Unit

STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY

Unit Outcomes:
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
know methods and procedures in collecting and presenting simple statistical
data.
know basic concepts about statistical measures.
understand facts and basic principles about probability.
solve simple mathematical problems on statistics and probability.

Main Contents
6.1 Statistical data
6.2 Probability
Key Terms
Summary
Review Exercises
Mathematics Grade 9

INTRODUCTION
You have some knowledge about statistics and its basics, such as collection of data,
presentation of data, etc., from your primary grade mathematics. In this unit, we
formally define ‘statistics’ as a branch of applied mathematics and learn more about
collection, presentation and analysis of numerical data. The unit also reviews the
concept of probability, which was introduced in Grade 8 and teaches you more about
experimental and theoretical approaches to probability and helps you solve simple
problems based on these approaches.

6.1 STATISTICAL DATA

6.1.1 Collection and Tabulation of Statistical
Data
Group Work 6.1
1 Split the class into three groups. Let Group A find the last
year’s mathematics result of the school in EGSECE from
the school office’s records.
Let group B collect information about the diseases treated in your nearest health
centre, hospital, or health post. Let group C measure the height of each student in
your class and consider its distribution by age and sex.
Answer the following questions using the information gathered by each group.
a How many students appeared for the exam?
b How many students scored A in the national exam?
c What was the score obtained by most of the students?
d Which diseases are treated most frequently?
e What is the average height of the class?
f Are males or females taller?
2 Discuss more about the importance and purpose of statistics.
3 What is the annual birth rate and death rate in Ethiopia? Which governmental
agency is responsible for the preparation of such records?
4 Why does the government of Ethiopia carry out a census every ten years? Discuss.
There are many definitions of the term statistics given by different scholars. However,
for the purpose of this unit, we will confine ourselves to the following:
250
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

Definition 6.1
Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing and
interpreting data (quantitative information) in order to draw conclusions.

Basically, statistics is a procedural process performing five logical steps on numerical

data. These are:

1 Collection of data
The first step of statistics is collection of data. This is the process of obtaining
measurements or counts. For example, measuring the heights of students in your class,
or counting the number of persons admitted to a certain hospital are examples of data
collection.

2 Organization of data
The second step of statistics refers to the organization of data. Collected data has to be
organized in a suitable form to understand the information gathered. The collected data
must be edited, classified and tabulated.

3 Presentation of data
The main purpose of data presentation is to facilitate statistical analysis. This can be
done by illustrating the data using graphs and diagrams like bar graph, histograms, pie-
charts, pictograms, frequency polygons, etc.

4 Analysis of data
In order to meet the desired purpose of investigation, data has to be analyzed. The
purpose of analyzing data is to highlight information useful for decision making.

5 Interpretation of data
Based on analyzed data, conclusions have to be drawn. This step usually involves
decision making about a large collection of objects (the population) based on
information gathered from a small collection of similar objects (the sample).
The decision making processes used by the managers of modern businesses and industry
is governed by statistical application. Statistical methods can be applied to any situation
where numerical information is gathered with the objective of making rational decisions
in the face of uncertainty.

251
Mathematics Grade 9

The following examples show us how statistics plays a major role in decision making in
different sectors.
Example 1 Information gathered about the incidence or prevalence of diseases in a
community provides useful information on changing trends in health
status, mortality, nutritional status or environmental hazards.
Example 2 Statistics is used to study existing conditions and the prevalence rate of
HIV/AIDS in order to design new programs or to study the merits of
different methods adopted to control HIV/AIDS. It assists in determining
the effectiveness of new medication and the importance of counselling.
Example 3 Demographic data about population size, its distribution by age and sex
and the rate of population growth, etc., all help policy makers in
determining future needs such as food, clothing, housing, education,
health facilities, water, electricity and transportation systems.
Example 4 Recording annual temperatures in a country provides the community with
timely warning of environmental hazards.
Example 5 Statistical data collected on customer services provides feedback that can
help to reform policies and systems.
In the absence of accurate and timely data, it is impossible to form suitable policies.
Statistics also plays a vital role in monitoring the proper implementation of programs
and policies.
In its ordinary usage, population refers to the number of people living in an area or
country. In statistics, however, population refers to the complete collection of
individuals, objects or measurements that have a common characteristic.
Gaining access to an entire group (or population) is often difficult, expensive and
sometimes destructive. Therefore, instead of examining the entire group, a researcher
examines a small part of the group, called a sample.
Data can be classified as either qualitative or quantitative. However, statistics deals
mainly with quantitative data.
Example 6 Data collected from the population of students in Ethiopia could be;
i Qualitative if the data is based on some characteristic whose values are not
numbers, such as their eye colour, sex, religion or nationality.
ii Quantitative if the data is numerical such as height, weight, age or scores in
tests.
A rule which gives a corresponding value to each member of a population is called a
population function.

252
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

Example 7 Here is a table showing the approximate sizes of major lakes in Ethiopia.
TABLE 6.1: Size of major lakes in Ethiopia
Name of Lake Length (km) Width (km) Area (km2)
Abaya 60 20 1160
Abayata 17 15 205
Ashenge 5 4 20
Hawassa 16 9 229
Chamo 26 22 551
Hayk 7 5 35
Koka 20 15 205
Langano 18 16 230
Shalla 28 12 409
Tana 70 60 3600
Ziway 25 20 434

We can think of the set of the eleven lakes as the population and the functions
L: Length, W: width, A: area, etc as functions on this population.
Example 8 The following table shows the age of 10 students in a certain class.
TABLE 6.2: Age of students

Name of student x Age (in years) A(x)

Abebe 18
Abdu 17
Bayissa 16
Fatuma 17
Hiwot 15
Kidane 14
Lemlem 18
Meseret 17
Omod 15
Zehara 16

253
Mathematics Grade 9

The students are members of the population and their age, A is the population function.
Statistics can be classified into two types: Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.

Definition 6.2
Descriptive is a branch of statistics concerned with
statistics
summarizing and describing a large amount of data without drawing
any conclusion about a particular bit of data.

Descriptive statistics describes information collected through numerical measurement,

charts, graphs and tables. The main purpose of descriptive statistics is to provide an
overview of the information collected.

Definition 6.3
Inferential statistics is a branch of statistics concerned with interpreting
data and drawing conclusions.

We can classify data as primary data and secondary data.

1 Primary data
Data is said to be primary, if it is obtained first hand for the particular purpose on
which one is currently working. Primary data is original data, obtained personally from
primary sources by observation, interview or direct measurement.

Example 9 If you measure the heights of students in your class, this is primary data.
Example 10 The data gathered by the Ministry of Education about the number of
students enrolled in different universities of Ethiopia is primary data for
the Ministry itself. (If you were to use this data, it would be secondary
data for you.)

2 Secondary data
Data which has been collected previously (for similar or different purpose) is known as
secondary data. Secondary data refers to that data which is not originated by the
researcher himself/herself, but which he/she obtains from someone else’s records. Some
sources of secondary data are official publications, journals, newspapers, different
studies, national statistical abstracts, etc.

254
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

Example 11 Reports on the number of victims of HIV/AIDS by the Ministry of

Health is secondary data for anyone other than the Ministry.
Example 12 The 2007 census of population size of regions by sex reported by the
Central Statistical Agency (CSA) is secondary data for the government.
Information expressed in quantitative form can result in such a large amount of data that
unless these figures are presented in some organized manner, their significance is easily
lost. One of the basic methods of presenting statistical data is putting it into tables. To
do this, often the data needs to be classified.
Classification is the process of arranging things into groups or classes.

ACTIVITY 6.1
1 Classify the employees in your school by household income.
2 Group the number of HIV/AIDS victims recorded in your
nearest health centre according to their age group.
3 Collect data on age, height and mathematics exam score of the students in your
class. Classify or tabulate the data collected.
Different people or organizations collect data for different reasons and the basis of
classification they use is also different accordingly. To see this, consider the following
examples.
Example 13 An economist in the Labour Department of a Regional Social Affairs
Bureau may classify the households in a certain locality by household
income as shown in the table below.

TABLE 6.3: Monthly income of 300 households

Income (in Birr) Number of households

Under 350 85

Between 350 and 650 72

Between 651 and 950 64

Between 951 and 1250 48

Between 1251 and 1550 21

above 1550 10

Total 300

255
Mathematics Grade 9

Example 14 According to the 2007 Ethiopian Census, the Ethiopian Central Statistical
Agency (CSA) has classified the population by sex as follows.
TABLE 6.4: Population by sex (2007 Ethiopian census)
Region Male ( in 1000) Female ( in 1000) Both sexes ( in 1000)
Tigray 2124.8 2189.6 4314.4
Affar 786.3 624.7 1411.0
Amhara 8636.9 8577.2 17214.1
Oromiya 13676.2 13482.3 27158.5
Somale 2468.8 1970.4 4439.2
Benshangul 340.4 330.5 670.9
SNNP 7482.0 7560.5 15042.5
Gambela 159.7 147.2 306.9
Harari 92.3 91.1 183.4
Addis Ababa 1304.5 1433.7 2738.2
Dire Dawa 171.9 170.9 342.8
Total 37243.8 36577.4 73821.2
A statistical table is a systematic presentation or organization of numerical data in
columns and rows. Columns are vertical arrangements and rows are horizontal. The
main purpose of a statistical table is to allow the reader to quickly access relevant
information. A title and row and column headers are important.

Exercise 6.1
1 What are the steps used in doing a statistical study?
2 What do we mean by organizing or presenting data?
3 Explain each of the following statistical terms by giving examples.
a qualitative data b quantitative data c population
d population function e sample
4 Mention four uses of statistics.
5 What is descriptive statistics?
6 Describe in your own words the difference between a population and a sample.
7 Determine whether the following data is qualitative or quantitative.
a Gender b Temperature c Zip code
d Number of days e Religions f Occupations
g Ages h Colours i Nationality
256
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

8 Mention some advantages of tabular presentation of data.

9 Why is it necessary to organize data in a systematic manner after it has been
collected?
10 Draft a table to show the following data, collected from employees in a company.
a sex
b three ranks: supervisors, assistants and clerks
c years: 2000 and 2001
d age group: 18 years and under, over 18 but less than 50 years, over 50 years

6.1.2 Distributions and Histograms

Information (data) is obtained from a census, existing data sources, surveys or designed
experiments. After data is collected, it must be organized into a manageable form. Data
that is not organized is referred to as raw data.

Definition 6.3
A quantity that we measure from observation is called a variate or
variable denoted by V. The distribution of a population function is the
function which associates with each variate of the population function a
corresponding frequency denoted by f.

Methods for organizing raw data include the drawing of tables or graphs, which allow
quick overview of the information collected.
Example 1 Suppose there are 10 students in a group whose scores in a mathematics
quiz were as follows:
13, 12, 14, 13, 12, 12, 13, 14, 15, 12
Organize the data in tabular form. What are the variates? Give the frequency of each
variate.
Solution: The data given above is raw data.
We may now tabulate the given data in the form given below.
Score (V) 12 13 14 15
Number of students (f) 4 3 2 1

The table given above is called the frequency distribution table. The scores are the
variate and the number of students getting a particular score is the frequency of the
variate.

257
Mathematics Grade 9

Definition 6.4
A frequency distribution is a tabular or graphical representation of a
data showing the frequency associated with each data value.

Example 2 Organize the data below into a frequency distribution table.

8, 9, 8, 7, 10, 9, 6, 4, 9, 8,
7, 8, 10, 9, 8, 6, 9, 7, 8, 8

Solution: (Write the values in ascending order.)

Value(V) 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total
Frequency(f) 1 0 2 3 7 5 2 20

Quantitative data can also be represented graphically, through a histogram.

Definition 6.5
A histogram is a graphical representation of a frequency distribution in
which the variate (V) is plotted on the x-axis (horizontal axis) and the
frequency ( f ) is plotted on the y-axis (vertical axis).

When drawing a histogram:

i Construct a frequency distribution table of the given data.
ii The x-axis
a Determine a suitable scale for the horizontal axis and determine the number of
rectangles needed to represent each variate or group of variates as desired.
b Try not to break the x-axis.
iii The y-axis
a Display information about frequency on the vertical (y) axis. .
b Determine the length of the y-axis.
iv Draw bars for each variate (V)
v Label the histogram with a title, and label the axes.
Note: i The height of each rectangle is the frequency.
ii The width of each rectangle should be the same.

258
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

ACTIVITY 6.2
Consider the following data that shows the number of days 25
individuals participated in soil and water conservation tasks:

3 8 7 4 8
5 9 8 5 9
7 8 3 7 5
8 5 6 8 8
10 7 4 4 7

Construct a frequency distribution table and a histogram for the above data.
Example 3 The temperature in oC for the first 14 days of September in a certain
town were recorded as

22, 27, 19, 23, 19, 18, 27,

27, 25, 23, 26, 27, 28, 23

Construct a frequency distribution table and a histogram for the given

data.
Solution: Now construct the frequency distribution table from the raw data.

Temperature (in oC) (V) 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

frequency (f) 1 2 0 0 1 3 0 1 1 4 1

Using the above table, we draw a histogram as shown below.

4
Frequency

0
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Temperature

Figure 6.1
259
Mathematics Grade 9

Example 4 The following histogram shows the daily income (in Birr) of 30
employees in a factory.

Number of Employees
5
4
3
2
1
0
84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93
Daily income

Figure 6.2

From the histogram, answer the following questions:

a How many employees have a daily income of Birr 92?
b How many employees collect a daily income of more than Birr 90?
c What is the highest frequency?
d What percent of the employees earn a daily income of more than Birr 89?
Solution:
a 5 employees have a daily income of Birr 92.
b 10 employees earn a daily income of more than Birr 90.
c The highest frequency is 5.
d Percentage
Sum of the frequencies of employees earning more than 89
= × 100%
Total Frequency
2+2+5+3 12
= × 100% = × 100% = 40%
30 30
i.e., 40% of the employees earn a daily income of more than Birr 89.

Exercise 6.2
1 Give two reasons why raw data should be summarized into a frequency distribution.
2 What is the difference between a frequency distribution table and a histogram?
3 The ages (to the nearest year) of 40 children in a certain village are as follows:
10 7 4 5 1 9 3 6 5 4
2 7 5 3 2 5 6 2 8 9
5 8 9 9 5 2 1 3 9 4
3 5 7 9 6 3 6 8 1 2

Prepare a frequency distribution table and a histogram for the given data.
260
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

4 Collect the score the students in your class obtained in their mid–semester
mathematics exam and
a Prepare a frequency distribution table.
b Draw a histogram.
c What score is most frequent?
d What is the least score obtained?
5 A sample of 50 couples married for 10 years were asked how many children they
had. The result of the survey is as follows:
0 4 2 2 1 3 0 3 2 4
3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 2 2
1 3 3 2 4 3 1 5 2 2
2 0 0 2 1 2 2 2 3 2
3 3 3 4 3 1 3 0 3 2
a Construct a frequency distribution.
b Construct a histogram.
c What percentage of couples have two children?
d What percentage of couples have at least two children?
6 Here are quintals of fertilizer distributed to 50 farmers.
20 24 22 19 20 10 18 24 10 15
21 20 20 19 20 10 14 22 10 18
18 15 14 18 20 15 14 22 14 20
15 14 15 20 21 10 20 20 15 24
10 10 15 22 14 21 20 14 15 10
a Construct a frequency distribution.
b Construct a histogram.
7 Suppose the following data represents the number of persons who took
counselling on HIV/AIDS on 40 consecutive days:
10 5 10 3 4 5 12 9 11 13
10 9 6 10 8 7 3 7 9 10
4 6 8 6 7 6 4 4 11 8
10 9 5 8 8 7 8 8 6 12
a Construct a frequency distribution table from the data.
b Construct a histogram.
c On what percent of days did more than 10 people take counselling?

261
Mathematics Grade 9

6.1.3 Measures of Location (Mean, Median and

Mode(s))
Quantitative variables contained in raw data or in frequency tables can also be
summarized by means of a few numerical values. A key element of this summary is
called the measure of average or measure of location. The three commonly used
measures of location are the arithmetic mean (or the mean), the median and the
mode(s).

ACTIVITY 6.3
1 After completing a unit, a mathematics teacher gave a test
marked out of 10, and the scores of 22 students were as follows:
6, 5, 8, 10, 6, 7, 3, 9, 3, 2, 9, 6, 7, 2, 6, 5, 4, 8, 6, 4,8, 3
a Did the group do well in the test?
b Prepare a frequency distribution table from the given data.
c What is the average score of the group?
d How many students score above average?
e From the average obtained, can we say something about the performance of
the group?
f What relation can we see between the single value obtained in c and the
marks of the students? Can the single value summarize the data?
2 Record the height and age of each student in your class.
a What is the average height and age of the students?
b What is the middle value of height and age of the students?
c What value of height and age is most frequent (or has the highest
frequency)?
3 Suppose a student scored the following marks in five subjects:
85, 89, 78, 92, 91
a What is the average score of the student?
b What is the middle value of the score?
4 Considering the following data
20, 21, 21, 22, 23, 23, 25, 27, 27, 27, 29, 98, 98
a Find the mean, median and mode.
b Which measure of location does not give a clear indication of the centre of the
distribution?
5 Could you find the arithmetic mean of qualitative data? What about median and
mode?
262
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

1 The arithmetic mean

When used in everyday language the word “average” often stands for the arithmetic mean.

Definition 6.6
The arithmetic mean (or the mean) of a variable is the sum of all the data
values, divided by the total frequency (number of observations).
If x1, x2, x3,….., xn are the n observations of a variable, then the mean, x ,
is given by
x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn sum of values
Mean : x = =
n total number of values

Example 1 Find the mean of the following data:

7, 21, 2, 17, 3, 13, 7, 4, 9, 7, 9
7 + 21 + 2 + 17 + 3 + 13 + 7 + 4 + 9 + 7 + 9 99
Solution: x= = =9
11 11

Note: The mean of a population function can also be calculated from its frequency
distribution. So, if the values x1, x2, x3, …, xn occur f1, f2, f3, …, fn times,
respectively, then the mean ( x ) is given by
x1 f1 + x2 f 2 + ... + xn f n
Mean: x =
f1 + f 2 + .. + f n
Example 2 The following table shows the age of 14 students in a certain class:
Age in years (V) 12 13 16 18
Number of students (f) 3 4 2 5
Compute the mean age of the students.
12 × 3 + 13 × 4 + 16 × 2 + 18 × 5 36 + 52 + 32 + 90 210
Solution: x= = = = 15 years
3+ 4+ 2+5 14 14
Properties of the mean
ACTIVITY 6.4
There are five students in a group. Lemlem wants to know how much
money each student has and asked all the members of the group. She
found the following amounts:
Birr 6, Birr 9, Birr 8, Birr 4 and Birr 3.
a What is the mean of the amount of money within the group?
263
Mathematics Grade 9

b If Lemlem gives Birr 2 to each member of the group, what will be the new
mean?
c If the amount of money in the pocket of each member is multiplied by 3,
what will be the new mean?
d If you subtract the mean of the data obtained from each value, what will be
the sum of the differences obtained?
e Discuss, what you observed from your answers to a, b, c and d.
The above Activity should help you to observe different properties of the mean.
The difference between a single data value x and the mean is called the deviation from
the mean (or simply the deviation) and is given by ( x − x ) . A data point that is close to
the mean will have a small deviation, whereas data points far from the mean will have
large deviations as shown in the figure below.
x1 x x2

large small
deviation deviation

1 The sum of the deviations of individual observations from mean ( x ) is zero. That
is, let x1, x2, x3,…, xn be n observations with mean x . Then the sum of the
deviations of the observations from the mean is given by
( x1 − x ) + ( x2 − x ) + ( x3 − x ) + . . . + ( xn − x ) = 0
Proof:-
Since the mean of n observations x1, x2, x3, …, xn is given by x ,
x + x2 + x3 + ... + xn
x= 1 which shows x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn = nx
n
Now, ( x1 − x ) + ( x2 − x ) + ( x3 − x ) + ... + ( xn − x )
= ( x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn ) − ( x + x + x ... + x )

  
n times
= ( x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn ) − nx
= nx − nx = 0 as required.

Example 3 Let the ages of 5 children be 2, 3, 6, 9, 10. Then, the mean age
2 + 3 + 6 + 9 + 10 30
x= = =6
5 5
The sum of the deviations from the mean is:
(2 – 6) + (3 – 6) + (6 – 6) + (9 – 6) + (10 – 6) = –4 – 3 + 0 + 3 + 4 = 0
264
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

2 If a constant k is added to (or subtracted from) each data value, then the new mean
is the sum (or the difference) of the old mean and the constant k.
Proof:- Let x be the mean of the data values x and k be the constant.
x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn
=x
n
Adding k to each data value, the new mean is then
( x1 +k ) + ( x2 + k ) + ( x3 + k ) + … + ( xn + k )
=
n
x1 + x2 + x3 +... + xn + k + k + k + ... + k
n
x + x2 + x3 + ... + xn nk
= 1 +
n n
x
= + k (the old mean plus k).
A similar proof can be done for the case when k is subtracted from each data value.

3 The mean of the sum or difference of two population functions (of equal numbers
of observations) is equal to the sum or difference of the means of the two
population functions.
Proof:-
x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn y + y2 + y3 + ... + yn
Let = x and 1 = y
n n
Then the mean of their sum,
( x1 + y1 ) + ( x2 + y2 ) + . . . + ( xn + yn )
Mean (x + y) =
n
( x1 + x2 + x3 + . . . +xn ) + ( y1 + y2 + y3 + . . . + yn )
=
n
( x + x + x + . . . + xn ) ( y + y 2 + y3 + . . . + y n )
= 1 2 3 + 1
n n
= x + y (the sum of the means)

Example 4 The mean of 2, 4, 6, 8 is 5 and the mean of 5, 7, 9, 7 is 7. Then, the mean

of the sum 7, 11, 15, 15 is 5+7 = 12.
4 The mean of a constant times a population function is equal to the constant times
the mean of the population function. That is,
if x is the mean of the population function x1, x2, x3,…, xn and if k is a constant,
then the mean of kx1, kx2, kx3,…, kxn is equal to kx .

265
Mathematics Grade 9

Proof:-
kx1 + kx2 + kx3 + . . . + kxn k ( x1 + x2 + x3 + . . . + xn )
= = kx
n n
Example 5 The mean of 8, 9, 6, 8, 4, is 7. If you multiply each of value by 5, you
will obtain 40, 45, 30, 40, 20. Then the new mean is 5 × 7 = 35
Note:
1 The mean is unique.
2 The mean is affected by extreme values.

2 The median
The following Activity will help you to revise what you learned in previous grades.

ACTIVITY 6.5
1 Find the median for each of the following sets of data.
a 5, 2, 9, 7, 3 b 12 , 8, 10, 14, 13, 9
2 What did you observe about the middle term when the number of observations is
odd or even?
A second measure of location of quantitative data is the median.

Definition 6.7
The median is the value that lies in the middle of the data when it is
arranged in ascending or descending order. So, half the data is below the
median and half the data is above the median.

Example 6 Find the median of each of the following:

a 6, 7, 9, 7, 11, 13, 15 b 27, 23, 36, 38, 27, 40, 45, 39
Solution:
a First arrange the data in ascending order as 6, 7, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15
There are seven values (an odd number of values) and the middle value is
the 4th element of the list which is 9.
Therefore 9 is the median of the data.
b First, arrange the data in ascending order as 23, 27, 27, 36, 38, 39, 40, 45
There are eight values (an even number). The two middle values are the 4th
and 5th elements of the list which are 36 and 38. The median is half the sum
36 + 38
of 36 and 38. So, the median is = 37 .
2
266
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

Example 7 Find the median of the following distribution

V 1 2 3 4 5

f 2 3 2 4 2

Solution: There are 13 data values. So, the median is the 7th piece of data, which
is 3.
Note that the median of a set of data with values arranged in ascending or descending
order is:
i the middle value of the list if there is an odd number of values.
ii half of the sum of the two middle values if there is an even number of values.

Properties of the median

1 The median can be obtained even when some of the data values are not known.
2 It is not affected by extreme values.
3 It is unique for a given data set.

3 The mode
The following activity should help you to recall what you have learnt about mode
previously.

ACTIVITY 6.6
1 Find the mode(s) of the following data
a 5, 7, 8, 7, 9, 11 b M, F, M, F, F
2 Can you find the mean and median for the above data?
3 Discuss your observation.
A third measure of location is the mode. The mode can be found for both quantitative
and qualitative data.

Definition 6.8
The value of the variable which occurs most frequently in a data set is
called the mode.

Example 8 Find the mode of each of the following data sets:

a 4, 6, 12, 10, 7 b 12, 10, 11, 13, 10, 14, 12, 18, 17

c 9, 8, 7, 10, 6, 8
267
Mathematics Grade 9

Solution:
a It has no mode because each value occurs only once.
b The values 10 and 12 both occur twice, while the others occur only once.
It has two modes and the data is a bimodal.
c 8 is the mode because it occurred twice (most frequently).
Example 9 Find the mean, median and mode of the following distribution of
temperatures in a certain town for one month.

Temperature in oC(V) 20 21 23 24 26 28

Number of days(f) 2 4 5 9 3 7

(20 × 2) + (21 × 4) + (23 × 5) + (24 × 9) + (26 × 3) + (28 × 7)

Solution: Mean: x =
2+ 4+ 5+ 9+ 3+ 7
40 + 84 + 115 + 216 + 78 + 196 729
= = = 24.3
30 30
Therefore, the mean is 24.3ºC.
The number of observations is an even number which is 30. So, the median is half
the sum of the 15th and 16th values.
15th value + 16 th value 24 + 24
i.e., median = = = 24
2 2
Therefore, the median is 24ºC.
The value with highest frequency is the number 24. Therefore, the mode is 24ºC.
Note that a set of data can have no mode, one mode (unimodal), two modes (bimodal)
or more than two modes (multimodal). If there is no observation that occurs with the
highest frequency, we say the data has no mode.

Properties of the Mode

1 The mode is not always unique.
2 It is not affected by extreme values.
3 The mode can also be used for qualitative data.

Exercise 6.3
1 a Find the mean, mode and median of the following data.
11, 9,14, 3, 11, 4, 10, 21, 8, 15, 350
b Which measure of location is preferable for this data?

268
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

2 Given below is a frequency distribution of values V.

a Find the mean, mode and median of the following distribution.
b How many of the values are non-negative?

V –2 –3 0 1 2 3

f 3 2 3 6 5 1

3 Given the numbers 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, which number must be removed in order to
make the mean of the resulting values 7.5?
4 Given the numbers 10, 12, 9, 15, 8, what number could be included so that the
median is 11? (Explain)
5 Given 3, 4, x, 5, y,12. Find the values of x and y, if the mode of the data is 3 and
the mean is 6.
6 If the mean of a, b, c, d is k, then what is the mean of
a a + b, 2b , c + b, d + b? b ab, b2, cb, db?
7 Calculate the mean, median and mode of the following data;
Value 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Frequency 15 10 50 4 10 8 3

8 In a survey of the number of occupants of cars, the following data resulted.

Number of occupants 1 2 3 4
Number of cars 7 11 7 x

1
a If the mean number of occupants is 2 , find x.
3
b If the mode is 2, find the largest possible value of x.
c If the median is 2, find the largest possible value of x.
9 A researcher tabulated the number of cases heard by 8 judges on a given day in a
court and found the following data:
Judges 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Count of cases 6 3 1 2 0 5 5 4
a Find the mean, median and mode.
b The researcher reported that over half of the judges heard above “average”.
What does the researcher mean by the “average”?

269
Mathematics Grade 9

10 The following raw data represents the number of HIV/AIDS patients waiting for
counselling at 8:00 am on 40 consecutive Saturdays at a certain hospital.
11 6 5 8 11 6 3 7 4 6
5 4 13 14 9 11 13 8 10 9
10 9 6 5 10 7 8 7 8 3
8 7 8 9 6 10 11 8 8 4
a Draw a frequency distribution table.
b Calculate the mean, median and modal number of HIV/AIDS patients.
c Draw a histogram.
11 In a mathematics test the scores for boys were 6, 7, 8, 7, 5 and the scores for girls
were 6, 3, 9, 8, 2, 2, 5, 7,3
a Find the mean score for the boys.
b Find the mean score for the girls.
c Find the mean score for both the boys and girls.
d What do you conclude?
12 The mode of some data is 20. If each value in the data is increased by 2, what will
be the mode of the new data?
13 Find the mean, median and mode of the data represented by the histogram below.

3
Frequency

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Value
Figure 6.3
14 An Agricultural Development Station sells seedlings of plant through the post. It
claims that the average height of the plants after one year’s growth will be 85 cm.
A sample of 24 of the plants were measured after one year with the following
results (in cm).
6 7 7 9 34 56 85 89 89 90 90 91
91 92 93 93 94 95 95 96 97 97 99 93
a Find the mean and the median height of the sample.
b Is the station’s claim about average height justified?
15 In order to receive a grade of A in her mathematics exam, Abeba needs a mean
score of 90 and above on 4 tests. So far Abeba had scored 80, 91 and 93 on 3 tests.
What is the lowest score that she must get in her last test in order to receive a
grade of A?

270
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

6.1.4 Measures of Dispersion for Ungrouped Data

When comparing sets of data, it is useful to have a way of measuring the scatter or
spread of the data.
Group Work 6.2
Consider the following three sets of data.

Group Values Total Mean Mode Median

A 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
B 4 5 6 7 7 9 1
C 1 7 12 7 2 19 1
a Complete the table by finding the sum of each group and the mean, median
and mode.
b Are the means equal? Are the modes equal? Are the medians the same?
c Compare the variation of each group?
i Which group shows most variation?
ii Which group shows no variation?
iii Which group shows slight variation?
d Compare the difference between the mean and each observed value in
Group A, B and C.
i In which group is the mean closest to each value?
ii In which group is the difference between the mean and each data
value the largest?
e Calculate the range for each group.
Dispersion or Variation is the scatter (or spread) of data values from a measure of
central tendency.
There are several measures of dispersion that can be calculated for a set of data. In this
section, we will consider only three of them, namely, the range, variance and the
standard deviation.

1 Range
The simplest and the most crude measure of dispersion of quantitative data is the range.

Definition 6.9
The range R of a set of numerical data is the difference between the
highest and the lowest values. i.e.,
Range = Highest value – Lowest value

271
Mathematics Grade 9

Example 1 The ages of six students are 24, 20, 18, 13, 16, 15 years, respectively.
What is the range?
Solution: Range = highest value – lowest value = 24 – 13 = 11 years.
Example 2 Find the range of the distribution given in the table below.
V 2 8 9 13 15 18

f 3 4 2 1 5 4

Solution: The maximum value is 18 and the minimum value is 2.

Range = maximum value – minimum value = 18 – 2 = 16

2 Variance (σ2 )
Definition 6.10
Variance, denoted by (σ2), is defined as the mean of the squared deviations of
each value from the arithmetic mean.

3 Standard deviation (σ)

The following Activity will help you to learn the steps used to find variance and standard
deviation.

ACTIVITY 6.7
Consider the following data set:
2, 3, 10, 6, 9
a Find the mean x .
b Find the deviation of each data value from the mean (x – x ).
c Square each of the deviations (x – x )2.
d Find the mean of these squared deviations and its principal square root.

The standard deviation is the most valuable and widely used measure of dispersion.

Definition 6.11
Standard deviation, denoted by σ, is defined as the positive square root of
the mean of the squared deviations of each value from the arithmetic
mean.

272
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

The actual method of calculating σ can be summarized in the following

steps:
Step 1 Find the arithmetic mean x of the distribution.
Step 2 Find the deviation of each data value from the mean (x−x) .
2
Step 3 Square each of these deviations, (x−x) .
Step 4 Find the mean of these squared deviations. This value is called the
variance and is denoted by σ2.
Step 5 Take the principal square root of σ2, i.e.
Standard deviation = variance .
Example 3 Find the variance σ2 and the standard deviation σ for the following data:
3, 5, 8, 11, 13
Solution:

x (x−x) (x−x)2.
3 −5 25
5 −3 9
8 0 0
11 3 9
13 5 25
Total 40 68

68
Variance (σ2) = = 13.6
5

Standard deviation (σ) = σ 2 = 13.6 ≈ 3.7

Example 4 Find the variance and standard deviation of the population function
whose distribution is given in the following table.

V 2 3 5 6 8

f 3 4 4 5 4

Solution: First, the mean has to be calculated.

3 × 2 + 4 × 3 + 4 × 5 + 5 × 6 + 4 × 8 100
x= = =5
3+ 4+ 4 +5+ 4 20

273
Mathematics Grade 9

x f xf x−x ( x − x )2 f ( x − x )2

2 3 6 -3 9 27

3 4 12 -2 4 16

5 4 20 0 0 0

6 5 30 1 1 5

8 4 32 3 9 36

Total 20 100 0 84

84
Variance (σ 2 ) = = 4.2
20
Standard deviation (σ ) = 4.2 ≈ 2.05
Therefore, the population variance and standard deviation are 4.2 and 2.05 respectively.

Properties of variance and standard deviation

Group Work 6.3
Consider the following data which shows the amount of sugar in
kilograms sold by a small shop for five days.
6, 4, 8, 9, 3
i Find the mean.
ii Find the variance and standard deviation.
iii In the next five days, if the daily sales each increase by two kg.
a Find the mean of sales for the next five days.
b Find the variance and standard deviation of the sales for the next five
days.
c Compare your answers above with those obtained in a and b above.
d Discuss the comparison you did above.
iv If the daily sales given for the first five days were doubled i.e. if the daily
sales were 12, 8, 16, 18 and 6,
a find the mean, variance and standard deviation.
b compare the above result with those one obtained in a and b and
discuss the results.
The above Group Work will help you to observe the following properties.

274
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

1 If a constant c is added to each value of a population function, then the new

variance is the same as the old variance. The new standard deviation is also the
same as the old standard deviation.
Proof:-
Let x1, x2, x3,..., xn be n observations with mean x and variance σ2.
Adding c: x1 + c, x2 + c, x3 + c, . . ., xn + c. Then the new mean is x + c .
2
( x1 + c) − ( x + c) ]2 + [ ( x2 + c) − ( x + c)]2 + ... + [ ( xn + c) − ( x + c) ]
New variance = 
n
( x1 − x )2 + ( x2 − x )2 + . . . + ( xn − x )2
= = σ2. (The original variance)
n
and the new standard deviation is variance = σ2 = σ ( the original standard
deviation)
Example 5 Given 1, 2, 6, 3
a Find the variance b Find the standard deviation.
c Add 2 to each value and find the variance and standard deviation of the
resulting numbers
1+ 2 + 6 + 3
Solution: x = =3
4
x − x : −2, −1 ,3, 0 and ( x − x ) 2 : 4, 1, 9, 0
4 + 1 + 9 + 0 14
a σ2 = = = 3.5
4 4
b σ = 3.5 ≈ 1.87
c Adding 2: 3, 4, 8, 5
3 + 4 + 8 + 5 20
New mean: x = 4
=
4
= 5 = 3+ 2

x − x : −2, −1 ,3, 0 and ( x − x ) 2 : 4, 1, 9, 0

4 +1+ 9 + 0 14
New: σ 2 = = = 3.5
4 4
New σ = 3.5 ≈ 1.87
Therefore, the old variance = the new variance
The old standard deviation = the new standard deviation.
2 If each value of a population function is multiplied by a constant c, then
i The new variance is c2 times the old variance
ii The new standard deviation is |c| times the old standard deviation.
275
Mathematics Grade 9

Proof:-
Consider x1, x2, . . ., xn whose mean is x and variance is σ2.
Multiplying each data value by c gives us a new mean of c x .
(cx1 − cx ) 2 + (cx2 − cx ) 2 + (cx3 − cx )2 + . . . + (cxn − cx ) 2
Then, new variance =
n
c [( x1 − x ) + ( x2 − x ) + ( x3 − x ) + . . . + ( xn − x ) 2 ]
2 2 2 2
=
n
= c × the old variance = c2σ2
2

Therefore, new standard deviation = c 2σ 2 = c σ

Exercise 6.4
1 Find the range, variance and standard deviation of the following data.
4, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 4,3, 2, 6
2 Find the range, variance and standard deviation of the distribution in the table below.
V –1 –2 0 1 2
f 2 1 3 3 1

3 Find the range, variance and standard deviation from the histogram in the figure
below.

4
Frequency

0
1 2 3 4
Value
Figure 6.4
4 What is the value of y, if the standard deviation of 8, 8, 8, 8, y, 8 is 0?
5 If the variance of a, b, c, d is k, then what is
a the variance of a + c, b + c, 2c, d + c?
b the standard deviation of a + c, b + c, 2c, d + c?
c the variance of ac, bc, c2, dc?
d the standard deviation of ac, bc, c2, dc?
6 If a population function x has mean M(x) = 2 and M(x2) = 8, find its standard
deviation.

276
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

6.2 PROBABILITY
"The true logic of this world is the calculus of probabilities". James Clerk Maxwell

H
HIISSTTO
ORRIIC
CAALL N
NO TEE::
OT

The first inquiry into the science of Probability was made by

Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576), an Italian physician and
mathematician. Cardano predicted the date of his own death.
Since he was healthy at the end of the day, he poisoned himself to
make his prediction come true!
In your Grade 8 lessons, you have discussed the word probability as you often use it.
"The probability of winning a game is low", or “there is a high probability that it will
rain today", etc. In these two sentences, the word probability describes estimates of the
possibilities.
Probability is a numerical value that describes the likelihood of the occurrence of an
event in an experiment.
The following group work will help you recall what you have learned on this topic in
Grade 8.

Group Work 6.4

Abel throws a fair die once. Based on this experiment, discuss
the following:
1 Is it possible to predict the number that shows on the
upper face of the die? Why?
2 List the set of all possible outcomes.
3 Write an example of an event from the experiment.
4 What can you say about the following events?
i The number on the upper face of the die is seven.
ii The number on the upper face of the die is an integer.
a Which of the above events i or ii is certain?
b Which of the above events i or ii is impossible?
5 Determine the probabilities of the following events.
a The number on the upper face of the die is 2.
b The number on the upper face of the die is 7.
c The number on the upper face of the die is less than 7.
6 Discuss the following terms.
a experiment b possibility set c event
d impossible event e certain event

277
Mathematics Grade 9

Definition 6.12
An experiment is a trial by which an observation is obtained but whose
outcome cannot be predicted in advance.

Experimental probability
Probability determined using data collected from repeated experiments is called
experimental probability.
Example 1 The numbers 1 to 20 are each written on one of 20 identical cards. One
card is chosen at random.
a List the set of all possible outcomes.
b List the elements of the following events:
i The number is less than 5.
ii The number is greater than 15.
iii The number is greater than 21.
iv The number is divisible by 5.
v The number is a prime.
Solution:
a S = {1, 2, 3, …, 19, 20}
b i {1, 2, 3, 4}
ii {16, 17, 18, 19, 20}
iii { } or ∅, since no card has a number greater than 20.
iv {5, 10, 15, 20}
v {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}

ACTIVITY 6.8
Arrange yourselves into groups of 5. Let each group perform the
following activities.
1 Take a coin, toss it 5 times, 10 times and 15 times, and record
your observations in the following table.
Total
Number of tosses

Number of times a coin is tossed 5 10 15

Number of times the coin shows up Heads
Number of times the coin shows Tails
What proportion of the number of tosses shows Heads? a Tails? What is the
probability that the outcome is Head?
278
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

2 Throw a die 20 times. Record the observation in each trial and complete the
following table.
Number on the upper face of the die 1 2 3 4 5 6
Number of times it shows up

a Find the number of times 3 is on the upper face of the die.

b Find the number of times 6 is on the upper face of the die.
c Find the number of times 7 is on the upper face of the die.
d Write the proportion of each number.
e What is the probability that the number that shows up on the upper face of
the die is 4?
Suppose we toss a coin 100 times and get a head 45 times, and a tail 55 times. Then we
45 9
would say that in a single toss of a coin, the probability of getting a head is = .
100 20
Again suppose we toss a coin 500 times and get a head 260 times, and a tail 240 times.
Then we say that in a single toss of a coin, the probability of getting a head is
260 13
= . So from various experiments, we might obtain different probabilities for the
500 25
same event. However, if an experiment is repeated a sufficiently large number of times,
the relative frequency of an outcome will tend to be close to the theoretical probability
of that outcome.

Definition 6.13
The possibility set (or sample space) for an experiment is the set of all
possible outcomes of the experiment.

Example 2
a Give the sample space for tossing a coin.
b What is the sample space for throwing a die?
Solution:
a When we toss a coin there are only two possible outcomes: Heads (H) or
Tails (T). So S = {H,T}.
b When we throw a die the score can be any of the six numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, so S = {1,2,3,4,5,6}.

279
Mathematics Grade 9

Definition 6.14
An event is a subset of the possibility set (sample space).

ACTIVITY 6.9
Suppose we toss a coin 1000 times and obtain 495 heads.
a How many times was the experiment performed?
b If our event is Heads, how many times does this event occur?
c What is the probability of Heads based on the result of this experiment?

Definition 6.15
If an experiment has n equally likely outcomes and if m of these
represent a particular event, then the probability of this event occurring
m
is .
n

Example 3 In an experiment of selecting students at random a researcher found the

following result after 50 trials.
Student Boy Girl Total
Number 20 30 50
What is the probability that a randomly selected student is a girl?
Solution The probability that a randomly selected student is a girl will be the ratio
of the number of girls to the total number of trials.
30 3
P(a girl will beselected) = =
50 5
In decimal form the probability is 0.6.

A tree diagram is one way of showing the possible outcomes of a repeated

experiment.
Example 4 In an experiment of tossing two coins,
a What are the possible outcomes?
b How many different possible outcomes are there?
c What is the probability of the coins landing with
i two heads? ii two tails? iii one head?

280
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

Solution: Using a tree diagram, we get

H HH
H
Start T HT
H TH
T
T TT

a The set of possible outcomes is S = { HH,HT,TH,TT}.

b There are 4 possible outcomes.
c i The event two heads = {HH} has one member, so
1
P (two heads) =
4
1
ii P ( two tails) =
4
iii The event one head = {HT,TH} has two members, so
2 1
P (one head) = =
4 2
In real situations, it might not always be possible to perform an experiment and
calculate probability. In such situations, we need to develop another approach to find
the probability of an event.
In the next section, you will discuss a theoretical approach of finding probabilities.

Theoretical probability of an event

Definition 6.16
The theoretical probability of an event E, written as P (E) is defined as follows:

Number of outcomes favourable to the event E

P( E ) =
Total number of possible outcomes (S )
You can write the probability of an event as a fraction, a decimal, or a percentage.
Example 5 A fair coin is tossed once. What is the probability of getting a head?
Solution:
S = { H, T}
E = {H}
n (E) 1
P (head) = = = 0.5
n (S ) 2

281
Mathematics Grade 9

Example 6 If we throw a die once, what is the probability that an even number will
show on the upper face of the die?
Solution:
S = {1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6}
E = {2, 4, 6}
n (E) 3 1
P(even) = = = .
n (S ) 6 2

ACTIVITY 6.10
We are going to investigate whether the theoretical probability of a
coin landing on Heads is backed up by experimental results.
a Toss a coin 10 times, 20 times, 30 times . . . .
b Keep a record of your results,
Number of throws Number of heads
10
20
30
c For each row in the table, what proportion of the number of throws landed as heads?
1
How do your answers compare with P (head) = ? (the theoretical probability)
2

282
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

Definition 6.17
Let S be the possibility set of an experiment and each element of S be
equally likely to occur. Then the probability of the event E occurring,
denoted by P(E), is defined as:
number of elements in E n (E)
P(E) = =
number of elements in S n (S )

Example 7 A die is thrown once. What is the probability that the number appearing
will be
a 3? b a number less than 5?
Solution: There are six possible outcomes: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. Hence n = 6.
a Only one of these outcomes is 3. Hence the probability that 3 will be on the
1
upper face of the die is .
6
b {1, 2, 3, 4} is the required set, which has four elements. Hence the
4 2
probability is = .
6 3
Example 8 A die and a coin are tossed together.
a Sketch a tree diagram showing the outcomes of this experiment.
b What is the probability of getting a head and an even number?
c What is the probability of getting a tail and an odd number? 1 2
3
Solution:
4
a The outcomes of this experiment are:
H 5
S = {H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6, T1, T2, T3, T4, T5,T6}.
Start 6
So, n (S) = 12
1
3 1 2
b E1 = {H2,H4,H6} . Hence P (E1) = = . T
12 4
3
3 1
c E2 = {T1, T3, T5}. Hence P (E2) = = . 4
12 4
6 5
Example 9 Use a tree diagram to list the sample space (possibility set) showing the
possible arrangement of boys and girls in a family with exactly three
children.
a What is the probability that all three children are boys?
b What is the probability that two children are boys and one is a girl?
283
Mathematics Grade 9

c What is the probability that none of the children is a boy?

d What is the probability that at least one of the children is a girl?
e What is the probability that all three children are of the same sex?
Solution: B BBB
S = {BBB, BBG, BGB, BGG, B G BBG
GBB, GBG, GGB, GGG}. B BGB
B
Thus, n (S) = 8. G
G BGG
1 Start
a E1= {BBB}. Hence P (E1) = . B GBB
8
3 B G GBG
b E2= {BBG, BGB, GBB}. Hence P (E2) = . G
8 B GGB
1 G
c E3 = {GGG}. Hence P (E2) = .
8 G GGG
d E4= {BBG, BGB, BGG, GBB, GBG, GGB, GGG}.
7
Hence P (E4) = .
8
(Alternatively, having at least one girl is all outcomes except BBB.
7
i.e., 8 – 1 = 7 outcomes, giving the same result, P (E4) = ).
8
2 1
e E5 = {BBB, GGG}. Hence, P (E5) = = .
8 4
Note: For any event E,

0 < P (E) ≤ 1.

If P (E) = 1 then the event is certain.

If P (E) = 0, then the event is impossible.
For example, if a ball is taken from a box containing only red balls, then
P (ball is red) = 1 and P (ball is black) = 0.

Exercise 6.5
1 Two dice are simultaneously thrown once. List the ways in which the following
events can occur.
a A= the same number is shown on each die.
b B = the sum of the numbers is 13.
c C = the product of the two numbers is 1.
d D = the quotient of the two numbers is 7.

284
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

2 Three coins are tossed at the same time. Sketch a tree diagram for the outcomes of
this experiment. What is the possibility set?
3 A bag contains four red balls and three black balls. What is the possibility set for
colour, if 2 balls are chosen at random?
4 Toss a coin and keep a record of whether it lands on Heads or Tails. Do this at
least 20 times for each experiment and perform at least five experiments. Enter
your results in a table like the following.
Experiment Number of coin tosses Number of heads obtained
1
2
3
4
5
Total

a Do you feel that the two outcomes “head” and “tail” are equally likely?
b Do your experimental results support this feeling?
c What is the ratio of the number of heads to the number of tosses in each
experiment?
d What ratio do you have for the total number of heads to the total number of
tosses?
5 A fair die is rolled once. Calculate the probability of getting:
a an odd number b a score of 5
c a prime number d a score of 0
6 A number is selected at random from the set of whole numbers 1 to 20, both
inclusive. Find the probability that the number selected is:
a even c a multiple of 3 e the square of 2
b a multiple of 2 and 3 d even or odd f the square of 6
7 A bag contains five red balls, three black balls and four white balls. A ball is
drawn out of the bag at random. What is the probability that the ball drawn is:
a white? b red? c black?
8 A bag contains 100 identical cards on which the numbers 1 to 100 are marked. A
card is drawn randomly. Find the probability that the number on the card is:
a an even number b an odd number c a multiple of 7
d a multiple of 5 e a multiple of 3 f less than 76
g greater than 32 h a factor of 24
285
Mathematics Grade 9

Key Terms
analysis measure of central tendency range
arithmetic mean measure of dispersion raw data
average measure of location sample
classification median sample space
collection mode secondary data
descriptive statistics outcomes standard deviation
equally likely presentation statistical data
event population statistics
frequency population function tabulation
frequency distribution possibility set variable (or variate)
histogram primary data variance
interpretation probability

Summary
1 Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, presenting, analysing and
interpreting data in order to draw conclusions.
2 A population is the complete collection of individuals, objects or measurements
that have a characteristic in common.
3 A small part (or a subset) of a population is called a sample.
4 If the categories of a classification are based on some attribute or characteristics
whose values are not numbers, then it is called qualitative classification.
5 If the characteristic of interest is numerical, then it is called quantitative
classification.
6 Descriptive statistics is a branch of statistics concerned with summarizing and
describing a large amount of data.
7 Data is said to be primary, if it is obtained first-hand for the particular purpose on
which one is currently working.
8 Data that has been previously collected for a similar or different purpose is called
secondary data.
286
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

9 A statistical table is a systematic presentation of data in columns and rows.

10 The quantity that we measure from observation is called a variate (or variable).
11 The distribution of a population function is the function that associates with each
variate of the population function the corresponding frequency.
12 A frequency distribution is a distribution showing the number of observations
associated with each data value.
13 A histogram is a pictorial representation of a frequency distribution in which the
variables (V) are plotted on the x-axis and the frequency of occurrence is plotted
on the y-axis.
14 If x1, x2, x3,…xn are the n observations of a variable then the mean ( x ) is given by
x1 + x2 + x3 + ... + xn
x= .
n
15 The median of a variable is the value that lies in the middle of the data when
arranged in ascending or descending order.
16 The mode of a variable is the most frequent observation of the variable that occurs
in the data set.
17 The range R of a set of numerical data is the difference between the maximum and
minimum values.
Range = maximum value − minimum value
18 Standard deviation is the square root of the mean of the squared deviation of each
value from the arithmetic mean.
19 The outcomes of an experiment are said to be equally likely if, when the
experiment is repeated a large number of times, each outcome occurs equally
often.
20 The possibility set for an experiment is the set of all possible outcomes of the
experiment. It is also known as the sample space.
21 An event is a subset of the possibility set.
22 If S is the possibility set of an experiment and each element of S is equally likely,
then the probability of an event E occurring, denoted by P (E), is defined as:

Number of elements in E n(E)

P (E) = =
Number of elements in S n(S )

287
Mathematics Grade 9

Review Exercises on Unit 6

1 What is meant by summarizing and describing data?
2 The marks of 30 students in a mathematics test are given below:
3 5 4 6 8 12 14 5 6 5
8 5 9 10 9 10 12 10 12 10
12 13 10 15 14 15 14 15 14 14

a Construct a frequency distribution table.

b Draw a histogram to represent the data.
c What percent of the students have scored less than 15?
3 Refer to the following histogram to answer the questions that follow.
30

25

20
Frequency

15

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Value
Figure 6.5
a Prepare a frequency distribution table.
b What is the highest variable?
c What is the highest frequency?
d How many variates occur 5 times?
e Which variates have the minimum frequency?
4 Find the mean, median, mode, range, variance and standard deviation of the
population function whose distribution is given in the table below.

V 2 3 4 5 6
f 2 4 1 2 3

5 Find the mean, median, mode, range and variance from the histogram given
below.

288
 Unit 6 Statistics and Probability

Frequency
4

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Value
Figure 6.6
3 π
6 Why can the probability of an event not be 2 2 − π, ? or
2 2
7 An integer n, 1 ≤ n ≤ 144, is picked at random. What is the probability that n is
the square of an integer?
8 Given the following values of a population function:
5, 4, 7, 3, 6, 5, 3, 1, 5, 7, 5, 9.
Find the probability that a randomly chosen value from the data is
a a modal value;
b below the mean value;
c any of the numbers 1, 4, 6 or 9;
d an odd number greater than the mean value.
9 Two fair dice are rolled once. What is the probability that the difference of the
two numbers shown is 1?
10 Given below is the frequency distribution of a population function V.

V −10 −5 0 5 10
f 5 10 5 20 10

If an element is drawn randomly from the population find the probability that it is:
a non-negative; b non-zero;
c less than or equal to −5; d positive;
11 The median of x – 4, x, 2x and 2x + 12 is 9, where x is a positive integer. Find the
value of x.
12 The table below shows the number of students who scored marks 3, 4 or 5 in a
maths test.

Mark 3 4 5
Number of Students 3 x 4

If the mean mark is 4.1, how many students scored 4?

289
Mathematics Grade 9

13 In a class of boys and girls, the mean weight of 8 boys is 55 kg and the mean
weight of a group of girls is 48 kg. The mean weight of all the children is 50.8 kg.
How many girls are there?
14 There are 24 right-handed students in a class of 30. What is the probability that a
student chosen at random will be left-handed?
15 Suppose you write the days of the week on identical pieces of paper. You mix
them in a bowl and select one at a time. What is the probability that the day you
select will have the letter r in it?
16 A pair of dice are rolled. Find the probability that the sum of the numbers on the
upper faces is:
a 9; b greater than 9; c even; d not greater than 9 ;
e greater than 9 and even; f greater than 9 or even.
17 From the members of a farmers’ association 50 farmers cultivated wheat. An
agricultural expert wants to study the farmers’ yield in terms of quintals they
harvested per hectare and found the following
50 45 45 50 46 48 55 48 52 54
51 52 45 55 46 50 55 54 49 51
48 46 51 52 47 45 49 54 46 48
53 52 48 46 55 47 51 47 50 53
47 53 48 45 54 48 50 46 52 54

a Prepare a frequency distribution that represents the data.

b Draw a histogram.
c Find the mode of the data.
d If the wereda agriculture office wants to praise farmers who produced more
than 52 quintals per hectare, how many farmers will they praise?
18 Which of the following is true?
a The mean, mode and median of a population function cannot be equal.
b The range and the standard deviation of a population function are inversely
related.
c The range of a population function cannot be a non-positive number.
d The sum of the deviations of each value of a population from the mean will
always be zero.

290