Edexcel S4 — Question 6

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

6. A statistics student is trying to estimate the probability, \(p\), of rolling a 6 with a particular die. The die is rolled 10 times and the random variable \(X _ { 1 }\) represents the number of sixes obtained. The random variable \(R _ { 1 } = \frac { X _ { 1 } } { 10 }\) is proposed as an estimator of \(p\).
  1. Show that \(R _ { 1 }\) is an unbiased estimator of \(p\). The student decided to roll the die again \(n\) times ( \(n > 10\) ) and the random variable \(X _ { 2 }\) represents the number of sixes in these \(n\) rolls. The random variable \(R _ { 2 } = \frac { X _ { 2 } } { n }\) and the random variable \(Y = \frac { 1 } { 2 } \left( R _ { 1 } + R _ { 2 } \right)\).
  2. Show that both \(R _ { 2 }\) and \(Y\) are unbiased estimators of \(p\).
  3. Find \(\operatorname { Var } \left( R _ { 2 } \right)\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( Y )\).
  4. State giving a reason which of the 3 estimators \(R _ { 1 } , R _ { 2 }\) and \(Y\) are consistent estimators of \(p\).
  5. For the case \(n = 20\) state, giving a reason, which of the 3 estimators \(R _ { 1 } , R _ { 2 }\) and \(Y\) you would recommend. The student's teacher pointed out that a better estimator could be found based on the random variable \(X _ { 1 } + X _ { 2 }\).
  6. Find a suitable estimator and explain why it is better than \(R _ { 1 } , R _ { 2 }\) and \(Y\). END