Write down the missing word: Plan, Collect, ______, Interpret.
(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)
2
Write down the stage of the statistical enquiry cycle in which data is gathered.
(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)
3
State whether this is True or False: A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested and shown to be true or false using data.
(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)
4
State whether this is True or False: A population, in statistics, always means every person living in a country.
(Total for Question 4 is 1 mark)
5
A sample is taken from a population of 4,000 people. State whether the sample is usually larger or smaller than the population, and give a reason for your answer.
(Total for Question 5 is 2 marks)
6
A researcher is investigating: 'Do students who walk to school arrive more on time than students who travel by car?' Write down the two groups being compared in this hypothesis.
(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)
7
For each activity, write down whether it belongs to the plan stage or the collect stage of the statistical enquiry cycle. (a) Deciding how many people to survey. (b) Handing out and gathering in the completed questionnaires.
(Total for Question 7 is 2 marks)
8
A student writes the following as her hypothesis: 'Do older people watch more television than younger people?' Rewrite this as a suitable hypothesis.
(Total for Question 8 is 2 marks)
9
A researcher is planning to survey 500 shoppers about their spending habits. State two practical issues, other than an ethical issue, that she should consider at the plan stage.
(Total for Question 9 is 2 marks)
10
A researcher wants to find out if people in her office prefer working from home or working in the office. She stands by the office door and asks the first 10 colleagues who arrive each morning for a week. Give one reason why her sample might be biased.
(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)
11
A school wants to investigate whether Year 7 pupils spend more time on homework than Year 11 pupils. Write a suitable hypothesis for this investigation.
(Total for Question 11 is 2 marks)
12
Write down the stage of the statistical enquiry cycle in which conclusions are compared back to the original hypothesis.
(Total for Question 12 is 1 mark)
13
State whether this is True or False: Once the interpret stage is finished, the statistical enquiry cycle cannot be repeated.
(Total for Question 13 is 1 mark)
14
A charity wants to find out how many hours per week its volunteers spend helping at its shop. Write down two different data collection methods it could use at the collect stage.
(Total for Question 14 is 2 marks)
15
A student wants to find out whether people who travel to work by bus have longer journeys than people who drive. She stands at one bus stop and asks the first 15 people who get off a bus how long their journey took. She does not ask any drivers.
Give three separate criticisms of this method of collecting data.
(Total for Question 15 is 3 marks)
16
A gym is investigating the hypothesis: 'Members who attend more than twice a week lose weight faster than members who attend once a week or less.'
(a)State which stage of the statistical enquiry cycle this hypothesis belongs to.(1)
(b)The gym decides to survey members only on a Monday morning. State one way this could bias the sample, and suggest one improvement.(2)
(Total for Question 16 is 3 marks)
17
An online forum runs a poll asking: 'Should the school day start later?' Only forum members who choose to vote take part. 400 of the 500 people who vote say yes. The forum owner concludes that 80% of all students at the school want the school day to start later.
Evaluate this conclusion.
(Total for Question 17 is 3 marks)
18
A council wants to know how well used a new park is. It considers two methods. Method 1: count how many people are in the park every day at 3pm for a month. Method 2: ask a random sample of 200 residents whether they have visited the park in the last month.
(a)Give one advantage of Method 1 over Method 2.(1)
(b)Give one advantage of Method 2 over Method 1, with a reason.(2)
(Total for Question 18 is 3 marks)
19
A student surveys 12 of her friends and concludes: 'Most teenagers prefer social media platform X.'
Identify three separate limitations of this enquiry, one from each of the plan, collect and interpret stages.
(Total for Question 19 is 3 marks)
20
A company shows a new advert to customers at one store for a week and finds sales rise from 200 to 260 items. The manager concludes: 'The advert works nationally and no further testing is needed.'
(a)Identify one weakness in the manager's conclusion.(1)
(b)Recommend, giving two points, how the company should repeat the statistical enquiry cycle to test this claim more reliably.(2)
(Total for Question 20 is 3 marks)
Mark scheme · S02D The Statistical Enquiry Cycle: Fluency and Exam Drill
Question 1
B1 Process cao
Answer: Process
Question 2
B1 Collect cao
Answer: Collect
Question 3
B1 True cao
Answer: True
Question 4
B1 False cao
Answer: False
Question 5
B1 smaller cao
B1 valid reason, e.g. surveying only part of the population is quicker and cheaper than surveying everyone, oe
Answer: Smaller. A sample only surveys part of the population, which is quicker and cheaper than collecting data from everyone.
Question 6
B1 students who walk to school
B1 students who travel to school by car
Answer: Students who walk to school, and students who travel to school by car.
Question 7
B1 (a) Plan cao
B1 (b) Collect cao
Answer: (a) Plan (b) Collect
Question 8
B1 phrased as a statement, not a question
B1 clearly compares older people and younger people in terms of television watched, oe
Answer: Older people watch more television than younger people.
Question 9
B1 a valid issue relating to cost, e.g. the cost of printing questionnaires or paying interviewers for 500 shoppers, oe
B1 a valid issue relating to time, e.g. how long it will take to collect and process 500 responses, oe
Answer: For example: the cost of printing questionnaires or paying interviewers for 500 shoppers, and the time needed to collect and process 500 responses.
Question 10
B1 identifies that only colleagues who come into the office are asked, so people who prefer working from home are excluded, oe
B1 a valid consequence, e.g. this is likely to over-represent colleagues who already prefer working in the office, oe
Answer: Only colleagues who come into the office are asked, so people who prefer working from home are never included, which is likely to over-represent office-preferring colleagues.
Question 11
B1 phrased as a testable statement, not a question
B1 clearly compares homework time between Year 7 and Year 11 pupils, oe
Answer: Year 7 pupils spend more time on homework than Year 11 pupils.
Question 12
B1 Interpret cao
Answer: Interpret
Question 13
B1 False cao
Answer: False
Question 14
B1 a valid method, e.g. a questionnaire given to each volunteer, oe
B1 a second, different valid method, e.g. interviewing volunteers, or checking a sign-in log, oe
Answer: For example: a questionnaire given to each volunteer, and checking the shop's volunteer sign-in log.
Question 15
B1 no drivers are asked, so the two groups needed for the comparison cannot both be studied, oe
B1 a sample of only 15 people is small, oe
B1 sampling at only one bus stop, at one time, may not be representative of all bus travellers, oe
Answer: No drivers are included, so the comparison cannot be made; the sample of 15 is small; and asking only at one bus stop may not represent all bus travellers.
Question 16
(a) B1 Plan cao
(a) Answer: Plan
(b) B1 identifies bias, e.g. only members who can attend on Monday mornings are surveyed, so members with different weekly schedules are excluded, oe
(b) B1 suggests a valid improvement, e.g. survey members across several different days and times, oe
(b) Answer: Only members free on Monday mornings are surveyed, which could exclude members with different attendance patterns; the gym should survey members across several different days and times instead.
Question 17
B1 the conclusion is judged not to be valid, oe
B1 identifies that only forum members who choose to vote are included, so the sample is self-selecting, oe
B1 identifies that this sample is not the same as all students at the school, so the 80% figure cannot fairly be applied to everyone, oe
Answer: The conclusion is not valid. Only forum members who choose to vote are included, so the sample is self-selecting, and this group is not the same as all students at the school, so the 80% figure cannot fairly be applied to everyone.
Question 18
(a) B1 a valid advantage, e.g. it records actual visits directly rather than relying on residents' memory, oe
(a) Answer: It records actual visits directly, rather than relying on residents remembering whether they visited.
(b) B1 a valid advantage, e.g. it can reach residents who might not be in the park at 3pm, oe
(b) B1 a linked reason, e.g. so it is more likely to represent all residents, not just those visiting the park at that one time, oe
(b) Answer: It reaches residents who might not be in the park at 3pm, so it is more likely to represent all residents rather than only those visiting at that one time.
Question 19
B1 plan: the sample of 12 friends is small and not chosen randomly, so may not represent teenagers in general, oe
B1 collect: relying on friends' own reported preference could be inaccurate or influenced by talking to each other, oe
B1 interpret: the conclusion overgeneralises to 'most teenagers' from only 12 friends, oe
Answer: Plan: only 12 friends, not a random sample. Collect: friends' self-reported preferences may not be accurate. Interpret: the conclusion wrongly generalises to all teenagers from just 12 people.
Question 20
(a) B1 identifies that one store for one week is a small, potentially unrepresentative trial to generalise to the whole country, oe
(a) Answer: One store over one week is a small trial, and may not represent how the advert would perform at every store nationally.
(b) B1 recommends returning to the plan stage to design a larger trial across several stores, and/or over a longer period, oe
(b) B1 recommends collecting and interpreting the wider results before deciding to roll the advert out nationally, oe
(b) Answer: The company should plan a larger trial across several stores over a longer period, then collect and interpret those results before deciding whether the advert works nationally.