5.04a Linear combinations: E(aX+bY), Var(aX+bY)

316 questions

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OCR S2 2012 June Q4
11 marks Moderate -0.3
4 In a rock, small crystal formations occur at a constant average rate of 3.2 per cubic metre.
  1. State a further assumption needed to model the number of crystal formations in a fixed volume of rock by a Poisson distribution. In the remainder of the question, you should assume that a Poisson model is appropriate.
  2. Calculate the probability that in one cubic metre of rock there are exactly 5 crystal formations.
  3. Calculate the probability that in 0.74 cubic metres of rock there are at least 3 crystal formations.
  4. Use a suitable approximation to calculate the probability that in 10 cubic metres of rock there are at least 36 crystal formations.
OCR S2 2012 June Q6
11 marks Moderate -0.3
6 At a tourist car park, a survey is made of the regions from which cars come.
  1. It is given that \(40 \%\) of cars come from the London region. Use a suitable approximation to find the probability that, in a random sample of 32 cars, more than 17 come from the London region. Justify your approximation.
  2. It is given that \(1 \%\) of cars come from France. Use a suitable approximation to find the probability that, in a random sample of 90 cars, exactly 3 come from France.
OCR S2 2013 June Q2
4 marks Standard +0.3
2 The number of neutrinos that pass through a certain region in one second is a random variable with the distribution \(\operatorname { Po } \left( 5 \times 10 ^ { 4 } \right)\). Use a suitable approximation to calculate the probability that the number of neutrinos passing through the region in 40 seconds is less than \(1.999 \times 10 ^ { 6 }\).
OCR S2 2013 June Q3
9 marks Challenging +1.2
3 The mean of a sample of 80 independent observations of a continuous random variable \(Y\) is denoted by \(\bar { Y }\). It is given that \(\mathrm { P } ( \bar { Y } \leqslant 157.18 ) = 0.1\) and \(\mathrm { P } ( \bar { Y } \geqslant 164.76 ) = 0.7\).
  1. Calculate \(\mathrm { E } ( Y )\) and the standard deviation of \(Y\).
  2. State
    1. where in your calculations you have used the Central Limit Theorem,
    2. why it was necessary to use the Central Limit Theorem,
    3. why it was possible to use the Central Limit Theorem.
OCR S3 2009 January Q6
13 marks Standard +0.3
6 A mathematics examination is taken by 29 boys and 26 girls. Experience has shown that the probability that any boy forgets to bring a calculator to the examination is 0.3 , and that any girl forgets is 0.2 . Whether or not any student forgets to bring a calculator is independent of all other students. The numbers of boys and girls who forget to bring a calculator are denoted by \(B\) and \(G\) respectively, and \(F = B + G\).
  1. Find \(\mathrm { E } ( F )\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( F )\).
  2. Using suitable approximations to the distributions of \(B\) and \(G\), which should be justified, find the smallest number of spare calculators that should be available in order to be at least \(99 \%\) certain that all 55 students will have a calculator.
OCR S3 2010 January Q2
8 marks Moderate -0.3
2 The amount of tomato juice, \(X \mathrm { ml }\), dispensed into cartons of a particular brand has a normal distribution with mean 504 and standard deviation 3 . The juice is sold in packs of 4 cartons, filled independently. The total amount of juice in one pack is \(Y \mathrm { ml }\).
  1. Find \(\mathrm { P } ( Y < 2000 )\). The random variable \(V\) is defined as \(Y - 4 X\).
  2. Find \(\mathrm { E } ( V )\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( V )\).
  3. What is the probability that the amount of juice in a randomly chosen pack is more than 4 times the amount of juice in a randomly chosen carton?
OCR S3 2010 January Q3
10 marks Standard +0.3
3 It is given that \(X _ { 1 }\) and \(X _ { 2 }\) are independent random variables with \(X _ { 1 } \sim \mathrm {~N} \left( \mu _ { 1 } , 2.47 \right)\) and \(X _ { 2 } \sim \mathrm {~N} \left( \mu _ { 2 } , 4.23 \right)\). Random samples of \(n _ { 1 }\) observations of \(X _ { 1 }\) and \(n _ { 2 }\) observations of \(X _ { 2 }\) are taken. The sample means are denoted by \(\bar { X } _ { 1 }\) and \(\bar { X } _ { 2 }\).
  1. State the distribution of \(\bar { X } _ { 1 } - \bar { X } _ { 2 }\), giving its parameters. For two particular samples, \(n _ { 1 } = 5 , \Sigma x _ { 1 } = 48.25 , n _ { 2 } = 10\) and \(\Sigma x _ { 2 } = 72.30\).
  2. Test at the \(2 \%\) significance level whether \(\mu _ { 1 }\) differs from \(\mu _ { 2 }\). A student stated that because of the Central Limit Theorem the sample means will have normal distributions so it is unnecessary for \(X _ { 1 }\) and \(X _ { 2 }\) to have normal distributions.
  3. Comment on the student's statement.
OCR S3 2013 January Q1
6 marks Standard +0.3
1 The independent random variables \(X\) and \(Y\) have the distributions \(\mathrm { N } \left( 10 , \sigma ^ { 2 } \right)\) and \(\operatorname { Po } ( 2 )\) respectively. The random variable \(S\) is given by \(S = 5 X - 2 Y + c\), where \(c\) is a constant.
It is given that \(\mathrm { E } ( S ) = \operatorname { Var } ( S ) = 408\).
  1. Find the value of \(c\) and show that \(\sigma ^ { 2 } = 16\).
  2. Find \(\mathrm { P } ( X \geqslant \mathrm { E } ( Y ) )\).
OCR S3 2012 June Q5
10 marks Moderate -0.3
5 The discrete random variables \(X\) and \(Y\) are independent with \(X \sim \mathrm {~B} \left( 32 , \frac { 1 } { 2 } \right)\) and \(Y \sim \operatorname { Po } ( 28 )\).
  1. Find the values of \(\mathrm { E } ( Y - X )\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( Y - X )\).
  2. State, with justification, an approximate distribution for \(Y - X\).
  3. Hence find \(\mathrm { P } ( | Y - X | \geqslant 3 )\).
OCR MEI S3 2014 June Q1
17 marks Standard +0.3
1
  1. Let \(X\) be a random variable with variance \(\sigma ^ { 2 }\). The independent random variables \(X _ { 1 }\) and \(X _ { 2 }\) are both distributed as \(X\). Write down the variances of \(X _ { 1 } + X _ { 2 }\) and \(2 X\); explain why they are different. A large company has produced an aptitude test which consists of three parts. The parts are called mathematical ability, spatial awareness and communication. The scores obtained by candidates in the three parts are continuous random variables \(X , Y\) and \(W\) which have been found to have independent Normal distributions with means and standard deviations as shown in the table.
    MeanStandard deviation
    Mathematical ability, \(X\)30.15.1
    Spatial awareness, \(Y\)25.44.2
    Communication, \(W\)28.23.9
  2. Find the probability that a randomly selected candidate obtains a score of less than 22 in the mathematical ability part of the test.
  3. Find the probability that a randomly selected candidate obtains a total score of at least 100 in the whole test.
  4. For a particular role in the company, the score \(2 X + Y\) is calculated. Find the score that is exceeded by only \(2 \%\) of candidates.
  5. For a different role, a candidate must achieve a score in communication which is at least \(60 \%\) of the score obtained in mathematical ability. What proportion of candidates do not achieve this?
OCR S4 2009 June Q5
13 marks Standard +0.3
5 Alana and Ben work for an estate agent. The joint probability distribution of the number of houses they sell in a randomly chosen week, \(X _ { A }\) and \(X _ { B }\) respectively, is shown in the table. \includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}, center]{f1879b0f-17e3-41b4-af38-a843b67c5301-3_405_602_370_781}
  1. Find \(\mathrm { E } \left( X _ { A } \right)\) and \(\operatorname { Var } \left( X _ { A } \right)\).
  2. Determine whether \(X _ { A }\) and \(X _ { B }\) are independent.
  3. Given that \(\mathrm { E } \left( X _ { B } \right) = 1.15 , \operatorname { Var } \left( X _ { B } \right) = 0.8275\) and \(\mathrm { E } \left( X _ { A } X _ { B } \right) = 1.09\), find \(\operatorname { Cov } \left( X _ { A } , X _ { B } \right)\) and \(\operatorname { Var } \left( X _ { A } - X _ { B } \right)\).
  4. During a particular week only one house was sold by Alana and Ben. Find the probability that it was sold by Alana.
OCR S4 2010 June Q1
4 marks Standard +0.3
1 For the variables \(A\) and \(B\), it is given that \(\operatorname { Var } ( A ) = 9 , \operatorname { Var } ( B ) = 6\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( 2 A - 3 B ) = 18\).
  1. Find \(\operatorname { Cov } ( A , B )\).
  2. State with a reason whether \(A\) and \(B\) are independent.
OCR S4 2010 June Q6
13 marks Standard +0.8
6 Nuts and raisins occur in randomly chosen squares of a particular brand of chocolate. The numbers of nuts and raisins are denoted by \(N\) and \(R\) respectively and the joint probability distribution of \(N\) and \(R\) is given by $$f ( n , r ) = \begin{cases} c ( n + 2 r ) & n = 0,1,2 \text { and } r = 0,1,2 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{cases}$$ where \(c\) is a constant.
  1. Find the value of \(c\).
  2. Find the probability that there is exactly one nut in a randomly chosen square.
  3. Find the probability that the total number of nuts and raisins in a randomly chosen square is more than 2 .
  4. For squares in which there are 2 raisins, find the mean number of nuts.
  5. Determine whether \(N\) and \(R\) are independent.
OCR S4 2015 June Q7
14 marks Challenging +1.2
7 The discrete random variable \(X\) can take the values 0,1 and 2 with equal probabilities.
The random variables \(X _ { 1 }\) and \(X _ { 2 }\) are independent observations of \(X\), and the random variables \(Y\) and \(Z\) are defined as follows: \(Y\) is the smaller of \(X _ { 1 }\) and \(X _ { 2 }\), or their common value if they are equal; \(Z = \left| X _ { 1 } - X _ { 2 } \right|\).
  1. Draw up a table giving the joint distribution of \(Y\) and \(Z\).
  2. Find \(P ( Y = 0 \mid Z = 0 )\).
  3. Find \(\operatorname { Cov } ( Y , Z )\).
OCR S4 2018 June Q5
11 marks Challenging +1.2
5 The independent discrete random variables \(U\) and \(V\) can each take the values 1, 2 and 3, all with probability \(\frac { 1 } { 3 }\). The random variables \(X\) and \(Y\) are defined as follows: $$X = | U - V | , Y = U + V .$$
  1. In the Printed Answer Book complete the table showing the joint probability distribution of \(X\) and \(Y\).
  2. Find \(\operatorname { Cov } ( X , Y )\).
  3. State with a reason whether \(X\) and \(Y\) are independent.
  4. Find \(\mathrm { P } ( Y = 3 \mid X = 1 )\).
OCR MEI S4 2013 June Q2
24 marks Challenging +1.8
2 The random variable \(X\) takes values \(- 2,0\) and 2 , each with probability \(\frac { 1 } { 3 }\).
  1. Write down the values of
    (A) \(\mu\), the mean of \(X\),
    (B) \(\mathrm { E } \left( X ^ { 2 } \right)\),
    (C) \(\sigma ^ { 2 }\), the variance of \(X\).
  2. Obtain the moment generating function (mgf) of \(X\). A random sample of \(n\) independent observations on \(X\) has sample mean \(\bar { X }\), and the standardised mean is denoted by \(Z\) where $$Z = \frac { \bar { X } - \mu } { \frac { \sigma } { \sqrt { n } } }$$
  3. Stating carefully the required general results for mgfs of sums and of linear transformations, show that the mgf of \(Z\) is $$M _ { Z } ( \theta ) = \left\{ \frac { 1 } { 3 } \left( 1 + e ^ { \frac { \theta \sqrt { 3 } } { \sqrt { 2 n } } } + e ^ { - \frac { \theta \sqrt { 3 } } { \sqrt { 2 n } } } \right) \right\} ^ { n } .$$
  4. By expanding the exponential functions in \(\mathrm { M } _ { Z } ( \theta )\), show that, for large \(n\), $$\mathrm { M } _ { Z } ( \theta ) \approx \left( 1 + \frac { \theta ^ { 2 } } { 2 n } \right) ^ { n }$$
  5. Use the result \(\mathrm { e } ^ { y } = \lim _ { n \rightarrow \infty } \left( 1 + \frac { y } { n } \right) ^ { n }\) to find the limit of \(\mathrm { M } _ { Z } ( \theta )\) as \(n \rightarrow \infty\), and deduce the approximate distribution of \(Z\) for large \(n\).
CAIE FP2 2010 June Q11 OR
Challenging +1.2
Aram is a packer at a supermarket checkout and the time he takes to pack a randomly chosen item has mean 1.5 s and standard deviation 0.4 s . Justifying any approximation that you make, find the probability that Aram will pack 50 randomly chosen items in less than 70 s . Find the greatest number of items that Aram could pack within 70 s with probability at least \(90 \%\). Huldu is also a packer at the supermarket. The time that she takes to pack a randomly chosen item has mean 1.3 s and standard deviation 0.5 s . Aram and Huldu each have 50 items to pack. Find the probability that Huldu takes a shorter time than Aram.
CAIE FP2 2018 June Q10
12 marks Standard +0.8
10 The times taken to run 400 metres by students at two large colleges \(P\) and \(Q\) are being compared. There is no evidence that the population variances are equal. The time taken by a student at college \(P\) and the time taken by a student at college \(Q\) are denoted by \(x\) seconds and \(y\) seconds respectively. A random sample of 50 students from college \(P\) and a random sample of 60 students from college \(Q\) give the following summarised data. $$\Sigma x = 2620 \quad \Sigma x ^ { 2 } = 138200 \quad \Sigma y = 3060 \quad \Sigma y ^ { 2 } = 157000$$
  1. Using a 10\% significance level, test whether, on average, students from college \(P\) take longer to run 400 metres than students from college \(Q\).
  2. Find a \(90 \%\) confidence interval for the difference in the mean times taken to run 400 metres by students from colleges \(P\) and \(Q\).
OCR MEI S3 2008 January Q2
18 marks Standard +0.3
2 In the vegetable section of a local supermarket, leeks are on sale either loose (and unprepared) or prepared in packs of 4 . The weights of unprepared leeks are modelled by the random variable \(X\) which has the Normal distribution with mean 260 grams and standard deviation 24 grams. The prepared leeks have had \(40 \%\) of their weight removed, so that their weights, \(Y\), are modelled by \(Y = 0.6 X\).
  1. Find the probability that a randomly chosen unprepared leek weighs less than 300 grams.
  2. Find the probability that a randomly chosen prepared leek weighs more than 175 grams.
  3. Find the probability that the total weight of 4 randomly chosen prepared leeks in a pack is less than 600 grams.
  4. What total weight of prepared leeks in a randomly chosen pack of 4 is exceeded with probability 0.975 ?
  5. Sandie is making soup. She uses 3 unprepared leeks and 2 onions. The weights of onions are modelled by the Normal distribution with mean 150 grams and standard deviation 18 grams. Find the probability that the total weight of her ingredients is more than 1000 grams.
  6. A large consignment of unprepared leeks is delivered to the supermarket. A random sample of 100 of them is taken. Their weights have sample mean 252.4 grams and sample standard deviation 24.6 grams. Find a \(99 \%\) confidence interval for the true mean weight of the leeks in this consignment.
OCR H240/02 2018 June Q12
11 marks Standard +0.3
12 The discrete random variable \(X\) takes values 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and its probability distribution is defined as follows. $$\mathrm { P } ( X = x ) = \begin{cases} a & x = 1 , \\ \frac { 1 } { 2 } \mathrm { P } ( X = x - 1 ) & x = 2,3,4,5 , \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } , \end{cases}$$ where \(a\) is a constant.
  1. Show that \(a = \frac { 16 } { 31 }\). The discrete probability distribution for \(X\) is given in the table.
    \(x\)12345
    \(\mathrm { P } ( X = x )\)\(\frac { 16 } { 31 }\)\(\frac { 8 } { 31 }\)\(\frac { 4 } { 31 }\)\(\frac { 2 } { 31 }\)\(\frac { 1 } { 31 }\)
  2. Find the probability that \(X\) is odd. Two independent values of \(X\) are chosen, and their sum \(S\) is found.
  3. Find the probability that \(S\) is odd.
  4. Find the probability that \(S\) is greater than 8 , given that \(S\) is odd. Sheila sometimes needs several attempts to start her car in the morning. She models the number of attempts she needs by the discrete random variable \(Y\) defined as follows. $$\mathrm { P } ( Y = y + 1 ) = \frac { 1 } { 2 } \mathrm { P } ( Y = y ) \quad \text { for all positive integers } y .$$
  5. Find \(\mathrm { P } ( Y = 1 )\).
  6. Give a reason why one of the variables, \(X\) or \(Y\), might be more appropriate as a model for the number of attempts that Sheila needs to start her car.
OCR H240/02 2019 June Q12
12 marks Moderate -0.8
12 A random variable \(X\) has probability distribution defined as follows. $$\mathrm { P } ( X = x ) = \begin{cases} k x & x = 1,2,3,4,5 , \\ 0 & \text { otherwise, } \end{cases}$$ where \(k\) is a constant.
  1. Show that \(\mathrm { P } ( X = 3 ) = 0.2\).
  2. Show in a table the values of \(X\) and their probabilities.
  3. Two independent values of \(X\) are chosen, and their total \(T\) is found.
    1. Find \(\mathrm { P } ( T = 7 )\).
    2. Given that \(T = 7\), determine the probability that one of the values of \(X\) is 2 .
Edexcel Paper 3 2024 June Q5
10 marks Standard +0.3
The records for a school athletics club show that the height, \(H\) metres, achieved by students in the high jump is normally distributed with mean 1.4 metres and standard deviation 0.15 metres.
  1. Find the proportion of these students achieving a height of more than 1.6 metres. The records also show that the time, \(T\) seconds, to run 1500 metres is normally distributed with mean 330 seconds and standard deviation 26 seconds. The school's Head would like to use these distributions to estimate the proportion of students from the school athletics club who can jump higher than 1.6 metres and can run 1500 metres in less than 5 minutes.
  2. State a necessary assumption about \(H\) and \(T\) for the Head to calculate an estimate of this proportion.
  3. Find the Head's estimate of this proportion. Students in the school athletics club also throw the discus.
    The random variable \(D \sim \mathrm {~N} \left( \mu , \sigma ^ { 2 } \right)\) represents the distance, in metres, that a student can throw the discus. Given that \(\mathrm { P } ( D < 16.3 ) = 0.30\) and \(\mathrm { P } ( D > 29.0 ) = 0.10\)
  4. calculate the value of \(\mu\) and the value of \(\sigma\)
AQA Further AS Paper 2 Statistics Specimen Q5
5 marks Standard +0.8
5 Participants in a school jumping competition gain a total score for each jump based on the length, \(L\) metres, jumped beyond a fixed point and a mark, \(S\), for style. \(L\) may be regarded as a continuous random variable with probability density function $$\mathrm { f } ( l ) = \left\{ \begin{array} { c c } w l & 0 \leq l \leq 15 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{array} \right.$$ where \(w\) is a constant. \(S\) may be regarded as a discrete random variable with probability function $$\mathrm { P } ( S = s ) = \left\{ \begin{array} { c l } \frac { 1 } { 15 } s & s = 1,2,3,4,5 \\ 0 & \text { otherwise } \end{array} \right.$$ Assume that \(L\) and \(S\) are independent. The total score for a participant in this competition, \(T\), is given by \(T = L ^ { 2 } + \frac { 1 } { 2 } S\) Show that the expected total score for a participant is \(114 \frac { 1 } { 3 }\)
OCR Further Statistics 2023 June Q3
6 marks Standard +0.3
3 The discrete random variable \(W\) has the distribution \(\mathrm { U } ( 11 )\). The independent discrete random variable \(V\) has the distribution \(\mathrm { U } ( 5 )\).
  1. It is given that, for constants \(m\) and \(n\), with \(m > 0\), \(\mathrm { E } ( \mathrm { mW } + \mathrm { nV } ) = 0\) and \(\operatorname { Var } ( \mathrm { mW } + \mathrm { nV } ) = 1\). Determine the exact values of \(m\) and \(n\). The random variable \(T\) is the mean of three independent observations of \(W\).
  2. Explain whether the Central Limit Theorem can be used to say that the distribution of \(T\) is approximately normal.
Edexcel S1 2016 October Q4
15 marks Moderate -0.3
  1. A doctor is studying the scans of 30 -week old foetuses. She takes a random sample of 8 scans and measures the length, \(f \mathrm {~mm}\), of the leg bone called the femur. She obtains the following results.
$$\begin{array} { l l l l l l l l } 52 & 53 & 56 & 57 & 57 & 59 & 60 & 62 \end{array}$$
  1. Show that \(\mathrm { S } _ { f f } = 80\) The doctor also measures the head circumference, \(h \mathrm {~mm}\), of each foetus and her results are summarised as $$\sum h = 2209 \quad \sum h ^ { 2 } = 610463 \quad \mathrm {~S} _ { f h } = 182$$
  2. Find \(\mathrm { S } _ { h h }\)
  3. Calculate the product moment correlation coefficient between the length of the femur and the head circumference for these data. The doctor believes that there is a linear relationship between the length of the femur and the head circumference of 30-week old foetuses.
  4. State, giving a reason, whether or not your calculation in part (c) supports the doctor's belief.
  5. Find an equation of the regression line of \(h\) on \(f\). The doctor plans in future to measure the femur length, \(f\), and then use the regression line to estimate the corresponding head circumference, \(h\). A statistician points out that there will always be the chance of an error between the true head circumference and the estimated value of the head circumference. Given that the error, \(E \mathrm {~mm}\), has the normal distribution \(\mathrm { N } \left( 0,4 ^ { 2 } \right)\)
  6. find the probability that the estimate is within 3 mm of the true value.