Percentiles - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

15 original exam-style questions - 12 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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F05 Percentiles

EDEXCEL 1ST0 · Calculator allowed · about 90 minutes
Total Marks
Name: _______________________________    Date: ____ / ____ / ______
Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.
1
For each statement about percentiles, write down whether it is True or False.
(i)Percentiles divide an ordered set of data into 100 equal-sized groups.(1)
(ii)The 90th percentile of a data set is smaller than its 10th percentile.(1)
(iii)Linear interpolation can be used to estimate a percentile from grouped (continuous) data.(1)
(Total for Question 1 is 3 marks)
2
In a health survey, the resting heart rates of a large group of adults were recorded. The 65th percentile of the resting heart rates was found to be 72 beats per minute (bpm).
(a)Circle the statement that correctly describes what this means.(1)
  • A) 65% of adults had a resting heart rate of exactly 72 bpm.
  • B) 65% of adults had a resting heart rate of 72 bpm or below.
  • C) 72% of adults had a resting heart rate of 65 bpm or below.
  • D) 65 out of every 72 adults had a slower heart rate.
(b)Explain why statement A is not correct.(1)
(Total for Question 2 is 2 marks)
3
The table shows some measures used to summarise a set of data. Complete the table by writing the missing quartile name or the missing percentile in each gap.
MeasurePercentile
Lower quartile (Q1)?
?50th percentile
Upper quartile (Q3)?
(Total for Question 3 is 3 marks)
4
Baby growth charts compare a baby's weight with the weights of other babies of the same age, using percentiles. At his 6-month check-up, Noah's weight is on the 91st percentile for his age. At her 6-month check-up, Grace's weight is on the 60th percentile for her age.
(a)Explain what it means for Noah's weight to be on the 91st percentile for his age.(2)
(b)State which baby, Noah or Grace, is heavier compared with other babies of the same age. Give a reason.(2)
(Total for Question 4 is 4 marks)
5
The times, in seconds, taken by 15 sprinters to run 100 m at a school sports day are listed below, in order from fastest to slowest.

12.1, 12.4, 12.6, 12.9, 13.0, 13.2, 13.3, 13.5, 13.6, 13.8, 13.9, 14.1, 14.3, 14.6, 15.0
(a)Write down the formula used to find the position of the kth percentile within an ordered list of n data values.(1)
(b)Use the formula to find the 20th percentile of the sprint times.(2)
(c)Find the 70th percentile of the sprint times.(2)
(d)Using the same method, find the lower quartile (Q1, the 25th percentile) and the upper quartile (Q3, the 75th percentile) of the sprint times. Hence write down the interquartile range.(3)
(Total for Question 5 is 8 marks)
6
The times, t (seconds), taken by 40 members of a swimming club to swim 50 m freestyle are shown in the table.
Time (t seconds)FrequencyCumulative frequency
30 < t ≤ 3566
35 < t ≤ 401420
40 < t ≤ 451232
45 < t ≤ 50840
(a)Work out the position of the 35th percentile within the cumulative frequency total.(2)
(b)Write down the class interval that contains the 35th percentile.(1)
(Total for Question 6 is 3 marks)
7
The time, t (minutes), taken by 80 people to complete a jigsaw puzzle is shown in the grouped frequency table.
Time (t minutes)FrequencyCumulative frequency
0 < t ≤ 1066
10 < t ≤ 201420
20 < t ≤ 302242
30 < t ≤ 402062
40 < t ≤ 501274
50 < t ≤ 60680
(a)Work out the position of the 60th percentile within the cumulative frequency total.(2)
(b)Write down the class interval that contains the 60th percentile.(1)
(c)Use linear interpolation to estimate the 60th percentile of the completion times.(3)
(Total for Question 7 is 6 marks)
8
The weight, w (kg), of recycling collected from 60 households in one week is shown in the table.
Weight (w kg)FrequencyCumulative frequency
0 < w ≤ 588
5 < w ≤ 101624
10 < w ≤ 152044
15 < w ≤ 201054
20 < w ≤ 25660
(a)Write down the position of the median within the cumulative frequency total.(1)
(b)Which class interval contains the median?(1)
(c)Use linear interpolation to estimate the median weight of recycling collected per household.(3)
(Total for Question 8 is 5 marks)
9
The marks, out of 50, scored by 20 students in a mock statistics exam are listed below, in order.

18, 22, 24, 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49
(a)Find the 10th percentile of the marks.(2)
(b)Find the 90th percentile of the marks.(2)
(c)A teacher claims that 'at least 1 in 10 students scored more than 46 marks.' Use your answer to part (b) to comment on whether the teacher's claim is correct.(1)
(Total for Question 9 is 5 marks)
10
Two athletes, Amara and Ben, recorded their times, in seconds, for their last 8 sprints. The times are listed below, in order.

Amara: 11.8, 11.9, 12.0, 12.2, 12.3, 12.5, 12.6, 12.9
Ben: 11.5, 11.7, 12.1, 12.4, 12.5, 12.8, 13.0, 13.4
(a)Find the median (the 50th percentile) of each athlete's sprint times.(2)
(b)The interquartile range of Amara's times is 0.6 seconds and Ben's is 1.0 seconds. Using this, together with your answer to part (a), compare the two athletes' sprint times. Give TWO comparisons.(2)
(Total for Question 10 is 4 marks)
11
The cumulative frequency graph shows the length, in minutes, of 100 calls made to a call centre one morning.
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 Call length, t (minutes) Cumulative frequency
(a)Use the graph to estimate the 40th percentile of the call lengths.(2)
(b)A call lasted 24 minutes. Use the graph to estimate what percentile of the call lengths this represents.(2)
(c)Write down an estimate for the lower quartile, Q1, of the call lengths.(1)
(d)Write down an estimate for the upper quartile, Q3, of the call lengths.(1)
(e)Hence estimate the interquartile range of the call lengths, and explain what this value tells us about the call lengths.(2)
(Total for Question 11 is 8 marks)
12
Priya is investigating how long Year 11 students at her school spend on their phones each evening. There are 180 Year 11 students, split unevenly across 6 tutor groups.
(a)Priya wants her sample to be representative of all Year 11 students. Describe a suitable sampling method she could use, and explain why it would give a representative sample.(2)
(b)Priya collects screen-time data (t minutes) from a sample of 50 students, shown in the table.
Screen time (t minutes)FrequencyCumulative frequency
0 < t ≤ 3044
30 < t ≤ 60812
60 < t ≤ 902032
90 < t ≤ 1201042
120 < t ≤ 150850

Work out the position of the 80th percentile within the cumulative frequency total.
(2)
(c)Write down the class interval that contains the 80th percentile.(1)
(d)Use linear interpolation to estimate the 80th percentile of the screen-time data.(3)
(e)Priya read a claim online that 'at least 80% of Year 11 students spend under 180 minutes (3 hours) on their phone each evening.' Use your answer to part (d) to comment on this claim.(2)
(Total for Question 12 is 10 marks)
13
The delivery times, t (minutes), for 120 parcels sent by a courier company are shown in the table. Some of the cumulative frequencies are missing.
Delivery time (t minutes)FrequencyCumulative frequency
0 < t ≤ 1088
10 < t ≤ 2020?
20 < t ≤ 3034?
30 < t ≤ 4032?
40 < t ≤ 5018?
50 < t ≤ 608120
(a)Complete the cumulative frequency column of the table.(2)
(b)A parcel was delivered in 35 minutes. By first estimating the cumulative frequency up to 35 minutes using linear interpolation, find the percentile of the delivery-time distribution that this represents.(3)
(Total for Question 13 is 5 marks)
14
Two supermarket checkouts, Checkout A and Checkout B, were each observed for 40 customers. The waiting time, w (minutes), for each customer was recorded.

Checkout A
Waiting time (w minutes)FrequencyCumulative frequency
0 < w ≤ 51010
5 < w ≤ 102030
10 < w ≤ 15636
15 < w ≤ 20440

Checkout B
Waiting time (w minutes)FrequencyCumulative frequency
0 < w ≤ 544
5 < w ≤ 102024
10 < w ≤ 151236
15 < w ≤ 20440
(a)Show that the median waiting time at Checkout A is 7.5 minutes.(3)
(b)Use linear interpolation to estimate the median waiting time at Checkout B.(3)
(c)Estimate the interquartile range of waiting times at Checkout A.(3)
(d)The interquartile range of waiting times at Checkout B is 6 minutes. Using this, together with your answers to parts (a) to (c), compare the waiting times at the two checkouts. Give TWO comparisons, in context.(2)
(Total for Question 14 is 11 marks)
15
The distance, d (km), travelled to work by 60 employees at a company is shown in the table.
Distance (d km)FrequencyCumulative frequency
0 < d ≤ 1088
10 < d ≤ 202028
20 < d ≤ 302250
30 < d ≤ 401060
(a)Use linear interpolation to estimate the 30th percentile of the distances travelled to work.(3)
(b)Explain why your answer to part (a) is an ESTIMATE of the 30th percentile, rather than an exact value.(2)
(Total for Question 15 is 5 marks)
Mark scheme · F05 Percentiles

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15