Part 3

FURMATHS: CORE, Data Distributions For these 18 countries, the smoking rates for females are generally
Graphs - Stem/Leaf and Boxplots A. lower and less variable than the smoking rates for males.
Graphs - Histograms and Other B. lower and more variable than the smoking rates for males.

Teacher: Dora Verrocchi C. higher and less variable than the smoking rates for males.
Exam Equivalent Time: 102.75 minutes (based on VCE allocation of 2.25 D. higher and more variable than the smoking rates for males.
min/mark for FUR1, and 1.5 min/mark for FUR2)
E. about the same as the smoking rates for males.

Questions
1. CORE, FUR1 2009 VCAA 1-3 MC
The back-to-back ordered stem plot below shows the female and male smoking rates,
expressed as a percentage, in 18 countries.

Part 1
For these 18 countries, the lowest female smoking rate is
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Part 2
For these 18 countries, the interquartile range (IQR) of the female smoking rates is
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
2. CORE, FUR1 2013 VCAA 1-2 MC 3. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 1 MC
The following ordered stem plot shows the percentage of homes connected to broadband The following ordered stem plot shows the areas, in square kilometres, of 27 suburbs of a
internet for 24 countries in 2007. large city.

Part 1
The number of these countries with more than 22% of homes connected to broadband
internet in 2007 is
A.
The median area of these suburbs, in square kilometres, is
B.
A.
C.
B.
D.
C.
E.
D.
E.
Part 2
Which one of the following statements relating to the data in the ordered stem plot is not
tue?
A. The minimum is 16%.
B. The median is 30%.
C. The first quartile is 23.5%
D. The third quartile is 32%.
E. The maximum is 38%.
4. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 7 MC 5. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 3 MC
The parallel boxplots below summarise the distribution of population density, in people per The stem plot below displays 30 temperatures recorded at a weather station.
square kilometre, for 27 inner suburbs and 23 outer suburbs of a large city.

The modal temperature is

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Which one of the following statements is not true?

6. CORE, FUR1 2006 VCAA 1-3 MC
A. More than 50% of the outer suburbs have population densities below 2000 people per
square kilometre. The back-to-back ordered stemplot below shows the distribution of maximum temperatures
(in °Celsius) of two towns, Beachside and Flattown, over 21 days in January.
B. More than 75% of the inner suburbs have population densities below 6000 people per
square kilometre.
C. Population densities are more variable in the outer suburbs than in the inner suburbs.
D. The median population density of the inner suburbs is approximately 4400 people per
square kilometre.
E. Population densities are, on average, higher in the inner suburbs than in the outer
suburbs.

Part 1
The variables
temperature (°Celsius), and
town (Beachside or Flattown), are
A. both categorical variables.
B. both numerical variables.
C. categorical and numerical variables respectively.
D. numerical and categorical variables respectively.
 E. neither categorical nor numerical variables.

Part 2
For Beachside, the range of maximum temperatures is
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Part 3
The distribution of maximum temperatures for Flattown is best described as
A. negatively skewed.
B. positively skewed.
C. positively skewed with outliers. Part 1
D. approximately symmetric. The percentage of jellyfish taken from location A with a diameter greater than 14 mm is
E. approximately symmetric with outliers. closest to
A.

7. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 5-6 MC B.

C.
Samples of jellyfish were selected from two different locations, A and B. The diameter (in
mm) of each jellyfish was recorded and the resulting data is summarised in the boxplots D.
shown below.
E.

Part 2
From the boxplots, it can be concluded that the diameters of the jellyfish taken from location
A are generally
A. similar to the diameters of the jellyfish taken from location B.
B. less than the diameters of the jellyfish taken from location B and less variable.
C. less than the diameters of the jellyfish taken from location B and more variable.
D. greater than the diameters of the jellyfish taken from location B and less variable.
E. greater than the diameters of the jellyfish taken from location B and more variable.
8. CORE, FUR1 2011 VCAA 5 MC 9. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 1 MC
The boxplots below display the distribution of average pay rates, in dollars per hour, earned The stem plot below displays the average number of decayed teeth in 12-year-old children
by workers in 35 countries for the years 1980, 1990 and 2000. from countries.

Based on this stem plot, the distribution of the average number of decayed teeth for these
Based on the information contained in the boxplots, which one of the following statements is
countries is best described as
not true?
A. negatively skewed with a median of 15 decayed teeth and a range of 45
A. In 1980, over 50% of the countries had an average pay rate less than $8.00 per hour.
B. positively skewed with a median of 15 decayed teeth and a range of 45
B. In 1990, over 75% of the countries had an average pay rate greater than $5.00 per
hour. C. approximately symmetric with a median of 1.5 decayed teeth and a range of 4.5
C. In 1990, the average pay rate in the top 50% of the countries was higher than the D. negatively skewed with a median of 1.5 decayed teeth and a range of 4.5
average pay rate for any of the countries in 1980.
E. positively skewed with a median of 1.5 decayed teeth and a range of 4.5
D. In 1990, over 50% of the countries had an average pay rate less than the median
average pay rate in 2000.
E. In 2000, over 75% of the countries had an average pay rate greater than the median
average pay rate in 1980.
10. CORE, FUR1 2017 VCAA 4 MC 11. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 8 MC
The histogram below shows the distribution of the log10 (area), with area in square A dot plot for a set of data is shown below.
kilometres, of 17 islands.

frequency 2

Which one of the following boxplots would best represent the dot plot above?

O 1 2 3 4 5 6
log10 (area)

The median area of these islands, in square kilometres, is between

A. 2 and 3
B. 3 and 4
C. 10 and 100
D. 1000 and 10 000
E. 10 000 and 100 000
12. CORE, FUR1 2009 VCAA 4-6 MC Part 3
Which one of the boxplots below could best be used to represent the same fertility rate data
The percentage histogram below shows the distribution of the fertility rates (in average births
as displayed in the percentage histogram?
per woman) for 173 countries in 1975.

Part 1
In 1975, the percentage of these 173 countries with fertility rates of 4.5 or greater was closest
to
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Part 2
In 1975, for these 173 countries, fertility rates were most frequently
A. less than 2.5
B. between 1.5 and 2.5
C. between 2.5 and 4.5
D. between 6.5 and 7.5
E. greater than 7.5
13. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 6-7 MC 14. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 6-7 MC
The following information relates to Parts 1 and 2. Part 1
In New Zealand, rivers flow into either the Pacific Ocean (the Pacific rivers) or the Tasman The histogram below shows the distribution of the number of billionaires per million people
Sea (the Tasman rivers). for 53 countries.
The boxplots below can be used to compare the distribution of the lengths of the Pacific
rivers and the Tasman rivers.

Part 1
The five-number summary for the lengths of the Tasman rivers is closest to
Using this histogram, the percentage of these 53 countries with less than two billionaires per
A. million people is closest to
B. A.
C. B.
D. C.
E. D.
E.

Part 2
Which one of the following statements is not true? Part 2
A. The lengths of two of the Tasman rivers are outliers. The histogram below shows the distribution of the number of billionaires per million people
for the same 53 countries as in Part 1, but this time plotted on a scale.
B. The median length of the Pacific rivers is greater than the length of more than 75% of
the Tasman rivers.
C. The Pacific rivers are more variable in length than the Tasman rivers.
D. More than half of the Pacific rivers are less than 100 km in length.
E. More than half of the Tasman rivers are greater than 60 km in length.
 Which one of the following boxplots best represents the data?

Based on this histogram, the number of countries with one or more billionaires per million
people is
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

15. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 10 MC

The relationship between the variables
size of car (1 = small, 2 = medium, 3 = large)
and
salary level (1 = low, 2 = medium, 3 = high)
is best displayed using
A. a scatterplot.
B. a histogram.
C. parallel boxplots.
D. a back-to-back stemplot.
E. a percentaged segmented bar chart.

16. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 6 MC

The dot plot below shows the distribution of the time, in minutes, that 50 people spent
waiting to get help from a call centre.
17. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 8 MC 19. CORE, FUR2 2011 VCAA 1
Parallel boxplots would be an appropriate graphical tool to investigate the association The stemplot in Figure 1 shows the distribution of the average age, in years, at which
between the monthly median rainfall, in millimetres, and the women first marry in 17 countries.
A. monthly median wind speed, in kilometres per hour.
B. monthly median temperature, in degrees Celsius.
C. month of the year (January, February, March, etc.).
D. monthly sunshine time, in hours.
E. annual rainfall, in millimetres.

18. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 8 MC

A single back-to-back stem plot would be an appropriate graphical tool to investigate the
association between a car’s speed, in kilometres per hour, and the
A. driver’s age, in years.
a. For these countries, determine
B. car’s colour (white, red, grey, other).
i. the lowest average age of women at first marriage (1 mark)
C. car’s fuel consumption, in kilometres per litre.
ii. the median average age of women at first marriage (1 mark)
D. average distance travelled, in kilometres.
The stemplot in Figure 2 shows the distribution of the average age, in years, at which men
E. driver’s sex (female, male). first marry in 17 countries.

b. For these countries, determine the interquartile range (IQR) for the average age of men at
first marriage. (1 mark)
c. If the data values displayed in Figure 2 were used to construct a boxplot with outliers, then
the country for which the average age of men at first marriage is 26.0 years would be
shown as an outlier.
Explain why is this so. Show an appropriate calculation to support your explanation. (2
marks)
20. CORE, FUR2 2017 VCAA 2 21. CORE, FUR2 2018 VCAA 1
The back-to-back stem plot below displays the wingspan, in millimetres, of 32 moths and
their place of capture (forest or grassland).

key: 1|8 = 18 wingspan (mm)

forest (n = 13) grassland (n = 19)
6 1 8
2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 4
7 2 5 5 9
4 0 3 0 0 1 2 3 4
5 3 6 8
4 0 3
4 5
2 5

a. Which variable, wingspan or place of capture, is a categorical variable? (1 mark)

b. Write down the modal wingspan, in millimetres, of the moths captured in the forest. (1 mark)

c. Use the information in the back-to-back stem plot to complete the table below. (2 marks)

Wingspan (mm)

Place of capture minimum Q1 median (M) Q3 maximum

forest 20 21 32 52

grassland 18 24 30 45

d. Show that the moth captured in the forest that had a wingspan of 52 mm is an outlier. (2
marks)

e. The back-to-back stem plot suggests that wingspan is associated with place of capture.
Explain why, quoting the values of an appropriate statistic. (2 marks)

The data in Table 1 relates to the impact of traffic congestion in 2016 on travel times in 23
cities in the United Kingdom (UK).
The four variables in this data set are:
city — name of city
congestion level — traffic congestion level (high, medium, low)
size — size of city (large, small)
increase in travel time — increase in travel time due to traffic congestion (minutes per
day).
a. How many variables in this data set are categorical variables? (1 mark) 22. CORE, FUR2 2015 VCAA 2
b. How many variables in this data set are ordinal variables (1 mark)
The parallel boxplots below compare the distribution of life expectancy for 183 countries for
c. Name the large UK cities with a medium level of traffic congestion. (1 mark) the years 1953, 1973 and 1993.
d. Use the data in Table 1 to complete the following two-way frequency table, Table 2. (2
marks)

a. Describe the shape of the distribution of life expectancy for 1973. (1 mark)

b. Explain why life expectancy for these countries is associated with the year. Refer to
specific statistical values in your answer. (2 marks)
e. What percentage of the small cities have a high level of traffic congestion? (1 mark)

Traffic congestion can lead to an increase in travel times in cities. The dot plot and boxplot
below both show the increase in travel time due to traffic congestion, in minutes per day, for
the 23 UK cities.

f. Describe the shape of the distribution of the increase in travel time for the 23 cities. (1 mark)

g. The data value 52 is below the upper fence and is not an outlier.
Determine the value of the upper fence. (1 mark)
23. CORE, FUR2 2008 VCAA 3 Worked Solutions
The arm spans (in cm) were also recorded for each of the Years 6, 8 and 10 girls in the
larger survey. The results are summarised in the three parallel box plots displayed below. 1. CORE, FUR1 2009 VCAA 1-3 MC

a. Complete the following sentence.

The middle 50% of Year 6 students have an arm span between _______ and _______ cm.
(1 mark)

b. The three parallel box plots suggest that arm span and year level are associated.
Explain why. (1 mark)

c. The arm span of 110 cm of a Year 10 girl is shown as an outlier on the box plot. This value
is an error. Her real arm span is 140 cm. If the error is corrected, would this girl’s arm span
still show as an outlier on the box plot? Give reasons for your answer showing an
appropriate calculation. (2 marks)

VCE Mathematics examination questions reproduced by permission, VCAA. VCE is a registered trademark of the VCAA. The
VCAA does not endorse or make any warranties regarding this study resource. Current and past VCE exams and related
content can be accessed directly at www.vcaa.vic.edu.au.
2. CORE, FUR1 2013 VCAA 1-2 MC 5. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 3 MC

6. CORE, FUR1 2006 VCAA 1-3 MC

3. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 1 MC

4. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 7 MC

7. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 5-6 MC 11. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 8 MC

♦ Mean mark 47%.

8. CORE, FUR1 2011 VCAA 5 MC

9. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 1 MC

10. CORE, FUR1 2017 VCAA 4 MC

12. CORE, FUR1 2009 VCAA 4-6 MC 14. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 6-7 MC

♦ Mean mark 43%.

MARKERS' COMMENT: A
systemic approach where
students calculated the ♦ Mean mark 45%.
median, and was most MARKER'S COMMENT: On a
successful. scale, 1 is plotted as 0
because , or

15. CORE, FUR1 2007 VCAA 10 MC

13. CORE, FUR1 2015 VCAA 6-7 MC

♦ Mean mark 37%.

♦ Mean mark 46%.
16. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 6 MC 19. CORE, FUR2 2011 VCAA 1
a.i.

♦ Mean mark 37%.

MARKER'S COMMENT: A
majority of students failed to a.ii.
calculate the outer fence
where outliers begin, a step
required to get the correct
answer.

b.

17. CORE, FUR1 2016 VCAA 8 MC

c.

MARKER'S COMMENT: Many

students correctly calculated
♦ Mean mark 45%.
28.25 but then failed to discuss
how 26.0 related to it.

18. CORE, FUR1 2014 VCAA 8 MC

♦♦ Mean mark 28%.

20. CORE, FUR2 2017 VCAA 2 21. CORE, FUR2 2018 VCAA 1
a. a.

b.
b.

c.
c.

d.

Wingspan (mm)

Place of capture minimum Q1 median (M) Q3 maximum

forest 16 20 21 32 52

grassland 18 24 30 36 45

d.

e.

f.

g.

e.
22. CORE, FUR2 2015 VCAA 2
a.

b.

♦ Mean mark 45%.

MARKER'S COMMENT:
Means are typically not
discernible from a box plot
(unless the data is perfectly
symmetrical) and shouldn't be
referred to.

23. CORE, FUR2 2008 VCAA 3

a.

b.

♦ Sub 50% mean.

MARKER'S COMMENT: Use
specific metrics! Stating "arm
span increases" did not
receive a mark.
c.

MARKER'S COMMENT: The

final comparison here, "Since
140 < 145" is worth a full mark.

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