5.03c Calculate mean/variance: by integration

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OCR S2 2011 June Q4
8 marks Standard +0.3
4 A continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 3 } { 16 } ( x - 2 ) ^ { 2 } & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant 4 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$
  1. Sketch the graph of \(y = \mathrm { f } ( x )\).
  2. Calculate the variance of \(X\).
  3. A student writes " \(X\) is more likely to occur when \(x\) takes values further away from 2 ". Explain whether you agree with this statement.
OCR S2 2012 June Q7
12 marks Standard +0.3
7 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} k x ^ { 2 } & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant a \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(a\) and \(k\) are constants.
  1. Sketch the graph of \(y = \mathrm { f } ( x )\) and explain in non-technical language what this tells you about \(X\).
  2. Given that \(\mathrm { E } ( X ) = 4.5\), find
    1. the value of \(a\),
    2. \(\operatorname { Var } ( X )\).
OCR S2 2013 June Q5
10 marks Moderate -0.3
5 Two random variables \(S\) and \(T\) have probability density functions given by $$\begin{aligned} & f _ { S } ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 3 } { a ^ { 3 } } ( x - a ) ^ { 2 } & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant a \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases} \\ & f _ { T } ( x ) = \begin{cases} c & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant a \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases} \end{aligned}$$ where \(a\) and \(c\) are constants.
  1. On a single diagram sketch both probability density functions.
  2. Calculate the mean of \(S\), in terms of \(a\).
  3. Use your diagram to explain which of \(S\) or \(T\) has the bigger variance. (Answers obtained by calculation will score no marks.)
OCR S3 2009 January Q4
7 marks Standard +0.3
4 The weekly sales of petrol, \(X\) thousand litres, at a garage may be modelled by a continuous random variable with probability density function given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} c & 25 \leqslant x \leqslant 45 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(c\) is a constant. The weekly profit, in \(\pounds\), is given by \(( 400 \sqrt { X } - 240 )\).
  1. Obtain the value of \(c\).
  2. Find the expected weekly profit.
  3. Find the probability that the weekly profit exceeds \(\pounds 2000\).
OCR S3 2010 January Q1
8 marks Moderate -0.3
1 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function given by $$\mathrm { f } ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 2 } { 5 } & - a \leqslant x < 0 \\ \frac { 2 } { 5 } \mathrm { e } ^ { - 2 x } & x \geqslant 0 \end{cases}$$ Find
  1. the value of the constant \(a\),
  2. \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\).
OCR S3 2013 June Q3
8 marks Standard +0.3
3 \includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}, center]{c4adc528-ae3f-4ea7-9420-d3e1068a85fe-2_524_796_1105_623} The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} a x & 0 < x \leqslant 1 \\ b ( 2 - x ) ^ { 2 } & 1 < x \leqslant 2 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(a\) and \(b\) are constants. The graph is shown in the above diagram.
  1. Find the values of \(a\) and \(b\).
  2. Find the value of \(\mathrm { E } \left( \frac { 1 } { X } \right)\).
OCR S3 2016 June Q7
12 marks Standard +0.8
7 A continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} a x ^ { 3 } & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant 1 \\ a x ^ { 2 } & 1 < x \leqslant 2 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(a\) is a constant.
  1. Show that \(a = \frac { 12 } { 31 }\).
  2. Find \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\). It is thought that the time taken by a student to complete a task can be well modelled by \(X\). The times taken by 992 randomly chosen students are summarised in the table, together with some of the expected frequencies.
    Time\(0 \leqslant x < 0.5\)\(0.5 \leqslant x < 1\)\(1 \leqslant x < 1.5\)\(1.5 \leqslant x \leqslant 2\)
    Observed frequency892279613
    Expected frequency690
  3. Find the other expected frequencies and test, at the \(5 \%\) level of significance, whether the data can be well modelled by \(X\).
OCR MEI S3 2009 January Q1
18 marks Standard +0.3
1
  1. A continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function $$\mathrm { f } ( x ) = \lambda x ^ { c } , \quad 0 \leqslant x \leqslant 1 ,$$ where \(c\) is a constant and the parameter \(\lambda\) is greater than 1 .
    1. Find \(c\) in terms of \(\lambda\).
    2. Find \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\) in terms of \(\lambda\).
    3. Show that \(\operatorname { Var } ( X ) = \frac { \lambda } { ( \lambda + 2 ) ( \lambda + 1 ) ^ { 2 } }\).
  2. Every day, Godfrey does a puzzle from the newspaper and records the time taken in minutes. Last year, his median time was 32 minutes. His times for a random sample of 12 puzzles this year are as follows. $$\begin{array} { l l l l l l l l l l l l } 40 & 20 & 18 & 11 & 47 & 36 & 38 & 35 & 22 & 14 & 12 & 21 \end{array}$$ Use an appropriate test, with a 5\% significance level, to examine whether Godfrey's times this year have decreased on the whole.
OCR MEI S3 2011 January Q4
17 marks Standard +0.3
4 A timber supplier cuts wooden fence posts from felled trees. The posts are of length \(( k + X ) \mathrm { cm }\) where \(k\) is a constant and \(X\) is a random variable which has probability density function $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} 1 + x & - 1 \leqslant x < 0 \\ 1 - x & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant 1 \\ 0 & \text { elsewhere } \end{cases}$$
  1. Sketch \(\mathrm { f } ( x )\).
  2. Write down the value of \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\) and find \(\operatorname { Var } ( X )\).
  3. Write down, in terms of \(k\), the approximate distribution of \(\bar { L }\), the mean length of a random sample of 50 fence posts. Justify your choice of distribution.
  4. In a particular sample of 50 posts, the mean length is 90.06 cm . Find a \(95 \%\) confidence interval for the true mean length of the fence posts.
  5. Explain whether it is reasonable to suppose that \(k = 90\).
OCR MEI S3 2012 January Q4
18 marks Standard +0.3
4 At the school summer fair, one of the games involves throwing darts at a circular dartboard of radius \(a\) lying on the ground some distance away. Only darts that land on the board are counted. The distance from the centre of the board to the point where a dart lands is modelled by the random variable \(R\). It is assumed that the probability that a dart lands inside a circle of radius \(r\) is proportional to the area of the circle.
  1. By considering \(\mathrm { P } ( R < r )\) show that \(\mathrm { F } ( r )\), the cumulative distribution function of \(R\), is given by $$\mathrm { F } ( r ) = \begin{cases} 0 & r < 0 , \\ \frac { r ^ { 2 } } { a ^ { 2 } } & 0 \leqslant r \leqslant a , \\ 1 & r > a . \end{cases}$$
  2. Find \(\mathrm { f } ( r )\), the probability density function of \(R\).
  3. Find \(\mathrm { E } ( R )\) and show that \(\operatorname { Var } ( R ) = \frac { a ^ { 2 } } { 18 }\). The radius \(a\) of the dartboard is 22.5 cm .
  4. Let \(\bar { R }\) denote the mean distance from the centre of the board of a random sample of 100 darts. Write down an approximation to the distribution of \(\bar { R }\).
  5. A random sample of 100 darts is found to give a mean distance of 13.87 cm . Does this cast any doubt on the modelling?
OCR MEI S3 2013 January Q2
18 marks Moderate -0.3
2 A particular species of reed that grows up to 2 metres in length is used for thatching. The lengths in metres of the reeds when harvested are modelled by the random variable \(X\) which has the following probability density function, \(\mathrm { f } ( x )\). $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 3 } { 16 } \left( 4 x - x ^ { 2 } \right) & \text { for } 0 \leqslant x \leqslant 2 \\ 0 & \text { elsewhere } \end{cases}$$
  1. Sketch \(\mathrm { f } ( x )\).
  2. Show that \(\mathrm { E } ( X ) = \frac { 5 } { 4 }\) and find the standard deviation of the lengths of the harvested reeds.
  3. Find the standard error of the mean length for a random sample of 100 reeds. Once the harvested reeds have been collected, any that are shorter than 1 metre are discarded.
  4. Find the proportion of reeds that should be discarded according to the model.
  5. Reeds are harvested from a large area which is divided into several reed beds. A sample of the harvested reeds is required for quality control. How might the method of cluster sampling be used to obtain it?
OCR MEI S3 2009 June Q4
18 marks Standard +0.3
4 A random variable \(X\) has probability density function \(\mathrm { f } ( x ) = \frac { 2 x } { \lambda ^ { 2 } }\) for \(0 < x < \lambda\), where \(\lambda\) is a positive constant.
  1. Show that, for any value of \(\lambda , \mathrm { f } ( x )\) is a valid probability density function.
  2. Find \(\mu\), the mean value of \(X\), in terms of \(\lambda\) and show that \(\mathrm { P } ( X < \mu )\) does not depend on \(\lambda\).
  3. Given that \(\mathrm { E } \left( X ^ { 2 } \right) = \frac { \lambda ^ { 2 } } { 2 }\), find \(\sigma ^ { 2 }\), the variance of \(X\), in terms of \(\lambda\). The random variable \(X\) is used to model the depth of the space left by the filling machine at the top of a jar of jam. The model gives the following probabilities for \(X\) (whatever the value of \(\lambda\) ).
    \(0 < X \leqslant \mu - \sigma\)\(\mu - \sigma < X \leqslant \mu\)\(\mu < X \leqslant \mu + \sigma\)\(\mu + \sigma < X < \lambda\)
    0.185730.258710.369830.18573
    A sample of 50 random observations of \(X\), classified in the same way, is summarised by the following frequencies.
    4112015
  4. Carry out a suitable test at the \(5 \%\) level of significance to assess the goodness of fit of \(X\) to these data. Explain briefly how your conclusion may be affected by the choice of significance level.
OCR MEI S3 2013 June Q3
19 marks Challenging +1.2
3 The random variable \(X\) has the following probability density function, \(\mathrm { f } ( x )\). $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} k x ( x - 5 ) ^ { 2 } & 0 \leqslant x < 5 \\ 0 & \text { elsewhere } \end{cases}$$
  1. Sketch \(\mathrm { f } ( x )\).
  2. Find, in terms of \(k\), the cumulative distribution function, \(\mathrm { F } ( x )\).
  3. Hence show that \(k = \frac { 12 } { 625 }\). The random variable \(X\) is proposed as a model for the amount of time, in minutes, lost due to stoppages during a football match. The times lost in a random sample of 60 matches are summarised in the table. The table also shows some of the corresponding expected frequencies given by the model.
    Time (minutes)\(0 \leqslant x < 1\)\(1 \leqslant x < 2\)\(2 \leqslant x < 3\)\(3 \leqslant x < 4\)\(4 \leqslant x < 5\)
    Observed frequency51523116
    Expected frequency17.769.121.632
  4. Find the remaining expected frequencies.
  5. Carry out a goodness of fit test, using a significance level of \(2.5 \%\), to see if the model might be suitable in this context.
OCR MEI S3 2014 June Q4
17 marks Challenging +1.2
4 The probability density function of a random variable \(X\) is given by $$\mathrm { f } ( x ) = \begin{cases} k x & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant a \\ k ( 2 a - x ) & a < x \leqslant 2 a \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(a\) and \(k\) are positive constants.
  1. Sketch \(\mathrm { f } ( x )\). Hence explain why \(\mathrm { E } ( X ) = a\).
  2. Show that \(k = \frac { 1 } { a ^ { 2 } }\).
  3. Find \(\operatorname { Var } ( X )\) in terms of \(a\). In order to estimate the value of \(a\), a random sample of size 50 is taken from the distribution. It is found that the sample mean and standard deviation are \(\bar { x } = 1.92\) and \(s = 0.8352\).
  4. Construct a symmetrical \(95 \%\) confidence interval for \(a\). Give one reason why the answer is only approximate.
  5. A non-statistician states that the probability that \(a\) lies in the interval found in part (iv) is 0.95 . Comment on this statement. \section*{END OF QUESTION PAPER} \section*{OCR \(^ { \text {® } }\)}
OCR MEI S3 2016 June Q3
18 marks Standard +0.3
3 The random variable \(X\) has the following probability density function: $$\mathrm { f } ( x ) = \begin{cases} k \left( 1 - x ^ { 2 } \right) & - 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 1 \\ 0 & \text { elsewhere } \end{cases}$$ where \(k\) is a positive constant.
  1. Calculate the value of \(k\).
  2. Sketch the probability density function.
  3. Calculate \(\operatorname { Var } ( X )\).
  4. Find a cubic equation satisfied by the upper quartile \(q\), and hence verify that \(q = 0.35\) to 2 decimal places.
  5. A random sample of 40 values of \(X\) is taken. Using a suitable approximating distribution, calculate the probability that the mean of these values is greater than 0.125 . Justify your choice of distribution.
OCR S4 2010 June Q7
15 marks Challenging +1.2
7 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { x } { 2 \theta ^ { 2 } } & 0 \leqslant x \leqslant 2 \theta \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(\theta\) is an unknown positive constant.
  1. Find \(\mathrm { E } \left( X ^ { n } \right)\), where \(n \neq - 2\), and hence write down the value of \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\).
  2. Find
    1. \(\operatorname { Var } ( X )\),
    2. \(\operatorname { Var } \left( X ^ { 2 } \right)\).
    3. Find \(\mathrm { E } \left( X _ { 1 } + X _ { 2 } + X _ { 3 } \right)\) and \(\mathrm { E } \left( X _ { 1 } ^ { 2 } + X _ { 2 } ^ { 2 } + X _ { 3 } ^ { 2 } \right)\), where \(X _ { 1 } , X _ { 2 }\) and \(X _ { 3 }\) are independent observations of \(X\). Hence construct unbiased estimators, \(T _ { 1 }\) and \(T _ { 2 }\), of \(\theta\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( X )\) respectively, which are based on \(X _ { 1 } , X _ { 2 }\) and \(X _ { 3 }\).
    4. Find \(\operatorname { Var } \left( T _ { 2 } \right)\).
CAIE FP2 2011 June Q5
6 marks Moderate -0.8
5 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function f given by $$\mathrm { f } ( x ) = \begin{cases} 0.01 \mathrm { e } ^ { - 0.01 x } & x \geqslant 0 \\ 0 & x < 0 \end{cases}$$
  1. State the value of \(\mathrm { E } ( X )\).
  2. Find the median value of \(X\).
  3. Find the probability that \(X\) lies between the median and the mean.
CAIE FP2 2013 June Q8
9 marks Standard +0.8
8 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function f given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 6 } x & 2 \leqslant x \leqslant 4 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ The random variable \(Y\) is defined by \(Y = X ^ { 3 }\). Show that \(Y\) has probability density function g given by $$g ( y ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 18 } y ^ { - \frac { 1 } { 3 } } & 8 \leqslant y \leqslant 64 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ Find \(\mathrm { E } ( Y )\).
CAIE FP2 2018 June Q9
9 marks Standard +0.3
9 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 20 } \left( 3 - \frac { 1 } { \sqrt { } x } \right) & 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 9 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ The random variable \(Y\) is defined by \(Y = \sqrt { } X\).
  1. Show that the probability density function of \(Y\) is given by $$\operatorname { g } ( y ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 10 } ( 3 y - 1 ) & 1 \leqslant y \leqslant 3 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$
  2. Find the mean value of \(Y\).
CAIE FP2 2014 November Q10
12 marks Challenging +1.2
10 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function f given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 2 } & 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ The random variable \(Y\) is defined by \(Y = X ^ { 3 }\). Find the distribution function of \(Y\). Sketch the graph of the probability density function of \(Y\). Find the probability that \(Y\) lies between its median value and its mean value.
CAIE FP2 2015 November Q7
9 marks Standard +0.8
7 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 21 } x ^ { 2 } & 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 4 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ The random variable \(Y\) is defined by \(Y = X ^ { 2 }\). Show that \(Y\) has probability density function given by $$\operatorname { g } ( y ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 42 } y ^ { \frac { 1 } { 2 } } & 1 \leqslant y \leqslant 16 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ Find
  1. the median value of \(Y\),
  2. the expected value of \(Y\).
CAIE FP2 2016 November Q5
6 marks Moderate -0.5
5 The distance, \(X \mathrm {~km}\), completed by a new car before any mechanical fault occurs has distribution function F given by $$\mathrm { F } ( x ) = \begin{cases} 1 - \mathrm { e } ^ { - a x } & x \geqslant 0 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(a\) is a positive constant. The mean value of \(X\) is 10000 . Find
  1. the value of \(a\),
  2. the probability that a new car completes less than 15000 km before any mechanical fault occurs. The probability that a new car completes at least \(d \mathrm {~km}\) before any mechanical fault occurs is 0.75 .
  3. Find the value of \(d\).
CAIE FP2 2017 Specimen Q7
9 marks Standard +0.8
7 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function given by $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 21 } x ^ { 2 } & 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 4 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ The random variable \(Y\) is defined by \(Y = X ^ { 2 }\).
  1. Show that \(Y\) has probability density function given by $$g ( y ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 42 } y ^ { \frac { 1 } { 2 } } & 1 \leqslant y \leqslant 16 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$
  2. Find the median value of \(Y\).
  3. Find the expected value of \(Y\).
OCR MEI S3 2008 January Q1
18 marks Moderate -0.3
1
  1. The time (in milliseconds) taken by my computer to perform a particular task is modelled by the random variable \(T\). The probability that it takes more than \(t\) milliseconds to perform this task is given by the expression \(\mathrm { P } ( T > t ) = \frac { k } { t ^ { 2 } }\) for \(t \geqslant 1\), where \(k\) is a constant.
    1. Write down the cumulative distribution function of \(T\) and hence show that \(k = 1\).
    2. Find the probability density function of \(T\).
    3. Find the mean time for the task.
  2. For a different task, the times (in milliseconds) taken by my computer on 10 randomly chosen occasions were as follows. $$\begin{array} { c c c c c c c c c c } 6.4 & 5.9 & 5.0 & 6.2 & 6.8 & 6.0 & 5.2 & 6.5 & 5.7 & 5.3 \end{array}$$ From past experience it is thought that the median time for this task is 5.4 milliseconds. Carry out a test at the \(5 \%\) level of significance to investigate this, stating your hypotheses carefully.
AQA Further AS Paper 2 Statistics 2021 June Q6
11 marks Standard +0.3
6 The continuous random variable \(X\) has probability density function $$f ( x ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 114 } ( 4 x + 7 ) & 0 \leq x \leq 6 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ 6
  1. Show that the median of \(X\) is 3.87, correct to three significant figures.
    [0pt] [3 marks]
    6
  2. Find the exact value of \(\mathrm { P } ( X > 2 )\)
    6
  3. The continuous random variable \(Y\) has probability density function \(g ( y ) = \begin{cases} \frac { 1 } { 2 } y ^ { 2 } - \frac { 1 } { 6 } y ^ { 3 }1 \leq y \leq 3
    0\text { otherwise } \end{cases}\)
    "
    6 (c) (i) Show that \(\operatorname { Var } \left( \frac { 1 } { Y } \right) = \frac { 2 } { 81 }\)
    \multirow[b]{2}{*}{
    [4 marks]
    [4 marks]
    }