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A

Section A: Long Answer Questions

Attempt all / any as specified.

4 questions
1long14 marks

The following data represent the time (in milliseconds) taken by a web server to respond to 40 requests during a load test:

Response time (ms)10–2020–3030–4040–5050–6060–70
Number of requests4712953

(a) Compute the arithmetic mean, median and mode of the response times. (6)

(b) Compute the standard deviation and the coefficient of variation, and comment on the consistency of the server's response. (5)

(c) Calculate the coefficient of skewness (Karl Pearson's) and interpret the shape of the distribution. (3)

descriptive-statistics
2long14 marks

A software company procures identical microcontroller chips from three suppliers A, B and C, which supply 50%, 30% and 20% of the total stock respectively. From past experience it is known that 2%, 3% and 4% of the chips from suppliers A, B and C respectively are defective.

(a) State Bayes' theorem and the theorem of total probability, clearly explaining the meaning of prior and posterior probability. (4)

(b) A chip is selected at random from the combined stock. Find the probability that it is defective. (4)

(c) Given that a randomly chosen chip is found to be defective, find the probability that it was supplied by supplier C. (4)

(d) Which supplier is most likely to be the source of a defective chip? Justify your answer. (2)

bayes-theoremprobability-theory
3long14 marks

The following table shows the number of hours (X) eight students spent practising programming per week and their scores (Y) out of 100 in a coding assessment:

X (hours)2456891112
Y (score)4048556070728590

(a) Compute the Karl Pearson coefficient of correlation between X and Y and interpret it. (5)

(b) Fit the least-squares regression line of Y on X. (5)

(c) Estimate the expected score of a student who practises 10 hours per week, and explain the meaning of the coefficient of determination for this fit. (4)

regression-correlation
4long14 marks

A manufacturer claims that the mean lifetime of its LED bulbs is at least 8000 hours. A quality-control engineer tests a random sample of 36 bulbs and finds a sample mean lifetime of 7820 hours with a sample standard deviation of 480 hours.

(a) Explain the difference between a Type I and a Type II error, and define the level of significance and the p-value of a test. (4)

(b) Formulate the null and alternative hypotheses and, at the 5% level of significance, test whether the manufacturer's claim is justified. (6)

(c) Construct a 95% confidence interval for the true mean lifetime of the bulbs and state whether it is consistent with your conclusion in part (b). (4)

hypothesis-testingsampling-estimation
B

Section B: Short Answer Questions

Attempt all / any as specified.

8 questions
5short6 marks

Two cards are drawn one after another without replacement from a well-shuffled standard deck of 52 playing cards. Find the probability that (a) both cards are aces, (b) the first is a king and the second is a queen, and (c) at least one of the two cards is a spade. State clearly any addition or multiplication rule of probability you use.

probability-theory
6short6 marks

In a digital communication channel, bits are transmitted independently and each bit is received in error with probability 0.01. A packet consists of 100 bits. Using a suitable approximation, find the probability that a packet contains (a) no error and (b) at most two errors. State the distribution you used and justify why the approximation is appropriate.

probability-distributions
7short6 marks

The lengths of bolts produced by a machine are normally distributed with mean 50 mm and standard deviation 1.5 mm. A bolt is acceptable if its length lies between 47.5 mm and 52.5 mm. (a) What percentage of bolts produced are acceptable? (b) If 2000 bolts are produced in a shift, how many are expected to be rejected? (Use standard normal tables.)

probability-distributions
8short6 marks

A continuous random variable X has the probability density function

f(x)={kx(2x),0x20,otherwisef(x) = \begin{cases} kx(2-x), & 0 \le x \le 2 \\ 0, & \text{otherwise} \end{cases}

(a) Determine the value of the constant k. (b) Find the mean E(X) and the variance Var(X) of X. (c) Compute P(X > 1).

random-variables
9short6 marks

(a) Distinguish between a parameter and a statistic, and explain the terms 'sampling distribution' and 'standard error' with an example. (3)

(b) State the Central Limit Theorem and explain its significance in statistical inference for large samples. (3)

sampling-estimation
10short6 marks

In a survey, 360 out of 600 randomly selected smartphone users said they prefer Android over iOS. Test, at the 1% level of significance, the hypothesis that 50% of all users prefer Android. State your hypotheses, the test statistic used, and your conclusion.

hypothesis-testing
11short6 marks

A die is rolled 120 times and the following frequencies of the faces are observed:

Face123456
Frequency152218242120

Using the chi-square goodness-of-fit test at the 5% level of significance, test whether the die is fair.

hypothesis-testingprobability-distributions
12short6 marks

Write short notes on any TWO of the following: (a) Skewness and kurtosis as measures of the shape of a distribution; (b) Mathematical expectation and its properties for a discrete random variable; (c) Mutually exclusive events versus independent events, with one example of each.

descriptive-statisticsrandom-variables