range

ii the interquartile range

iii the mean

iv the standard deviation

b By comparing the means and the measures of spread, decide which was the better team.

Mental skills 6

Maths without calculators

Multiplying and dividing by 5, 15, 25 and 50

It is easier to multiply or divide a number by 10 than by 5. So whenever we multiply or
divide a number by 5, we can double the 5 (to make 10) and then adjust the first number.
1

Study each example.

a To multiply by 5, halve the number, then multiply by 10.
1
18 3 5 18 3 3 10 or 9 3 2 3 10
2
9 3 10
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b To multiply by 50, halve the number, then multiply by 100.

1
26 3 50 26 3 3 100 or 13 3 2 3 100
2
13 3 100
1300
c To multiply by 25, quarter the number, then multiply by 100.
1
44 3 25 44 3 3 100 or 11 3 4 3 25
4
11 3 100
1100
d To multiply by 15, halve the number, then multiply by 30.
1
8 3 15 8 3 3 30 or 4 3 2 3 15
2
4 3 30
120
e To divide by 5, divide by 10 and double the answer. We do this because there are two
5s in every 10.
140 4 5 140 4 10 3 2
14 3 2
28
f To divide by 50, divide by 100 and double the answer. This is because there are two
50s in every 100.
400 4 50 400 4 100 3 2
432
8
g To divide by 25, divide by 100 and multiply the answer by 4. This is because there are
four 25s in every 100.
600 4 25 600 4 100 3 4
634
24
h To divide by 15, divide by 30 and double the answer. This is because there are two 15s
in every 30.
240 4 15 240 4 30 3 2
832
16
2

Now evaluate each expression.

a
e
i
m
q

206

32 3 5
52 3 50
12 3 15
230 4 5
1000 4 25

b
f
j
n
r

14 3 5
36 3 25
22 3 35
1300 4 50
360 4 45

c
g
k
o
s

48 3 5
28 3 5
90 4 5
900 4 50
210 4 15

d
h
l
p
t

18 3 50
12 3 25
170 4 5
300 4 25
360 4 15

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Video tutorial

6-05 Boxplots

Box-and-whisker plots
MAT10SPVT10004

A boxplot (or box-and-whisker plot) displays the quartiles of a set of data and the lowest and
highest scores (lower and upper extremes).
interquartile range

box

lowest score
or lower extreme

Video tutorial
Statistics

whisker

MAT10SPVT00002

lower
quartile, Q1

Median, Q2

upper
quartile, Q3

highest score
or upper extreme

MAT10SPWK10035

The box represents the middle 50% of scores and the interquartile range, while the whiskers
represent the lowest and highest 25% of scores.
bottom 25%

middle 50%

Worksheet
Five number summaries

top 25%

Puzzle sheet
Mode, median and
mean
MAT10SPPS00044
Technology

Summary

GeoGebra:
Boxplot and dot plot
MAT10SPTC00002

A boxplot gives a five-number summary of a data set:

the lower extreme (or lowest score)

the lower quartile, Q1
the median, Q2
the upper quartile, Q3
the upper extreme (or highest score)

Technology worksheet
Excel worksheet:
Five number summary
MAT10SPCT00002
Technology worksheet

Example

Excel spreadsheet:
Five number summary

MAT10SPCT00032

The number of hours per week that Nick worked at the Big Chicken over summer were:
5

10

12

15

a Find a five-number summary for this data.

b Represent this data on a box-and-whisker plot.

Solution
a First arrange the scores in order.
3

5
Q1

median Q2

Lower extreme 3
Lower quartile 4 5 4:5
2
Median 7

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12

15

Q3

Upper quartile 8 10 9
2
Upper extreme 15

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Q1

median

Q3

lower
extreme
0

Example

upper
extreme
4

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Hours worked

The boxplot represents the results of 80 students in a Science test.

a
b
c
d

10

20

30

40
50
60
Science test marks

70

80

90

100

Find the range of the test results.

Find the median test score.
What is the interquartile range?
How many students had a test mark between:
i 25 and 75?

ii 40 and 60?

e What percentage of students scored more than 75?

Solution
a Range highest score  lowest score
95  25
70
b Median 60
c Interquartile range Q3  Q1
75  40
35
d i 25 is the lowest score and 75 is Q3, so 75% 3 80 60 students had a mark
between 25 and 75.
ii 40 is Q1 and 60 is the median, so 25% 3 80 20 students had a mark
between 40 and 60.
e 75 is the third quartile so 25% 3 80 20 students scored more than 75.

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Boxplots

The number of orders taken per hour at Bramavale Pizza on a weekend were:
3
5
1
2
4
6
8
10
7
6
12
15
10
3
5
18
5
8
9
10

See Example 8

a Find the five-number summary for this data.

b Represent this data on a box-and-whisker plot.
2

The daily amount of snow (in cm) that fell at Thredbo during one ski season was:
2
20

5
12

5
5

2
40

5
50

7
10

1
40

2
13

2
30

2
5

2
35

2
2

12
6

a On how many days did it snow?

b Find a five-number summary for this data.
c Represent this data on a box-and-whisker plot.
3

The monthly rainfall figures in millimetres for Penrith in 2012 were:

98

266 149

94

15

65

19

24

34

67

28

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

a Find the range.

b Find the five-number summary.
c Represent the data on a boxplot.
4

This boxplot represents the number of hours worked in one week by the staff at a
supermarket.

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

See Example 9

32

Hours worked

a What is the median number of hours worked?

b What is the lower quartile?
c What is the upper quartile?
d Find the interquartile range.
e Estimate the percentage of employees that worked between 26 and 30 hours.
5

The ages of 16 people waiting at a bus stop are displayed by the boxplot below.

15

20

25

30

35

40

Waiting time (min)

a What is the range?

b What is the median age?
c Find the interquartile range.
d What percentage of people were aged from:
i 21 to 29?

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The box-and-whisker plot shows the number of points per game scored by Ben in 28
basketball games during the season.

10

12

14 16 18 20 22
Points scored per game

24

26

28

30

a What is the five-number summary for the boxplot?

b Find the interquartile range.
c In how many games did Ben score:
i more than 19 points?
iii less than 10 points?
7

For each set of data, find the five-number summary and draw a boxplot.
a Stem Leaf
b
2 0 2 3 5
3 3 7
4 4 6 7 8 8 9 9
5 0 1 1 5 6
10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
6 0 3 3 8 8
Score
7 2 5 6
8 5 5 7 8
c Stem
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

ii between 19 and 23 points?

iv at least 10 points?

Leaf
0 7
2 6
1 2
0 4
2 3
3 4
5

6
5 9
7 7 9
5 6 8

The results of a general knowledge quiz (out of 15) taken by Year 10 students are displayed by
the dot plot.

9
10
Marks

11

12

13

14

15

a Find the five-number summary for the dot plot and then draw a box-and-whisker plot.
b Describe the shape of the dot plot and compare it to the shape of the boxplot.
c What is the outlier?
d Find the five-number summary for the data in the dot plot without the outlier and draw
a boxplot.
e Compare the two boxplots. How are they:
i similar?

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Technology Boxplots
In this activity we will use GeoGebra to draw boxplots.
1 Close the Algebra window so that only the graphics
window is showing.

2 Select the grid option at the top left-hand corner.

3 Data for boxplots is entered in the format shown below.

Boxplot[y-position, width of box, {data set}]
The y-position is where you want the boxplot to sit above the x-axis. In the Input panel at the
bottom, type BoxPlot[2, 1, {3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8, 12}].
Press spacebar after each
number e.g. {3, SPACE 3,
SPACE 4, etc.}

4 To move the screen view, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and use your mouse to
drag the screen across. Your boxplot should look exactly like the one below.

5 Write down the five-number summary for this data set.

6 We will show the results of an English exam
completed by classes 10A and 10B using a
boxplot. To start up a new file with the
same settings, select File, New.
In the input panel, enter the following formula for the results for 10A.
BoxPlot[4, 2, {21, 81, 33, 58, 67, 76, 64, 74, 56, 60, 54, 74, 49, 83, 66}]
7 Move the screen view as before. To zoom in, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and
scroll up using your mouse scroll wheel. Scroll down to zoom out. This will allow you to
view the boxplot.

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Worksheet
Box-and-whisker plots
MAT10SPWK10036

8 In the input panel, enter the following formula for the results for 10B.
BoxPlot[10, 2, {77, 63, 63, 35, 51, 42, 54, 55, 71, 43, 41, 41, 40, 76, 72}]
Note: 10 means the box-and-whisker plot for 10B will be above the one for 10A (i.e. not
drawn on top of each other). You will now have two boxplots to compare.

Worksheet
Data 1
MAT10SPWK00032

Animated example
Analysing data
MAT10SPAE00002

Technology worksheet
Excel worksheet:
Parallel box plots

9 Complete a five-number summary for each data set.

10 What is the IQR for each class?
11 Which class had the highest mark?
12 Which class had the lowest mark?
13 Which class performed better? Give reasons for your answer, including explanations using
the five-number summaries you found in step 9.

MAT10SPCT00004

Technology worksheet
Excel spreadsheet:
Parallel box plots
MAT10SPCT00034

6-06 Parallel boxplots

Parallel box-and-whisker plots can be used to compare two or more sets of data. They are drawn
on the same scale, but above each other.

Example

10

Two sprinters run the following times (in seconds) over 100 metres.
Sam
Jesse

10.5
11.4

11.0
10.1

9.9
9.8

10.7
10.8

10.5
11.4

10.0
10.7

11.2
10.3

11.5
11.1

10.3
11.6

Find the five-number summary for each sprinter.

Draw parallel boxplots to display the data for both sprinters.
Find the interquartile range for each sprinter.
Find the range for each sprinter.
Which sprinter is more consistent? Justify your answer.

Alamy/moodboard

a
b
c
d
e

10.9
11.0

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Solution
a Sam: 9.9

10.0

10.3

lowest
score

10.1

10.3

lowest
score

10.5

10.7

10.9

10.5 + 10.7
2
= 10.6

Q2 =

Q1

Jesse: 9.8

10.5

10.7

10.8

11.0

highest
score

Q3

11.1

10.8 + 11.0
2
= 10.9

Q2 =

Q1

11.0 11.2 11.5

11.4 11.4 11.6

highest
score

Q3

Sam
Jesse
9.5

10.0

10.5
11.0
Time (seconds)

11.5

12.0

c Interquartile range for Sam 11.0  10.3 0.7

Interquartile range for Jesse 11.4  10.3 1.1
d Range for Sam 11.5  9.9 1.6
Range for Jesse 11.6  9.8 1.8
e Sam is the more consistent sprinter since both the range and interquartile of his times are
lower than those of Jesse.

Exercise 6-06

Parallel boxplots

1 The parallel boxplot shows the amount of sleep that Year 8 and Year 10 students usually
get on a school night.
Year 10
Year 8
5

9
10
11
Time (seconds)

12

13

14

a For each Year group, find:

i the range

ii the median

iii the interquartile range

b What percentage of students usually had at most 8 hours of sleep on a school night in:
i Year 8?

ii Year 10?

c 40 students in both Year 8 and Year 10 were surveyed. How many students usually had at
least 10 hours of sleep in:
i Year 8?

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2 The number of points scored by the Adelaide Thunderbirds and the Sydney Swifts during the
2013 netball season are shown in the parallel box-and-whisker plot.
Thunderbirds
Swifts

45.5

39

35

45.5

30

40

50

61

49

72

63

55

50
60
Points scored

70

80

a Find the range of points scored by:

i the Adelaide Thunderbirds

ii the Sydney Swifts

b What is the median number of

points scored for both teams?
c Find the interquartile range for
both teams.

3 The boxplots show the test results of

students from two different classes.
a Find the range of marks for each class.
b Find the median mark for each class.
c Find the interquartile range for each class.
d Which class is more consistent?

AAP/Jenny Evans

d Which team is more consistent?

e Which team performed better?
Give reasons.

10K
10N
0 1

5 6
Marks

9 10

e Find the percentage of students who scored 6 or more in 10K.

4 In a Year 10 class of 28 students, the marks for History and Geography tests were displayed
on a double boxplot.
Geography
History
35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95
Marks

Which of the following statements could be true?

A In Geography, more students scored between 60 and 75 than between 55 and 60.
B Fourteen students scored the same or more in History than the median mark in Geography.
C More students scored 60 or more in History than they did in Geography.
D The interquartile range for Geography is 5 less than the interquartile range for History.

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5 The monthly mean maximum temperatures for four Australian capital cities are shown in the
boxplots below.
21.1

23.7

26.9

28.4

30.4

Brisbane
17.6

20.4

23.5

25.3 26.1

Sydney
14.4

16.1

21.4

24.7

27.4

Melbourne
12.5

14.6

18.6

21.6

23.7

Hobart
12

13

14

15

16

17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Monthly mean maximum temperature (C)

27

28

29

30

a Find the median, range and interquartile range for each city.
b Which capital city had the most spread in temperature?
c Which capital city had the highest mean monthly temperatures? Justify your answer.
d Which city is warmer  Sydney or Melbourne? Give reasons.
e Which city was more consistent Sydney or Melbourne? Give reasons.
6 The number of text messages received by a group of students in one hour are as follows.
Male:
Female:

2
4

0
5

3
6

0
3

1
7

2
5

5
8

6
7

2
4

1
2

3
4

2
5

3
10

7
4

See Example 10

4
3

a Find the five-number summary for each gender.

b Draw parallel box-and-whisker plots to display the data.
c Find the interquartile range for each gender.
d Find the range for each gender.
e Compare the number of text messages that males and females receive. Are there any
significant differences between the spread of the two sets of data?
7 Students in a PE class had their heights measured in centimetres.
Male:
174 167 164 175 189 145 165 166 165
Female: 163 155 171 162 165 183 172 175 166

167
163

171
150

169
186

a Find the five-number summary for each group and draw a parallel boxplot to display
the data.
b Find the range and interquartile range for each group.
c How does the spread of heights of male students compare with the spread of heights of
female students?
8 Students at a university were asked whether their frequency of exercise was high or low and
then had their pulse taken. The results are as follows.
Low:
90 78 80 84 70 66 92 80 80 77 64 88
High: 96 71 68 56 64 60 50 76 78 49 68 74
a Find a five-number summary for each group and then draw parallel boxplots to show the
information.
b Find the range and interquartile range for each group.
c Compare the spread between the two groups. Are there significant differences between them?
d Which group had the lower pulse rates?
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Investigating data

9 The average monthly temperatures for Sydney and Brisbane in 2012 are as follows.
Sydney:
Brisbane:

26.1 25.8 24.7 23.6 20.9 17.7 17.6 19.9 22.5 23.3 24.1 26.0
28.7 29.8 28.2 26.5 24.0 21.1 21.4 23.3 25.5 27.3 28.2 30.4

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

a Find the five-number summary for each city and draw a parallel boxplot.
b Find the range and interquartile range for each city.
c Which city had more consistent average monthly temperatures? Give reasons.
10 These box-and-whisker plots show the numbers of points scored by two basketball players
during the season.
Simone
Amal
4

9 10 11 12
Points scored

13

14

15

16

a Which player has the highest point score for a single game?
b What is the range of the points scored by each player?
c By just looking at the range, which player would seem to be more consistent? Justify your answer.
d Find the median score of each player.
e Find the interquartile range for each player.
f Which player is more consistent?
g Estimate the percentage of games in which Simone scored 9 or 10 points.

Worksheet

6-07 Comparing data sets

Comparing city
temperatures
MAT10SPWK10037

Example

11

The back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot shows the results in Year 10 Maths and Science tests.

a
b
c
d

8 7
6

8
8 7
6 6
5 4

6
7
3
2
6

Maths
5 2
3 0
4 1
2 0
1 1
4 3
6 0

3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Science
6 8
4 6
1 5 9
0 2 8
2 3 4
0 0 2
0 4 4

9
4
4

5 8
5 6

8
7 8

Find the mean mark (correct to one decimal place) for each subject.
Find the median for each subject.
Find the range and interquartile range for each subject.
For each subject:
i describe the shape

ii identify any outliers and clusters.

e In which subject have the students performed better? Justify your answer.

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Solution
1919
30
64:0

2151
30
71:7

a Mean for Maths

Mean for Science

b Median for Maths 66

Median for Science 74.5
c Range for Maths 96  32 64
Interquartile range 74  54 20

Average of the 15th and 16th scores.

Range for Science 94  36 58
Interquartile range 85  60 25

d i The results for Maths are symmetrical, while the results for Science are negatively skewed.
ii There is some clustering for the Maths results in the 60s and in Science the clustering
occurs in the 70s and 80s.
e The students have performed better in Science as the mean and median for it are greater
than the mean and median for Maths. The range for Maths is greater than the range for
Science, but the interquartile range is less than that of Science.

Example

12

The number of text messages received by a group of teenagers are displayed in the frequency
histogram and the boxplot below.
10

Frequency

8
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of text messages/hour

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number of text messages/hour

10

a How many teenagers received more than 6 text messages per hour?
b Find:
i the mode
iii the range

ii the median
iv the interquartile range.

c The shape of the distribution is positively skewed. How is this shown by:
i the frequency histogram

ii the boxplot?

d According to the boxplot, what percentage of teenagers received 2 or more text messages?
e What information is better seen on:
i the frequency histogram

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ii the boxplot?

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Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Investigating data

Solution
a Number of teenagers receiving more than 6
text messages
3211
7
b i Mode 3
ii Median 4
iii Range 10  0

Using the frequency histogram.

Using the frequency histogram.
Using the boxplot.
Using the frequency histogram
or boxplot.
Using the boxplot.

10
iv Interquartile range 6  2
4
c i The tail of the frequency histogram leans
towards the higher scores.
ii The length of the boxplot to the right of the
median (Q2) is greater than its length to the
left of the median.
d Q1 2, so 75% of teenagers received
2 or more text messages/hour.
e i The mode and information regarding
the number of text messages received by
teenagers can be determined from the
frequency histogram.
ii The median, quartiles and interquartile range
are easily determined from the boxplot.

Exercise 6-07
See Example 11

Comparing data sets

1 The back-to-back stem-and-leaf

plot shows the amount of cash (in dollars)
carried by a sample of Year 11
students at Mavbalear Senior High.
a Find the mean amount of cash
(to the nearest cent) carried by
each group.

8
9 6 5
8 5 5 4
5 4
6

b Find the median amount of cash

carried by each group.
c Find the range and interquartile range of each group.

5
5
3
4
6

Boys
5 5 3
5 2 0
5 0 0
2 0 0
2 2 0
5 4 3
4 2 2
5

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Girls
55 6
02 2
05 6
01 4
00 5
03 5
55 8
04

8
5
8
5
6

9
5 8 8 9
8 8
6

d For each group:

i describe the shape

ii identify any outliers and clusters.

e Who generally carries more cash  boys or girls? Justify your answer.

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Frequency

2 The back-to-back histogram shows the number of goals scored by two football teams
during a season.
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Scorpions

Goals scored
0

Vale United

a How many games were played by each team?

b How many goals were scored by:
i Scorpions

ii Vale United?

c Find the mean number of goals scored by each team.

d What is the range for each team?
e Describe the shape of each teams results.
f Which team performed better? Give reasons.
3 The daily maximum temperatures for Sydney and Perth in February are shown below.

Sydney

20

22

24

26

28
30
32
34
Temperature (C)

36

38

40

42

22

24

26

28
30
32
34
Temperature (C)

36

38

40

42

Perth
20

a Find the mean, median and modal temperatures for each city.
b Find the range and interquartile range of temperatures for each city.
c Describe the distribution shape of the temperatures for each city and identify any outliers
and clusters.
d Compare the temperatures in Sydney and Perth. Comment on measures of location (the
mean, median and mode), and measures of spread (range and interquartile range).

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Investigating data

4 The results for two quizzes taken by a Year 10 History class are shown below.
Score
Quiz 1

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Quiz 2

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Frequency

a How many students are in the Year 10 History class?

b Find the mean and mode for each quiz.
c Find the median for each quiz.
d For each quiz, find:
i the range

ii the interquartile range.

e Describe the distribution for each quiz, identifying any clusters and outliers.
f Are there significant differences between the results of the two quizzes? Justify your answer.
5 A survey to determine the number of people per
household was conducted in several shopping centres.
The results are shown in the frequency histogram and
boxplot on the right.
a How many households had 3 or more people?
b Find the:
i mode
iii range

ii median
iv interquartile range.

c Describe the shape of the distribution.

d According to the boxplot, what percentage of households
had 2 or more people?
e Clustering occurs at 1 to 3 people per household.
How is this shown on the:
i frequency histogram?
ii boxplot?
f What information is better seen on:
i the frequency histogram?
ii the boxplot?

220

Frequency

See Example 12

28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

2 3 4 5 6 7
People per household

3
4
5
6
People per household

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6 The dot plot and box-and-whisker plot show the number of hours that Year 10 students spent
watching TV during one week.

10

12

14
16
18
20
22
24
Hours spent watching TV per week

26

28

10

12

14
16
18
20
22
24
Hours spent watching TV per week

26

28

a How many students watched TV for:

i fewer than 15 hours per week?

ii more than 20 hours per week?

b Find the:
i mode

ii range

iii interquartile range

c What is the shape of the distribution? How is this shown by:

i the dot plot?

ii the boxplot?

d Which display of data, the dot plot or boxplot, can be used to find:
i the mode?
ii the median?
iii the number of students who watched TV for 25 hours?
iv the interquartile range?
7 The speeds of cars were monitored along a main road in two different suburbs. The results are
shown in the back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot and the parallel boxplots.
Sunbeam Valley
8
9 8 8 7 4 3 3 3 2 0
9 9 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 0
2 0 0

Bentleys Beach
5
6
7
8
9

0 0 1 2 3 5 5 7 8 9
0 0 2 2 3 3 5 5 5 6 6
0 2 3 4 5 5 5 8
0

Sunbeam Valley
Bentleys Beach
50

60

70
Speed (km/h)

80

90

a Find the range, median and interquartile range for each suburb.
b What is the shape of the distribution for each suburb?
c Are there any clusters or outliers in either suburb?
d According to the boxplot, what percentage of drivers in Bentleys Beach drive faster than all
drivers in Sunbeam Valley?
e In which suburb do drivers generally drive faster? Give a possible reason for your answer.

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Investigating data

Frequency

8 Lamissa and Anneka each shot arrows at a target 50 m away during an archery contest. They
scored 10 for a bulls-eye down to 1 for the outer ring. Their results are displayed in the backto-back histogram and the parallel box-and-whisker plots below.
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12

Lamissa

Score per arrow

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Lamissa
Anneka
Anneka
1

4 5 6 7 8
Score per arrow

9 10

a How many arrows each did Lamissa and Anneka shoot?

b Find the mode and median score per arrow for each contestant.
c Find the range and interquartile range for each contestant.
d Describe the shape of the distribution for each contestant.
e According to the boxplots, on what percentage of the arrows shot was a score of 6 or less
achieved by:
i Lamissa?
ii Anneka?
f Who was the better archer during this contest? Justify your answer by referring to the
measures of location and spread.
9 The number of sit-ups per minute completed by men and women at the Full On Fitness
Centre are displayed in the back-to-back histogram and parallel boxplots.

9 9 9
7 6

8 8
5 5

7 4
5 4
7 5

4
3
4

8
3
2
3

Women
7 5 4
3 1 0
1 0 0
2 0 0
2 1 0

1
2
3
4
5

Men
0 6
0 2
0 2
1 3
0 1

7
3
4
4
3

9
4
5
6
4

9
4
6
6
7

5
6
6
7

5
7
6

7 7
7 8
7 7

8
8 8
9

Women
Men
10

20

30
40
Number of sit-ups per minute

50

60

a Why would a dot plot be an inappropriate way to display the data shown above?
b What is the median number of sit-ups per minute completed by each group?
c Find the range and interquartile range for each group.
d Describe the shape of the distributions for women and for men.
e Which group has more spread in the number of sit-ups completed per minute? Give
reasons for your answer.

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10 10A

10 The results of a Maths test given to four Year 10 classes are shown below.
10 Green
10 Red
10 Blue
10 Yellow
30

40

50

60
Test results

70

90

80

a What is the range of test results for:

i 10 Yellow?

ii 10 Blue?

b For which class are the test results:

i positively skewed?

ii negatively skewed?

iii symmetrical?

ii the highest test score?

iii the highest median?

c Which class had:

i the lowest interquartile range?

d Which class had the best test results overall? Give reasons.

Puzzle sheet

6-08 Scatter plots

Scatter plots matching

game

Bivariate data is data that measures two variables, such as a persons height and arm span
(distance between outstretched arms). Bivariate data is represented by an ordered pair of values
that can be graphed on a scatter plot for analysis.
A scatter plot is a graph of points on a number plane. Each point represents the values of the two
different variables and the resulting graph may show a pattern that may be linear or non-linear. If
there is a pattern, then a relationship may exist between the two variables.

Example

MAT10SPPS10038
Worksheet
Scatter plots
MAT10SPWK00002

13

The heights and arm spans of a group of students are shown in the table.
Height, H cm
162
Arm Span, S cm 158

182
185

153
145

145
143

172
174

163
165

150
151

142
141

183
181

145
158

192
191

171
178

a Plot the data on a scatter plot.

b Describe the pattern of the plotted points.
c Describe the relationship between the students heights and arm spans.

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Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Investigating data

Solution
a
200

Arm Span, S (cm)

190
180
170
160
150
140
140

150

160 170 180

Height, H (cm)

190

200

b The points form a linear pattern.

c As the heights of students increase, their arm spans tend to increase.

Strength and direction of linear relationships

The type of linear pattern will indicate the strength and direction of the relationship between the
two variables.
y

Two variables x and y have a positive

relationship if y increases as x increases.

Two variables x and y have a negative

relationship if y decreases as x increases.

Summary
The strength of a relationship between two variables can be described as:

224

strong if the points are close together

weak if the points are more spread out
perfect if all points lie on a straight line

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Example

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14

Describe the strength and direction of the relationship shown in each scatter plot.
a y
by
cy

d y

ey

fy

Solution
a weak positive relationship
b perfect negative relationship
c no relationship
d strong negative relationship
e perfect positive relationship
f weak negative relationship

The points can be seen to form a line but they are

very spread out.
The points seem to lie on a decreasing straight line.
The points are very spread out with no pattern.
The points can be seen to form a decreasing line
and they are close together.
The points lie on an increasing straight line.
The points can be seen to form a decreasing line but
they are very spread out.

Dependent and independent variables

If a variable y depends on the value of the variable x, y is called the dependent variable, and x is
called the independent variable. For example, stride length (the length of a persons walking step
or pace) depends on the persons height, so stride length is the dependent variable and height is
the independent variable. When graphing, the dependent variable is shown on the vertical (y-) axis
while the independent variable is shown on the horizontal (x-) axis.

Exercise 6-08
1

Scatter plots

The heights and handspans of a group of students are shown in the table.

See Example 13

Height, H cm

168

175

175

156

160

173

171

180

185

175

182

180

Handspan, S cm

20.0

21.1

17.6

16.5

17.5

19.0

20.8

22.5

25.0

23.0

20.2

21.1

a Plot the data on a scatter plot.

b Describe the pattern of the plotted points.
c Describe the relationship between the students heights and their handspans.

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Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Investigating data

See Example 14

Describe the strength and direction of the relationship shown in each scatter plot.
a
b
c

3
4

Describe the strength and direction between the variables height, H and handspan, S in question 1.
The height and stride length measurements of some students are shown in the table below.
Height, H cm

174

160

158

180

169

172

171

171

148

190

166

173

Stride Length, L cm

72.2

64.0

66.4

74.7

70

71.5

70.9

71.2

61.4

78.9

68.0

71.9

a Explain why stride length is the dependent variable.

b Graph this data on a scatter plot.
c Describe the pattern of the plotted points.
d Describe the relationship between the students heights and stride lengths.
e Describe the strength and direction of the relationship.
f Predict the stride length of a student who is 175 cm tall.
5

The table lists the points scored for and

against each NRL team one season.
a Graph this data on a scatter plot.
b Is the pattern of the points linear?

Dreamstime/Vselenka

c Describe the strength and direction of

the relationship between points scored for
and points scored against.

Points scored
for, F
568
579
559
497
597
545
445
481
405
506
449
448
462
497
409
431

Points scored
against, A
369
361
438
403
445
536
441
447
438
551
477
488
626
609
575
674

Year 10 students were surveyed on the number of hours in a week they spent doing homework
and the number of hours they spent on the computer. The results are shown in the table.
Homework, H
Computer, C

2 15 12 5
25 30 18 35

4
6

2 4 15 14 5
30 20 22 6 40

2
8

5
3

20 4
20 30

2
5

11
8

a Plot the points on a scatter plot.

b Describe the strength and direction of the relationship between the hours spent doing
homework and the hours spent on the computer.

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10 10A

A survey was conducted to see whether there was a relationship between height and the age of
students in a high school. The results are in the table below.
Age, A (years)
Height, H (cm)

14 16 15 13 11 14 17 15 12 11 14 16 13 18
162 174 182 162 132 173 187 160 154 145 165 171 151 181

a Graph the points on a scatter plot.

b Which variable could be considered as the dependent variable? Give reasons.
c Describe the strength and direction of the relationship between the age and height of students.

Technology Scatter plot patterns

Investigate one of the following pairs of bivariate data for a group of students or people. You will
need instruments (measuring tapes and/or trundle wheels) and stopwatches to help you collect
your data.

Height vs arm span

Reaction time vs hours of sleep
Stride length vs 50 m sprint time
1 Enter your data into a spreadsheet. Graph it using Scatter with Smooth Lines and Markers.
2 Analyse your graph. What type of linear relationship does it show? Positive or negative?
Strong or weak?
3 Write a brief summary describing the relationship between the two variables.

6-09 Line of best fit

If two variables x and y show a strong linear relationship when graphed on a scatter plot, the linear
relationship can be approximated by drawing a line of best fit through the points and finding its
equation y mx b. This line can be done on paper but it is easier to graph it using technology
such as a spreadsheet, dynamic geometry or graphing software.

Stage 5.3
Worksheet
Line of best fit
MAT10SPWK10210
Worksheet
Data 2

Summary
A line of best fit:

represents most or all of the points as closely as possible

goes through as many points as possible
has roughly the same number of points above and below it
is drawn so that the distances of points from the line are as small as possible

A line of best fit can be used to predict what might happen:

between the points on the scatter plot, within the range of data (this is called interpolation,
pronounced in-terp-o-lay-shun), or
beyond the points on the scatter plot, outside the range of data (this is called extrapolation,
pronounced ex-trap-o-lay-shun).

9780170194662

MAT10SPWK00033
Technology worksheet
Excel spreadsheet:
Line of best fit
MAT10NACT00033
Technology worksheet
Excel worksheet: Line
of best fit
MAT10NACT00003

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Investigating data

Stage 5.3

Example

15

The arm span and right foot size of 12 Year 10 students were measured.
Arm span, S (cm) 177 179 162 182 181 171 161 176 175 190 168 165
Right foot size,
25 26 24 28 27 25 23 25 24 30 24 24
F (cm)
a
b
c
d
e

Graph the points on a scatter plot and construct a line of best fit.
Find the equation of the line of best fit.
Use the equation to estimate the foot size of a student with an arm span of 173 cm.
Use the graph to interpolate the foot size of a Year 10 student with an arm span of 185 cm.
Use the graph to extrapolate the arm span of a Year 10 student who has a foot size of 31 cm.

Solution
a

Right foot size, F (cm)

40

30

20

10

150

160

170
180
Arm span, S (cm)

190

200

210

b Use the pointgradient formula y  y1 m(x  x1) to find the equation of the line.
y2  y1
m
x2  x1
27  20
Using two points on the

181  150
line (150, 20) and (181, 27).
7

31
 0:226
y  20 0:226x  150
Using the point (150, 20).
0:226x  33:9
y 0.226x  13.9
F 0.226S  13.9
x and y replaced by S and F respectively.
c When S 173 cm,
F 0:226 3 173  13:9
25:198 cm:
A Year 10 student with an arm span of 173 cm would have a foot size of 25.198 cm.

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d From the graph, a Year 10 student with an arm

span of 185 cm would have a foot size of 28 cm.

10 10A

This is interpolating because

we are reading from the graph
between the given points.

Stage 5.3

Right foot size, F (cm)

40

30

20

10

150

160

170
180
Arm span, S (cm)

190

200

e From the graph, a Year 10 student with a

foot size of 22 cm would have an arm
span of 158 cm.

Exercise 6-09
1

210

This is extrapolating because

we are reading from the graph
outside the given points.

Line of best fit

Forensic scientists can estimate peoples heights from the lengths of their bones such as the tibia,
femur, humerus and radius. The table below gives the heights of females and the length of their radius.
Length of radius, r (cm)
Height, H (cm)

25.2 22
173 158

23 22.5 21.8 26.2

165 161 158 179

20.4
152

23.5
167

24.3
169

See Example 15

21.4
156

190

Height, H (cm)

180

170

160

150

140

19

20

21

22

23
24
25
Length of radius, r (cm)

26

27

28

a Plot the points on a scatter plot as shown and construct a line of best fit.
b Find the equation of the line of best fit.
c Use your equation to find the height of a female whose radius is 25 cm long.
d If the radius is 27 cm in length, use the line of best fit to predict the height of the female.

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Stage 5.3

The heights and shoe sizes of a group of Year 11s were measured and recorded below.
Height, H (cm) 175

174

177 180

179

176

170

Shoe size, S

10

10

11

9.5

7.5

10.5

12

175 179
9

180

178

183

178 173

11.5 12.5

11

12.5

12

179

9.5 10.5

174
9

a Graph the points on a scatter plot and construct a line of best fit.
b Find the equation of the line of best fit.
c Use the equation to estimate the shoe size (to the nearest 0.5) of a student whose height is 172 cm.
d Use the graph to interpolate the shoe size of a student who is 181 cm tall.
e Use the graph to extrapolate the shoe size of a student with height 185 cm.
3

The air temperature, T (C) was measured at various heights, h (m), above sea level.
Height, h (m)

500

1000

2000

2500

4000

5900

7500

10 000

Temperature, T (C)

20

14

5

13

20

35

50

a Graph the points on a scatter plot and construct a line of best fit.
b Find the equation of the line of best fit.
c Use the equation to estimate the temperature at a height of 1500 m.
d Use the graph to find the height above sea level for a temperature of 10 C.
4

The results obtained by 18 Year 10 students in Maths and Science exams are shown below.
Maths
Science

59 52 72 85 75 45 65 64 62 58 78 90 40 70 50 45 82 50
65 54 67 83 75 39 59 64 60 56 80 95 38 65 48 48 85 51

a Graph the points on a scatter plot and construct a line of best fit.
b Simone missed the Science test but obtained 80 in her Maths exam. Use the line of best fit
to predict Simones Science result.
c If Mario obtained 96 in the Science exam, predict what result he might have achieved in the
Maths exam.
5

Angela is measuring the amount by which a spring is stretched when different masses are hung
from the spring for a Science experiment. Her results are as follows.
Mass, M (g)
Spring stretch, S (cm)

10
5.9

20
11.2

25
12.3

30
14.8

35
17

40
22.4

50
25.2

a Graph the points on a scatter plot and construct a line of best fit.
b Use the line of best fit to predict the length the spring stretches for a mass of 45 g.
c What mass would have to be attached to stretch the spring 28 cm?
d Are there limitations to using the line of best fit to predict the length of stretch in the spring
by different masses?
6

The mens 100 m world record times for 1964 to 2009 are given in the table below.
Year

1964

1968

1983

1988

1991

1994

1996

1999

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Time (s)

10.06

9.95

9.93

9.92

9.86

9.85

9.84

9.79

9.77

9.76

9.74

9.69

9.58

a Graph the points and construct a line of best fit.

b Use the line of best fit to predict the record time taken to run the 100 m in 2020.
c What are the limitations of using the line of best fit to predict times to run 100 m?

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Stage 5.3

Technology Lines of best fit

In this activity, we will use a spreadsheet to create a scatter plot and graph a line of best fit.
The heights of men and the lengths of their femur bone are recorded in the table below.
Length of femur, f(cm)
Height, H (cm)

40
162

42.9
165

44.2
164

46.1
173

46.8
174

47
178

48.4
179

50.3
182

51.2
186

57.2
200

1 Enter the data from the table into a spreadsheet. Type Length of femur in cell A1 and
Height in B1.
2 To graph a scatter plot, select all the values in cells B1 to K2, and under the Insert menu,
select Scatter and Scatter with Straight Lines and Markers.
3 To draw the line of best fit, select one of the points on the scatterplot and right-click. Select
Add Trendline, Linear and Display Equation on chart, then Close.
4 Check your answers to questions 13 from Exercise 6-09 using a spreadsheet.

6-10 Bivariate data involving time

Bivariate data involving time, or time series data, is two-variable data where the independent
variable is time. Examples of time series data are population changes over time, weekly share
prices, daily rainfall and patients heart rates.

Example

16

This table shows the average household size between 1961 and 2011, according to the Census.
Year
Average
household size

1961

1966

1971

1976

1981

1986

1991

1996

2001

2006

2011

3.6

3.5

3.3

3.1

3.0

2.9

2.8

2.6

2.6

2.6

2.6

Source: Australian Government, Australian Institute of Family Studies

iStockphoto/Yuri

a Graph the data on a scatter plot and join the points.

b Use your graph to describe the change in average household size from 1961 to 2011.
c Based on your time series graph, estimate the household size for 2021.

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Solution
Year is the independent variable.
Average number of persons per household

a
4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0
1960

1970

1980

1990
Year

2000

2010

2020

b The average household size decreased from 3.6 in 1961 to 2.6 in 1996 and since then
there has been little or no change.
c 2.4  2.6 people per household.

Exercise 6-10
1

Bivariate data involving time

The number of people employed per month at SUPA SAVE SUPERMARKET from
November 2009 to February 2012 is displayed in the time series graph below.

Number of employees

40
30
20
10
0
N D

F M A M

2010

S O N D

F M A M

2011

S O N D

2012

Months

a How many people were employed by the supermarket in:

i November 2009?

ii December 2010?

iii June 2011?

b In which month of the year were the most people employed by the supermarket? Suggest a
reason why.
c In which month of the year were the least number of people employed? Suggest a reason why.
d Describe how the number of people employed by the supermarket changes from November
2009 to February 2012.

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The population figures for Australia from 1960 to 2010 are given in the table below.
Year
Population
(millions)

See Example 16

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

10.28

11.39

12.51

13.89

14.70

15.76

17.07

18.07

19.15

20.39

22.3

a Graph the data on a scatter plot and join the points.

b Between which years was the greatest population increase?
c Use your graph to describe the change in Australias population from 1960 to 2010.
d Based on your time series graph, estimate the population for Australia in:
i 2020
3

ii 2045.

The table below shows the fatalities on NSW roads from 1950 to 2010.
Year
Fatalities

1950
634

1960
978

1970
1309

1980
1303

1990
797

2000
603

2010
405

a Draw a time series graph for this data.

b Describe the change in road fatalities from 1950 to 2010.
c Give possible reasons for the reduction in road fatalities from a high of 1309 in 1970 to 405
in 2010.
4

The annual mean maximum temperatures for Sydney from 19902012 and from 20012012
are given in the tables below.
Year

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Temperature (C)

22.3

22.8

21.5

22.3

22.6

21.8

22.1

22.4

22.7

22.1

22.7

23.1

Year

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Temperature (C)

23.1

23.1

22.7

23.4

23.4

23.1

22.7

22.1

22.1

22.6

22.6

22.7

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

a Draw a time series graph for temperatures from:

i 1990 to 2000

ii 2001 to 2012.

b Has there been much change in Sydneys temperature from

i 1990 to 2000?

ii 2001 to 2012?

Justify your answer.

c Are there differences in temperature between the periods 19902000 and 20012012?
Give reasons.
The table below shows the annual emissions of carbon (measured in Megatonnes, Mt) from
2002 to 2012.
Year

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

509.5

514.5

529.2

530.2

539.8

546.5

554

542.8

551.8

553.2

551.9

Annual
emissions
(Mt CO2-e)

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Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Investigating data

a Draw a time series graph for this data.

b Describe the change in carbon emissions from 2002 to 2008.
c What happens to the carbon emissions after 2010?
d Give a possible reason for your answer to part c.
e What is your estimate of carbon emissions for:
i 2015?
6

ii 2025?

The graph below shows Australias population from 1901 to 2010.

Million
25
20
15
10
5
0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Source: Australian Historical Population Statistics (3105.0.65.001); Australian Demographic Statistics (3101.0).

a What was Australias population in 1901?

b By how much had Australias population increased between 1901 and 2010?
c What was the average annual rate of increase in population between 2000 and 2010?
d If this trend continues, what is the expected population in 2025?
7

The time series graph below shows the monthly amount of passenger traffic on Australian
domestic commercial airlines.
Passenger movements (millions)

5.5
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
Jun- Oct- Feb- Jun- Oct- Feb- Jun- Oct- Feb- Jun- Oct- Feb- Jun- Oct- Feb- Jun08 08 09 09 09 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 13
Month
Source: Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure and Transport http://www.bitre.gov.au/statistics/
aviation/domestic.aspx#summary

a Describe the trend in domestic passenger traffic for June 2008  June 2013.
b What was the approximate amount of passenger traffic per month in:
i June 2008?

ii June 2010?

iii June 2011?

iv June 2013?

c What was the percentage increase in domestic passenger movements from June 2008 to
June 2013?

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Investigation: Australian Bureau of Statistics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the official organisation in charge of collecting
data for government departments. The data collected covers many areas  from
population, employment, weekly earnings, weight and obesity in adults, to health of
children in Australia.
Visit the ABS website www.abs.gov.au to answer the following questions.
1 a What is the current population of Australia?
b What is the predicted population for:
i 2020?
ii 2030?
iii 2040?
c What is Australias rate of population increase?
2 Go to 2011 Census Data by Location, and then to Data and analysis.
a What was the population in NSW and its increase from 2006?
b Which state had the:
i largest increase in population?
ii the smallest increase in population?

We live in a world of 24-hour news, whether it

is from newspapers, TV or the Internet,
which often quote results from surveys.
When survey data is used in the media
we need to consider:
where the news comes from and what
samples the statistics are based on
who supplied the information
the number of samples and what
sample size was used
the way in which the collected data
has been presented

Example

123rf/Oleksiy Mark

6-11 Statistics in the media

17

What concerns could be raised about the following claim?

The Daily Sun newspaper reports that it has an average issue readership of 1.385 million and
that its Travel liftout has a readership of 1.455 million.

Solution
The newspaper is reporting about its own readership and so may be biased. It also states that
its Travel liftout has a higher readership that its issue readership.

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Example

18

The weights (in kg) of a large group of 1820-year-olds attending University are:
57
58
62
84
64
74
57
55
56
90
68
63
49
66
63
65
60
60
46
70
85
60
70
41
73
75
67
63
70
85
51
49
75
77
87
54
60
75
58
68
55
65
66
57
85
75
56
60
62
75
74
58
51
62
50
55
71
57
58
100
72
58
103
64
52
55
80
96
45
87
81
80
48
54
65
54
59
50
78
60
74
70
64
59
72
78
104
63
102
95
a How many students were in the group?
b Randomly select four groups of 10 and for each sample calculate:
i the mean

ii the median

iii the interquartile range.

c Use your results to estimate the mean, median and interquartile range of the population
from your four samples.
d Compare your estimates to the mean, median and interquartile range of the population.

Solution
a There were 90 students in the group.
b Randomly select four samples of 10 from the population.
Sample 1:
90
63
75
48
74
85
51
96
Sample 2:
62
75
103
64
65
54
55
54
Sample 3:
68
70
57
52
78
74
60
63
Sample 4:
72
54
52
80
45
87
49
77
The statistics for each group are:
median 74.5 interquartile range 25
Sample 1: x 72
Sample 2: x 66.7 median 63
interquartile range 20
Sample 3: x 66.7 median 65.5 interquartile range 16
interquartile range 25
Sample 4: x 62.8 median 56

60
60
58
54

78
75
87
58

c Taking averages, population statistics estimates are:

Mean, x 72 66:7 66:7 62:8 67:1 (correct to 1 decimal place)
4
74:5

63

65:5 56 64:8 (correct to 1 decimal place)

Median
4
Interquartile range 25 20 16 25 21:5
4
d The statistics for the population are:
Mean, x 66.9 (correct to 1 decimal place)
Median 64
Interquartile range 18
The estimates for the mean, median and interquartile range compare very favourably
with the population statistics.

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Exercise 6-11
1

ustralian Curriculum

10 10A

Statistics in the media

A TV network surveys 300 people in shopping centres between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to get
feedback on its new game show.
a How may this survey be biased?

See Example 17

b Suggest a better method for obtaining feedback about its game show.
2

A report about hot-water systems recommended a heat pump system. The report stated that
people in Queensland who had the heat pump hot-water system saved 30% of their electricity
bill per quarter. The company is using this information in their advertising of the product in
NSW and Victoria.
Should people in NSW and Victoria install this type of hot-water system? Give reasons.

A report on petrol pricing was conducted by two companies. The following graphs, showing
the price of petrol for the same 12-week period, were used to present their findings on the
price of petrol.
Company A

Cents/litre

Petrol pricing: Company A

154
152
150
148
146
144
142
140
138
136
134

27

11
18
December

25

8
15
January

22

29

12
5
February

Company B
Petrol pricing: Company B
146

Cents/litre

144
142
140
138
136
134
27 4 11 18 25 1 8 15 22 29 5 12
December
January
February

a What is being implied about petrol prices by:

i Company A?

ii Company B?

b How could both graphs be improved to give a true picture of changing petrol prices?

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Investigating data

A report on the diesel fuel consumption

of different cars was published in a
motoring magazine.
a What is the magazine report
implying about the fuel consumption
of the different cars?
b What is the difference in fuel
consumption between the:
i Ford Fiesta and the Volvo?
ii Ford Fiesta and the Hyundai?
iii BMW and the Hyundai?

4.8
Fuel consumption (L/100km)

4.6
4.4
4.2
4.0
3.8
3.6

c How should the graph be redrawn

so that it is not biased towards the
Ford Fiesta and the Volvo?

Ford Fiesta

Volvo

BMW

Hyundai

A company manufactures a product. After 3 months, they conduct a survey and customers are
asked to rate the product as Excellent, Good or Satisfactory. Is the survey biased? Justify your
answer.

A market research company working for a car manufacturer needs to determine the most
popular car colours.
a Give an example of a biased question for this survey.
b What other information should the market research company use, apart from the survey, to
determine the most popular colour car?

See Example 18

a Randomly select four samples of 10 weights from the population shown in Example 17, and
for each sample calculate:
i the mean

ii the median

iii the interquartile range.

b Use your results to estimate the mean, median and interquartile range of the population
from your four samples.
c How do the statistics of your samples compare to the mean, median and interquartile range
of the population?
d How do the estimated statistics compare to the population statistics?
8

a Repeat the process of question 7 by taking two samples of size:

i 5

ii 15

iii 20

b Do the sample statistics become more accurate and move closer to the population statistics
as sample size increases?

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6-12 Investigating statistical studies

Exercise 6-12
1

Stage 5.3

Investigating statistical studies

The graph compares the number of passenger vehicles per 1000 people in Australia in 1955
and 2013.
no.
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1955

2013

Source: www.abs.gov.au

a How many passenger vehicles per 1000 people were there in 1955?
b What was the percentage increase in the rate between 1955 and 2013?
2

Visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website www.abs.gov.au and search for Motor
vehicle census.
a What was the total number of vehicles registered last year?
b How many passenger vehicles were registered last year?
c What was the average annual growth rate over the last five years?

This graph compares the types of commuter transport used by Australians in 2009 and 2012.
MAIN FORM OF TRANSPORT USED TO GET
TO WORK OR FULL-TIME STUDY, 2009 AND 2012

%
100

2009
2012

80
60
40
20
0

Passenger Public
Vehicle transport

Walk

Bicycle

Motorbike

Other

Source: www.abs.gov.au

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a What percentage of people used a passenger vehicle to get to work or full-time study in
2012 and what change has occurred from 2009 to 2012?
b What percentage of Australians used public transport in 2012? Visit the ABS website to see
whether this has changed this year.
c What reasons are there for Australians not using public transport? (Search Car nation at the
ABS website)
d List three advantages of using public transport.

Stage 5.3

e Use the Internet to compare Australias transport use with transport use in other countries
(for example, China, Indonesia, Japan and USA).
4

These graphs compare the types of commuter transport used by state, territory and capital city in 2011.
ALL METHODS(a) OF TRAVEL TO WORK(b) BY STATE AND TERRITORIES, 2011
Passenger vehicle
Public transport
Walk
Bicycle

NSW
VIC.
QLD
SA
WA
TAS.
NT
ACT
0

20

40

60

80

100

a Which state had the highest proportion of people using passenger vehicles to travel to work?
b What percentage of people in South Australia used public transport?
c Which capital city had the highest public transport use and which city had the lowest? Give
possible reasons for your answer.
ALL METHODS(a) OF TRAVEL TO WORK(b) BY CAPITAL CITY, 2011
Passenger vehicle
Public transport
Walk
Bicycle

Sydney
Melbourne
Brisbane
Adelaide
Perth
Hobart
Darwin
Canberra
0

20

40

60

80

100

d The percentage of people using public transport in capital cities is higher than the
percentage of people using public transport in the State. Give a possible reason for this.
5

240

e Which state and which capital city had the lowest percentage of people using passenger vehicles?
Summarise your answers to questions 1 to 4 in a brief report about passenger vehicle use in
Australia. Using your results, indicate what action governments (Federal, State and local) should
take in terms of building roads, accident research and consideration of the environment.

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Is Australia becoming a warmer continent? Investigate this by looking at data from the
Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (www.bom.gov.au).

Investigate tobacco and alcohol use by teenagers in Australia. Include tables and graphs in
your report. Refer to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey
(www.nationaldrugstrategy.gov.au) and NSW Health (www.healthinsite.gov.au), and search
alcohol and teenage statistics in Australia on the Internet.

Stage 5.3

Power plus
1

The strength and direction of the relationship between two variables can be measured by
the correlation coefficient (r).
a Between which two values does the correlation coefficient lie?
b What is the strength and direction of the relationship if the correlation coefficient is zero?
c Write a possible value for the correlation coefficient for each relationship described.
i perfect positive

ii weak negative

iii strong negative

Two variables may have a strong relationship, but this does not mean that a change in one
variable causes a change in the other. Which of the following pairs of variables have a
causal relationship?
a height and weight of people
b the time that it takes to walk to school and the distance from home to school
c the number of children per household and the number of mobile phones per household
d the age of people and their reaction time
e the price of petrol and the amount of petrol sold
f the interest rate of loans and the number of new housing loans

The following scores are the test results on a History exam for a class of 20 students.
13
14
16
12
14
16
18
13
15
10
9
15
13
14
13
10
8
14
16
14
a Find the mean, median and mode.
b Find the range and interquartile range.
c An error was made in recording the scores and 4 marks need to be added to each
score. What effect will this have on the statistics calculated in parts a and b?

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n Language of maths
Puzzle sheet
Data crossword

bivariate data

boxplot

cluster

dependent variable

five-number summary independent variable

interquartile range

line of best fit

MAT10SPPS10039

mean

measure of location

measure of spread

median

Quiz

mode

negatively skewed

outlier

positively skewed

quartile

range

scatter plot

skewed

standard deviation

strong

symmetrical

weak

Statistics
MAT10SPQZ00002

1 What is represented by the whiskers on a box-and-whisker plot?

2 What are the measures of location and the measures of spread?
3 What are the five things found in a five-number summary?
4 Describe a statistical distribution that is positively skewed.
5 What type of graph is used to represent bivariate data?
6 Give two examples of how statistics can be misleading.

n Topic overview
Copy and complete this mind map of the topic, adding detail to its branches and using pictures,
symbols and colour where needed. Ask your teacher to check your work.
Shape of a distribution

Quartiles and IQR

Standard deviation

Boxplots

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Science test marks
2

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

9.5

Investigating
data
Comparing data sets

10.0

10.5
11.0
Time (seconds)

11.5

12

Bivariate data
involving time
4.0

28
26

3.0

24
22

2.0

20
18
16

1.0

14
1

12

Scatter plots

10
8

0
1960

1970

1980

1990
Year

2000

2010

2020

6
4
2
0
0

Statistics in the media

Line of best fit

Women
Men
10

242

20

30

40

50

60

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1 For each statistical distribution:
i describe the shape

See Exercise 6-01

ii identify any outliers and clusters.

b

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Stem
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Leaf
0 1
1 3
0 4
3 7
0 1
4
8

2
4 4 5 6
5 7 8
8

2 Find the interquartile range of each set of data.

a 5
8
8 10 12 13 14 15 18
b 24

15

23

28 20

20

18

30

See Exercise 6-02

21 18
d

Score
10
11
12
13
14
15

Stem
3
4
5
6
7

Leaf
0 1 2
3 5 8 8 9 9 9
4 5 6 6 8
0 1 3 7
2

Frequency
3
8
15
18
10
5

3 The reaction times (in seconds) of a sample of truck drivers were measured.
0.34 0.35

0.34

0.37

0.42

0.45

0.43

0.29

0.38

0.40

0.37

Stage 5.3

0.62

See Exercise 6-03

a Find, correct to two decimal places, the mean and standard deviation.
b Find the range and interquartile range.
c Which is the best measure of spread for this set of data? Justify your answer.
4 The Health exam results for a class of PE students are shown here.
Girls: 83 78 63 84 65 51 76 69 42 84 60 64
Boys:
65 34 75 68 56 63 79 55 68 52 49 85
a Find the mean and standard deviation of both groups.
b Which group performed better in the exam? Give reasons.

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92
64

73
58

32
54

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Chapter 6 revision
See Exercise 6-05

5 The number of goals scored by the Under-18s Vale soccer team are:
2
0 0
4
2
1
1 2
3
2
3 7
4
3
1
0 4
2
a Find the range and interquartile range of the scores.
b Find the five-number summary for the data.
c Draw a box-and-whisker plot for the data.

See Exercise 6-06

6 The pulse rates of students were taken before and after exercising. The results were:
Before exercise: 78 80 66 70 56 64 68 65 50 76 80 70 70 59
After exercise: 141 140 89 95 110 126 84 82 90 88 146 98 96 92
a Find the five-number summary for the pulse rates before and after exercise and construct
a parallel boxplot to display the two sets of data.
b Find the range and interquartile for:
i before exercising
ii after exercising.
c Compare the two sets of pulse rates. Are there significant differences between them?
Justify your answer.

See Exercise 6-07

7 The speeds of cars (in km/h) were monitored between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m. on a main road.
The results are shown in the stem- and-leaf plot and boxplot below.
Stem
7
8
9
10
11
12

Leaf
0 3
0 2
0 0
0 0
0 1
6

7
2
1
4

9
3 5 6 8 8 9
3 5 5 7 8 9 9 9
4 6

99.5

70

80

90

100
Speed (km/h)

110

120

130

a Which display best indicates:

i skewness?
ii clustering and outliers?
b Why would a dot plot be unsuitable for displaying the data?
c Find:
i the median
ii the interquartile range.
d What percentage of cars were travelling at a speed of at least 92 km/h?

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Chapter 6 revision
8 Eleven boxes containing 60 oranges each were placed in cold storage for different periods.
After storage, the number of good oranges in each box was counted.
Weeks in storage (W)
Number of good
oranges (N)

12

14

10

11

58

50

33

40

28

50

52

38

35

55

33

See Exercise 6-08

a
b
c
d

Which is the independent variable? Give reasons.

Graph this data on a scatter plot.
Describe the pattern of the plotted points.
Describe the relationship between the number of weeks in storage and the number of
good oranges.
e Describe the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables W and N.
9 The heights and weights of 15 people were measured.
Height, H (cm)
Weight, W (kg)
a
b
c
d
e

Stage 5.3

152 160 179 180 185 174 165 150 145 142 155 153 175 155
50 65 72 77 81 77 65 57 48 53 61 67 72 56

See Exercise 6-09

Graph the points on a scatter plot and construct a line of best fit.
Find the equation of the line of best fit.
Use the equation to estimate the weight of a student who is 170 cm tall.
Use the graph to interpolate the weight of a student with height 163 cm.
Use the graph to extrapolate the height of a student who weighs:
i 85 kg
ii 45 kg

10 The mean maximum temperatures in Blacktown, NSW for the month of January from 2004 to
2013 are shown in the table. (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)
Year (t)
Temperature (T, C)

2004
30.6

2005
29.1

2006
29.0

2007
30.1

2008
28.5

Year (t)
Temperature (T, C)

2009
31.7

2010
30.6

2011
29.9

2012
27.4

2013
30.0

See Exercise 6-10

a What is the independent variable?

b Graph the data on a scatter plot and join the points.
c Has any change occurred to the temperatures in Blacktown for the month of January over
the 10-year period? Give reasons for your answer.
11 An advertisement in a magazine states that a product is 75% fat-free.
a What impression is the advertisement trying to make about the product?
b What doesnt the advertisement say about the product?

9780170194662

See Exercise 6-11

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