GCSE · Sampling

Populations & samplesExam-style questions

What a population and a sample are and why we sample at all; why a representative sample matters more than a big one; and the two calculations that earn the marks — scaling a sample up to estimate a population total (including capture–recapture and its assumptions) and sharing a stratified sample out in proportion.

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11 questions · GCSE (Higher) level · mark scheme and worked solution on each · no sign-up to try

DifficultyAll Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

1
A factory makes $40\,000$ batteries each day.

To check quality, a random sample of $50$ batteries is taken and each one is run until it stops working.

(a) Write down the population in this investigation.

(b) Explain why the factory tests a sample of batteries rather than carrying out a census.

(c) $3$ of the $50$ batteries tested lasted less than the advertised time.

Estimate how many of the $40\,000$ batteries made that day would last less than the advertised time.
Level 2 · 4 marksTry it