- The mean of five numbers is 8. What is their total?
40
提示Undo the sharing: multiply the average by how many values there are.
为什么Mean = total ÷ count, so total = mean × count = 8 × 5 = 40. Working backwards from a mean is a favourite KS3 question, and it is the key to problems such as a sixth number being added and the mean rising to 9.
- The measure of spread found by subtracting the smallest value from the largest
The range
提示Only the two end values matter to it — everything in between is ignored.
为什么The range describes how far apart the data reaches, so it is a measure of spread rather than an average. One extreme reading can stretch it a long way.
- Six numbers in order are 2, 5, x, 11, 14 and 20, and their median is 9. What is x?
7
提示With an even count the two middle values are averaged, so work backwards from that average.
为什么For six values the median is the mean of the third and fourth, so (x + 11) ÷ 2 = 9, giving x + 11 = 18 and x = 7. That value also keeps the list in order, which is the check worth making at the end.
- A frequency table for dice rolls shows frequencies 8, 5, 7, 4, 6 and 12. How many times was the dice rolled?
42
提示The frequency column records how often each outcome came up — combine every entry.
为什么The frequencies add to 8 + 5 + 7 + 4 + 6 + 12 = 42, so the dice was rolled 42 times. Totalling the frequency column tells you the size of the data set, which you need before working out any proportion or estimating a probability from it.
- A bar chart starts its vertical axis at 90 rather than 0. Why can that mislead a reader?
It exaggerates the differences between the bars
提示Only the top slice of each column is drawn, so a small gap fills most of the picture.
为什么Cutting the axis means the heights are no longer proportional to the frequencies, so a rise from 92 to 96 can look like a doubling. The honest fix is to start the axis at zero, or to mark the break in it clearly.
- On a pictogram, one symbol stands for 8 people. How many people does a quarter of a symbol represent?
2
提示Cut the value of one whole symbol in the same fraction as the picture is cut.
为什么The key gives the value of a whole symbol, so a part-symbol is worth the matching fraction of it: half of 8 is 4 and a quarter is 2. Read the key before counting anything, or every figure will come out wrong.
- On a line graph of temperature against time, what does the steepness of the line tell you?
How quickly the temperature is changing
提示A steeper climb means the same rise happens in less time.
为什么Gradient on a time graph is a rate: a steep rise means a fast increase, a gentle slope a slow one, and a flat section no change at all. Comparing steepness lets you say when the temperature was changing fastest without doing any calculation.
- In a pie chart showing 40 people, how many degrees represent one person?
9
提示Share a full turn out between everyone in the survey.
为什么A full circle is 360°, and dividing that between 40 people gives each one a slice of 9°. Multiplying by a category frequency then gives that slice its angle.
- The average that picks out the most common value in a set of data
The mode
提示A shoe shop uses it: the size that turns up most often, not a calculated middle.
为什么It is the only average that works for categories such as favourite colour, and it is what a shop needs when deciding which sizes to restock.
- What effect does one unusually large value have on the mean?
It pulls the mean upwards
提示Every reading goes into the total, so an extreme one drags the average with it.
为什么Because all the data is added in, a single extreme reading shifts the answer. The median barely moves, which is why it is preferred for figures such as house prices.
- On a scatter graph, points that rise from left to right show ____.
positive correlation
提示As one measurement goes up, the other tends to go up as well.
为什么A line of best fit summarises that trend and can be used to predict, though only within the range of the data collected. Points falling from left to right show the opposite relationship.
- Ice cream sales and drowning numbers both rise in summer. What third factor explains both?
The hot weather
提示Ask what else changes outdoors between June and December.
为什么This is the classic example of correlation without causation: temperature drives both figures, and neither one causes the other. Always ask what else could explain a pattern before claiming a cause.
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