Edexcel S1 2009 June — Question 4

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleS1 (Statistics 1)
Year2009
SessionJune
TopicData representation
TypeUse linear interpolation for median or quartiles

4. A researcher measured the foot lengths of a random sample of 120 ten-year-old children. The lengths are summarised in the table below.
Foot length, \(l\), (cm)Number of children
\(10 \leqslant l < 12\)5
\(12 \leqslant l < 17\)53
\(17 \leqslant l < 19\)29
\(19 \leqslant l < 21\)15
\(21 \leqslant l < 23\)11
\(23 \leqslant l < 25\)7
  1. Use interpolation to estimate the median of this distribution.
  2. Calculate estimates for the mean and the standard deviation of these data. One measure of skewness is given by $$\text { Coefficient of skewness } = \frac { 3 ( \text { mean } - \text { median } ) } { \text { standard deviation } }$$
  3. Evaluate this coefficient and comment on the skewness of these data. Greg suggests that a normal distribution is a suitable model for the foot lengths of ten-year-old children.
  4. Using the value found in part (c), comment on Greg's suggestion, giving a reason for your answer.