Data Collection – Test A (30 mins) Fundamentals Challenge  Expert

Subtopics: Populations and samples, sampling, non-random sampling, types of data, the large data set

1. A head teacher wants to carry out a survey in her school. There are 500 students at the school and
the head teacher would like to take a sample of 50 students to undertake the survey.
a) Describe how the head teacher could take a simple random sample. [4]
b) Describe how the head teacher could take a systematic sample. [4]
c) Which of the methods above should the head teacher use? Give two reasons for your answer. [3]

2. Here is some data from the large data set, measured in Hurn in May 2015:

Daily Total Daily Total

Date Date
Rainfall (mm) Rainfall (mm)
01/05/2015 tr 08/05/2015 1
02/05/2015 12 09/05/2015 tr
03/05/2015 0.2 10/05/2015 0
04/05/2015 9.4 11/05/2015 tr
05/05/2015 6.6 12/05/2015 0
06/05/2015 0 13/05/2015 2.2
07/05/2015 tr 14/05/2015 17.8
Table continues to right

Calculate the mean and range of the daily total rainfall in Hurn for these days. Show your working
clearly and give your answers correct to three significant figures. [5]

3. Eleanor takes a sample of the daily mean wind speed in June and July 2015 in Beijing from the large
data set. This sample of data is shown below:

Daily Mean Daily Mean

Date Date
Wind Speed (kn) Wind Speed (kn)
04/06/2015 3.8 04/07/2015 2.8
09/06/2015 6.5 09/07/2015 4.8
14/06/2015 4.5 14/07/2015 3.5
19/06/2015 4.3 19/07/2015 3.3
24/06/2015 3.8 24/07/2015 3.0
29/06/2015 4.5 29/07/2015 3.8
Table continues to right

a) What type of sample has Eleanor taken? Give a reason for your answer. [2]
b) Suggest a reason why Eleanor used this type of sampling instead of opportunity sampling. [1]

4. A vet wants to find out how many pets each of his customers has. He decides to take a sample.
a) What are the sampling units for this sample? [1]
b) Suggest a sampling frame that the vet could use. [1]
c) Is the data which the vet is collecting qualitative or quantitative? Justify your answer. [2]
d) Is this data discrete or continuous? Justify your answer. [2]

TOTAL 25 MARKS

Test 1.3a – Data Collection – version 1.1 Page 1 of 1 © ZigZag Education, 2018