Edexcel S2 2011 June — Question 2

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleS2 (Statistics 2)
Year2011
SessionJune
TopicHypothesis test of a Poisson distribution

2. A traffic officer monitors the rate at which vehicles pass a fixed point on a motorway. When the rate exceeds 36 vehicles per minute he must switch on some speed restrictions to improve traffic flow.
  1. Suggest a suitable model to describe the number of vehicles passing the fixed point in a 15 s interval. The traffic officer records 12 vehicles passing the fixed point in a 15 s interval.
  2. Stating your hypotheses clearly, and using a \(5 \%\) level of significance, test whether or not the traffic officer has sufficient evidence to switch on the speed restrictions.
  3. Using a \(5 \%\) level of significance, determine the smallest number of vehicles the traffic officer must observe in a 10 s interval in order to have sufficient evidence to switch on the speed restrictions.