Edexcel S2 — Question 4

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleS2 (Statistics 2)
TopicPoisson Distribution
TypeMean-variance comparison for Poisson validation

4. A Geiger counter is observed in the presence of a radioactive source. In 100 one-minute intervals, the number of counts recorded are as follows:
No of counts, \(X\)0123456
Frequency102429161263
  1. Find the mean and variance of this data, and show that it supports the idea that the random variable \(X\) is following a Poisson distribution.
  2. Use a Poisson distribution with the mean found in part (a) to calculate, to 3 decimal places, the probability that more than 6 counts will be recorded in any particular minute.
  3. Find the number of one-minute intervals, in the sample of 100 , in which more than 6 counts would be expected. \section*{STATISTICS 2 (A) TEST PAPER 10 Page 2}