Chapter 1: mathematical modelling

Advantages of mathematical modelling:

1. Relatively quick and easy to produce
2. Enable real life predictions to be made
3. Help simplify real world problems
4. Cost effective way of analysing real world situation
5. Improve understanding of our world
6. Show how certain variables can affect an outcome

Disadvantages:
1. Simplifications of real world situations (can cause errors)- as model may be simplified
with various assumptions and not include all parts of a problem
2. Model may only work in certain situations which are difficult or expensive to fulfil in
the real world
Chapter 2: measures of location and spread

● Standard deviation is square root of variance so variance is sum of x^2/n - mean^2

● For coded data to find uncoded mean, if code is x-a/b, then add a and multiply by b
and for sd just multiply by b

Chapter 3: representation of data

freq density = freq/class width so freq is area of a bar

● Rmb that range of data always includes outliers unless it is specified in question to
clean the data
● For odd number median is always half of that rounded up value and for even number
it's just half +0.5 so e.g. for 15 values median is 8th value and for 14, median is 7.5th
value
● A higher median value shows a higher percentile of ppl did smth and a higher IQR
shows the range of values is larger (inconsistent)
When data contains extreme values, median and IQR are best to use as they are not
affected by outliers like the mean is

Chapter 4: Probability

An experiment: repeatable process that gives rise to a number of outcomes

Event: collection of one or more outcomes
Sample space: set of all possible outcomes
Mutually exclusive: cannot happen at the same time (no intersection on venn diagram)
Independant: probability of one happening doesn't affect the other - so probability of A
happening is same regardless of whether B happens

For mutually exclusive events the probability of them happening is just P(A) + P(B)
For independent events this is P(A)P(B), if P(A)P(B) = P(A ∩ B), they are independent
Discrete random variables

days in a week= NOT discrete random variable

Heights of children= NOT DISCRETE
Number of times 6 appears when dice rolled 40 times= IT IS A DRV
Sample space= range of values that a random variable can take
Variable can take any of a range of specific values but if its discrete it can only take certain
values

Variable is random if its probability not known until the experiment is carried out

Cumulative distribution function- basically is like cumulative frequency

Denoted using F(x)- if F(4) you find P(X ≤ 4) so u add up all the probabilities upto four and 4s
probability as well

Normal distribution

Representation of a continuous random variable using a curve- peak and centre of curve is
the mean denoted by μ. Each interval is one standard deviation

● 68% of values less than one standard deviation away from the mean
● 95% less than two standard deviations
● 99.7% less than three standard deviations

Area of probability curve is equal to 1

The discrete uniform distribution.

Explanatory = x
Response = y

Extrapolation is unreliable because out of range of data

Interpolation reliable

The product moment correlation coefficient (r) can be used to tell us how strong the
correlation between two variables is. A positive value indicates a positive correlation and the
higher the value, the stronger the correlation. if r is zero no correlation.

If they ask to interpret this value/ the value of b never say it shows a positive correlation- u
need to say as x increases y increases etc/ that for this value of x there is this number of
y