Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 10 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
X is normal with mean 12 min and standard deviation 1.5 min; Y is independent and normal with mean 20 min and standard deviation 2 min. Find the probability P that X + Y is more than 34 min. Round z to two decimals.
The mass X of a product from line 1 and Y from line 2 are independent and normal: X has mean 500 g and standard deviation 8 g, Y has mean 490 g and standard deviation 6 g. Find the probability P that X is greater than Y. Round z to two decimals.
A 95% confidence interval for a mean, based on 25 observations and a known σ, has a margin of error of 5.9. What is the margin of error E₂ of a 90% interval from the same data?
Two fertilisers are tested. Plot group 1: 6 plots, mean yield 19 kg, standard deviation 3.5 kg. Plot group 2: 16 plots, mean 9.5 kg, standard deviation 2.5 kg. Assume equal variances (pooled t, df = n₁ + n₂ − 2). Find the margin of error E of the 95% confidence interval for μ₁ − μ₂.
A sample of 49 students has a mean score of 98.51 and a sample standard deviation of 4. Find the test statistic t for H₀: μ = 100.
A sample of 100 measurements has mean 202.6. The population standard deviation is 15. Find the upper limit U of the 99% confidence interval for the mean.
The table gives 6 paired observations of x = temperature in °C and y = ice creams sold. Find Pearson's correlation coefficient r.
The table gives 5 paired observations of x = car age in years and y = price in k€. Use the least-squares line ŷ = a + b·x. Predict ŷ for x = 2.5.
The contingency table shows observed counts. Compute the chi-square statistic χ² for the test of independence between the row and column variables. Do not use a continuity correction.
A chi-square goodness-of-fit test checks whether counts in 9 categories follow a Poisson distribution whose mean is estimated from the same data. How many degrees of freedom df does the test have?
Answer: P = 0.2119
Sums and differences of normal variables: if X and Y are independent and normal, X + Y and X − Y are normal too. Means add or subtract: E(X ± Y) = μX ± μY. Variances always add, also for a difference: Var(X ± Y) = σX² + σY², so σ = √(σX² + σY²). Standard deviations never add directly. The total of n independent items with the same distribution has mean n·μ and standard deviation σ·√n. Then standardise as usual: z = (x − mean)/σ and read Φ(z).
Answer: P = 0.8413
Sums and differences of normal variables: if X and Y are independent and normal, X + Y and X − Y are normal too. Means add or subtract: E(X ± Y) = μX ± μY. Variances always add, also for a difference: Var(X ± Y) = σX² + σY², so σ = √(σX² + σY²). Standard deviations never add directly. The total of n independent items with the same distribution has mean n·μ and standard deviation σ·√n. Then standardise as usual: z = (x − mean)/σ and read Φ(z).
Answer: E₂ = 4.952
Confidence interval for a mean: x̄ ± margin of error. With a known population σ the margin is z·σ/√n; with only the sample standard deviation s, use t with n − 1 degrees of freedom: t·s/√n. Critical values: z = 1.645 (90%), 1.96 (95%), 2.576 (99%). To get a margin E or smaller, you need n ≥ (z·σ/E)², rounded up.
Answer: E = 2.78 kg
Interval for a difference: estimate ± critical value × standard error. For two independent means with known σ: SE = √(σ₁²/n₁ + σ₂²/n₂) and z. With equal unknown variances: pooled s_p and t with n₁ + n₂ − 2 degrees of freedom. For paired data, work with the differences: d̄ ± t·s_d/√n.
Answer: t = −2.607
Testing a mean: the test statistic measures how many standard errors the sample mean lies from the value claimed in H₀: z = (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n) when σ is known, t = (x̄ − μ₀)/(s/√n) when it is estimated from the sample. A confidence interval is x̄ ± (critical value)·(standard error).
|t| > 2.011, so H₀ is rejected at the 5% level (two-sided).
Answer: U = 206.5
Testing a mean: the test statistic measures how many standard errors the sample mean lies from the value claimed in H₀: z = (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n) when σ is known, t = (x̄ − μ₀)/(s/√n) when it is estimated from the sample. A confidence interval is x̄ ± (critical value)·(standard error).
Answer: r = 0.9832
Least-squares regression: with x̄ and ȳ the means, Sxx = Σ(x − x̄)², Syy = Σ(y − ȳ)² and Sxy = Σ(x − x̄)(y − ȳ), the line ŷ = a + b·x has slope b = Sxy/Sxx and intercept a = ȳ − b·x̄, so it always passes through (x̄, ȳ). Pearson's correlation coefficient r = Sxy/√(Sxx·Syy) lies between −1 and 1; r² is the fraction of the variation in y explained by the line.
Answer: ŷ = 17.2
Least-squares regression: with x̄ and ȳ the means, Sxx = Σ(x − x̄)², Syy = Σ(y − ȳ)² and Sxy = Σ(x − x̄)(y − ȳ), the line ŷ = a + b·x has slope b = Sxy/Sxx and intercept a = ȳ − b·x̄, so it always passes through (x̄, ȳ). Pearson's correlation coefficient r = Sxy/√(Sxx·Syy) lies between −1 and 1; r² is the fraction of the variation in y explained by the line.
Answer: χ² = 11.25
Chi-square tests: compare observed counts O with the counts E expected under H₀ using χ² = Σ(O − E)²/E. Goodness of fit: E = n·p for each category, df = k − 1 (minus one more for each parameter estimated from the data). Independence in an r × c table: E = row total × column total / grand total, df = (r − 1)(c − 1). Reject H₀ when χ² exceeds the critical value for the chosen α.
df = 1. At α = 0.05 the critical value is 3.841, so H₀ (independence) is rejected.
Answer: df = 7
Chi-square tests: compare observed counts O with the counts E expected under H₀ using χ² = Σ(O − E)²/E. Goodness of fit: E = n·p for each category, df = k − 1 (minus one more for each parameter estimated from the data). Independence in an r × c table: E = row total × column total / grand total, df = (r − 1)(c − 1). Reject H₀ when χ² exceeds the critical value for the chosen α.
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