Question 1:
Select the correct definition for the following terms.
1(a) Continuous data
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Data that can take any value over a given range
B: Data that takes specific values over a given range
C: Worded data from a questionnaire or survey
D: Fixed values from a questionnaire or survey
Answer: A
Marks = 1
1(b) Discrete data
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Data that can only take specific values
B: Data that can take any value
C: Data you have collected yourself
D: Data published by someone else
Answer: A
Marks = 1
1(c) Quantitative data
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Measures of values or counts that are expressed as numbers
B: Worded data from a questionnaire or survey
C: Someone else’s opinion of a piece of data
D: Data you collect yourself
Answer: A
Marks = 1
1(d) Qualitative data
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Data expressed as words
B: Data expressed as specific numerical values
C: Data published by someone else
D: Numerical data that assesses the quality of a particular item
Answer: A
Marks = 1
Question 2
Use the words given to complete the sentences below. Each word can be used only once.
32 pupils in a classroom fill out surveys.
2(a) Their favourite type of fruit is …………………… data.
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Categorical
B: Discrete
C: Continuous
D: Secondary
Answer: A
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2(b) The span of the pupils hands is …………………… data.
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Continuous
B: Discrete
C: Categorical
D: Secondary
Answer: A
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2(c) The number of siblings each pupil has is …………………… data.
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Discrete
B: Continuous
C: Categorical
D: Secondary
Answer: A
Marks = 1
Question 3
Data is collected on the following areas.
For each, state whether the data is continuous, discrete, quantitative, or qualitative.
The data may fit more than one of these categories.
3(a) Favourite colours of 30 students
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Discrete and qualitative
B: Continuous and qualitative
C: Discrete and quantitative
D: Continuous
Answer: A
Marks = 1
3(b) Time taken to run 100 m (to the nearest second)
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Discrete and quantitative
B: Continuous and quantitative
C: Continuous
D: Discrete and qualitative
Answer: A
Marks = 1
3(c) Duration of journey to school
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Continuous and quantitative
B: Discrete and quantitative
C: Continuous
D: Continuous and qualitative
Answer: A
Marks = 1
3(d) Which subjects were chosen as an option
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Discrete and qualitative
B: Quantitative
C: Continuous and quantitative
D: None of the above
Answer: A
Marks = 1
3(e) Number of students in the school each year
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Discrete and quantitative
B: Continuous and quantitative
C: Discrete and qualitative
D: Discrete
Answer: A
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3(f) Cost of the journey to school
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Discrete and quantitative
B: Continuous and quantitative
C: Discrete and qualitative
D: Continuous
Answer: A
Marks = 1
Question 4
Sarah is reading an energy saving article on the internet.
The article covers a broad range of topics.
She learns that the average UK household uses 349 litres of water per day.
4(a) Is household usage of water discrete or continuous data?
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Continuous
B: Discrete
Answer: A
Workings:
A household can consume any amount of water, e.g. 100 litres, 250 litres, 99.9999 litres, 123.456 litres etc.
Marks = 1
4(b) Is Sarah working with primary or secondary data?
Select the correct answer and justification.
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Secondary, because the data in the article has been collected by someone else.
B: Secondary, because the data covers a range of topics.
C: Primary, because the data is reliable.
D: Primary, because the data has been published online.
Answer: A
Marks = 1
Question 5
Coach Feratu is recording the time taken for athletes to complete a 100 m sprint.
5(a) State whether this data is discrete, continuous, or categorical.
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Continuous
B: Discrete
C: Categorical
Answer: A
Marks = 1
5(b) Coach Feratu compares this data to times he recorded the previous month.
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
Is this primary or secondary data?
A: Primary
B: Secondary
Answer: A
Workings:
The data is primary as he has collected it himself.
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5(c) What are two advantages of the type of data the coach has?
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: He can ensure the data is reliable, and he has a high degree of control
B: He can give his own opinions on the data, and he has a high degree of control
C: He can skew the data himself, and it is suitable for his requirements.
D: The data is suitable for his requirements, and he can take all the credit for the best performances.
Answer: A
Workings:
The data is primary, meaning he can make sure the data is appropriate for his requirements and he has a high degree of control.
The data is entirely numerical (quantitative), so opinions are not relevant. He should not skew the data as this would be inaccurate. The coach may have played a role in the athletes’ performances but he can’t take all the credit for their hard work! The last statement would be therefore not be a sensible answer.
Marks = 1
Question 6
Consider the following questions regarding secondary data.
6(a) Which of the following is an advantage of using secondary data?
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: It is less time-consuming than gathering data yourself
B: It is always reliable
C: It is usually biased
D: It is usually only useful information which is published
Answer: A
Workings:
Secondary data is advantageous as it faster than collecting data yourself.
It is not always reliable (it can be biased), and the data might not be particularly suitable for your purpose.
Marks = 1
6(b) Which of the following is a disadvantage of using secondary data?
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: It is not always clear if the data is reliable or suitable for your purposes
B: It is wrong to use someone else’s data for your own purposes
C: It is a breach of copyright law to use secondary data
D: It is more expensive than collecting the data yourself
Answer: A
Workings:
Secondary data is often convenient but it is hard to make sure that the data is representative/fair/suitable.
It is not necessarily wrong to use someone else’s data, but you should try make sure they are happy for you to do so. This varies on a case-by-case basis so the statement is false.
There use of secondary data is not illegal as lots of it is freely available.
Secondary data can often be cheaper as you don’t have to pay for the data collection process, although this varies on a case-by-case basis.
Marks = 1
6(c) Which of the following are examples of secondary data?
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: Surveys published online and the football scores published in a tabloid newspaper
B: Data published in a scientific journal and data you collect to compare to it
C: Surveys published online and surveys you collect yourself
D: Recording your daily calorie intake and weight loss over a week
Answer: A
Workings:
Any data that you have not collected yourself is secondary data, including data published online or in newspapers or books.
Any data that you have compiled is primary data.
Marks = 2
Question 7
Complete the following sentences by choosing one of the options below.
A significant problem specifically associated with secondary data is…
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: It may not suitable for the particular aims.
B: It is not accurate.
C: It is biased.
D: It is expensive.
Answer: A
Workings:
Secondary data is useful but sometimes it is not suitable for a particular purpose, for example a 10 year old survey may have data that is no longer relevant.
Whilst secondary data is sometimes inaccurate and biased, these issues can also occur in primary data (often unintentionally). The cost for accessing data varies on a case-by-case basis and secondary data is often free to access.
Marks = 1
Question 8
Joe is collecting data about shopping habits in his town.
He does this by handing out surveys at his local supermarket.
8(a) What is an advantage of this method of data collection?
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: He can make sure the survey is suitable for his purposes
B: He can skew the data by handing out the surveys himself to people of a certain age group.
C: He can make sure his opinions are included in the data.
D: It is less time-consuming than finding similar information online.
Answer: A
Workings:
He can make sure the data he collects is appropriate for its intended purpose.
He should not be skewing the data or giving his opinions, and it is often much faster to find similar information that is already freely available.
Marks = 1
8(b) What is a disadvantage of this method of data collection?
ANSWER: Multiple Choice
A: The data will only be representative of the people he asks.
B: It is not official data sanctioned by the supermarket.
C: It is a waste of his time.
D: He cannot ensure the data is accurate.
Answer: A
Workings:
His data should ideally be representative of everyone, including people in different geographical locations and with different levels of income who may shop somewhere cheaper/more expensive.
Whether or not the data is sanctioned by the supermarket is not relevant, nor is whether or not it is a waste of his time. As he is collecting the data himself, he can make sure it is accurate.
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8(c) Which of the following is a sensible suggestion for a way Joe could improve the reliability of the data he collects?
A: He could visit other locations.
B: He could include more personal questions in the survey.
C: He could include some leading questions in his survey.
D: He could pay people to take the survey.
Answer: A
Workings:
Visiting other locations would increase the sample size and make the data more representative of a larger population.
Including personal or leading questions is likely to introduce bias to the data. Paying people to take the survey doesn’t necessarily mean the data will be more reliable.
Marks = 1