Edexcel S4 2016 June — Question 6

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleS4 (Statistics 4)
Year2016
SessionJune
TopicCentral limit theorem
TypeEstimator properties and bias

6. A random sample of size \(n\) is taken from the random variable \(X\), which has a continuous uniform distribution over the interval [ \(0 , a\) ], \(a > 0\) The sample mean is denoted by \(\bar { X }\)
  1. Show that \(Y = 2 \bar { X }\) is an unbiased estimator of \(a\) The maximum value, \(M\), in the sample has probability density function $$f ( m ) = \left\{ \begin{array} { c c } \frac { n m ^ { n - 1 } } { a ^ { n } } & 0 \leqslant m \leqslant a
    0 & \text { otherwise } \end{array} \right.$$
  2. Find E(M)
  3. Show that \(\operatorname { Var } ( M ) = \frac { n a ^ { 2 } } { ( n + 2 ) ( n + 1 ) ^ { 2 } }\) The estimator \(S\) is defined by \(S = \frac { n + 1 } { n } M\)
    Given that \(n > 1\)
  4. state which of \(Y\) or \(S\) is the better estimator for \(a\). Give a reason for your answer.