AQA S2 2014 June — Question 5 3 marks

Exam BoardAQA
ModuleS2 (Statistics 2)
Year2014
SessionJune
Marks3
TopicPoisson Distribution
TypeMean-variance comparison for Poisson validation

5 Peter, a geologist, is studying pebbles on a beach. He uses a frame, called a quadrat, to enclose an area of the beach. He then counts the number of quartz pebbles, \(X\), within the quadrat. He repeats this procedure 40 times, obtaining the following summarised data. $$\sum x = 128 \quad \text { and } \quad \sum ( x - \bar { x } ) ^ { 2 } = 126.4$$ Peter believes that the distribution of \(X\) can be modelled by a Poisson distribution with \(\lambda = 3.2\).
  1. Use the summarised data to support Peter's belief.
  2. Using Peter's model, calculate the probability that:
    1. a single placing of the quadrat contains more than 5 quartz pebbles;
    2. a single placing of the quadrat contains at least 3 quartz pebbles but fewer than 8 quartz pebbles;
    3. when the quadrat is placed twice, at least one placing contains no quartz pebbles.
  3. Peter also models the number of flint pebbles enclosed by the quadrat by a Poisson distribution with mean 5 . He assumes that the number of flint pebbles enclosed by the quadrat is independent of the number of quartz pebbles enclosed by the quadrat. Using Peter's models, calculate the probability that a single placing of the quadrat contains a total of either 9 or 10 pebbles which are quartz or flint.
    [0pt] [3 marks]