AQA S3 2013 June — Question 3

Exam BoardAQA
ModuleS3 (Statistics 3)
Year2013
SessionJune
TopicLinear combinations of normal random variables
TypePooled variance estimation

3 A builders' merchant's depot has two machines, X and Y , each of which can be used for filling bags with sand or gravel. The weight, in kilograms, delivered by machine X may be modelled by a normal distribution with mean \(\mu _ { \mathrm { X } }\) and standard deviation 25 . The weight, in kilograms, delivered by machine Y may be modelled by a normal distribution with mean \(\mu _ { \mathrm { Y } }\) and standard deviation 30 . Fred, the depot's yardman, records the weights, in kilograms, of a random sample of 10 bags of sand delivered by machine X as
\(\begin{array} { l l l l l l l l l l } 1055 & 1045 & 1000 & 985 & 1040 & 1025 & 1005 & 1030 & 1015 & 1060 \end{array}\)
He also records the weights, in kilograms, of a random sample of 8 bags of gravel delivered by machine Y as $$\begin{array} { l l l l l l l l } 1085 & 1055 & 1055 & 1000 & 1035 & 1050 & 1005 & 1075 \end{array}$$
  1. Construct a \(95 \%\) confidence interval for \(\mu _ { \mathrm { Y } } - \mu _ { \mathrm { X } }\), giving the limits to the nearest 5 kg .
  2. Dot, the depot's manager, commented that Fred's data collection may have been biased. Justify her comment and explain how the possible bias could have been eliminated.
    (2 marks)