ExpertMedium3 marksStructured
Interpreting Results and Evaluating Findingsconditional probabilityinterpreting datacomparisonfoundation
AQA GCSE · Question 06.3 · Interpreting Results and Evaluating Findings
Miss Wardle says that males are nearly twice as likely to not complete homework compared to females.
Show that the data in the table supports Miss Wardle's view.
Miss Wardle says that males are nearly twice as likely to not complete homework compared to females.
Show that the data in the table supports Miss Wardle's view.
How to approach this question
1. Calculate the total number of male students.
2. Calculate the probability that a male student did not complete the homework (males who did not / total males).
3. Calculate the total number of female students.
4. Calculate the probability that a female student did not complete the homework (females who did not / total females).
5. Double the probability for females.
6. Compare the result from step 5 with the probability for males from step 2 to see if they are "nearly" the same.
Full Answer
To check Miss Wardle's statement, we need to compare the conditional probabilities.
First, find the total number of males: 11 + 4 = 15.
The probability of a male not completing is P(not complete | male) = 4/15.
Next, find the total number of females: 12 + 2 = 14.
The probability of a female not completing is P(not complete | female) = 2/14 = 1/7.
Miss Wardle says males are "nearly twice as likely" as females. Let's double the female probability:
2 * P(not complete | female) = 2 * (1/7) = 2/7.
Now we compare the male probability (4/15) with twice the female probability (2/7).
To compare them easily, find a common denominator or convert to decimals:
4/15 ≈ 0.267
2/7 ≈ 0.286
Since 0.267 is very close to 0.286, the data supports her view.
Common mistakes
✗ Comparing the raw numbers (4 and 2) without considering the different total numbers of males and females.
✗ Calculating probabilities out of the grand total (29) instead of the total for each gender.
Practice the full AQA GCSE Statistics Foundation Tier Paper 1
47 questions · hints · full answers · grading
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