OCR FS1 AS 2017 Specimen — Question 1 5 marks

Exam BoardOCR
ModuleFS1 AS (Further Statistics 1 AS)
Year2017
SessionSpecimen
Marks5
TopicHypothesis test of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficien
TypeCalculate and interpret coefficient
DifficultyModerate -0.3 This is a straightforward application of Spearman's rank correlation coefficient formula requiring ranking two datasets and applying the standard formula. While it's a Further Maths topic (FS1), the calculation is mechanical with no conceptual challenges—just careful arithmetic. The interpretation in part (ii) is trivial. Slightly easier than average A-level difficulty due to its routine nature, though the ranking and calculation require care.
Spec5.08e Spearman rank correlation

Two music critics, \(P\) and \(Q\), give scores to seven concerts as follows.
Concert1234567
Score by critic \(P\)1211613171614
Score by critic \(Q\)913814181620
  1. Calculate Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, \(r_s\), for these scores. [4]
  2. Without carrying out a hypothesis test, state what your answer tells you about the views of the two critics. [1]

Two music critics, $P$ and $Q$, give scores to seven concerts as follows.

\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
Concert & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 \\
\hline
Score by critic $P$ & 12 & 11 & 6 & 13 & 17 & 16 & 14 \\
\hline
Score by critic $Q$ & 9 & 13 & 8 & 14 & 18 & 16 & 20 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}

\begin{enumerate}[label=(\roman*)]
\item Calculate Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, $r_s$, for these scores. [4]

\item Without carrying out a hypothesis test, state what your answer tells you about the views of the two critics. [1]
\end{enumerate}

\hfill \mbox{\textit{OCR FS1 AS 2017 Q1 [5]}}