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2.4.8 Normal distribution as a model (A-level only)

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Question 11

An engineer is monitoring the rapid charging times for a fleet of electric delivery vans. She proposes that the time, TTT minutes, taken to reach 80% charge can be modelled by a normal distribution with mean 40 minutes and standard deviation 6 minutes.

A random sample of 150 charging sessions was monitored, and the recorded times are summarised in the table below.

Time, t (min)t<3131≤t<3737≤t<4343≤t<49t≥49Frequency1233603411 \begin{array}{|l|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline \text{Time, } t \text{ (min)} & t < 31 & 31 \le t < 37 & 37 \le t < 43 & 43 \le t < 49 & t \ge 49 \\ \hline \text{Frequency} & 12 & 33 & 60 & 34 & 11 \\ \hline \end{array} Time, t (min)Frequency​t<3112​31≤t<3733​37≤t<4360​43≤t<4934​t≥4911​​
a.

Stating your hypotheses clearly and using a 5% level of significance, test the engineer's proposed model. Show your working clearly and state the expected frequencies, the test statistic, and the critical value used.

[10]
b.

The engineer's assistant calculated summary statistics for the 150 sessions:

∑t=6030and∑t2=247850 \sum t = 6030 \quad \text{and} \quad \sum t^2 = 247850 ∑t=6030and∑t2=247850

Calculate unbiased estimates of the mean and variance of the charging times.

[3]
c.

The assistant used the calculations from part (b) to conduct a χ2\chi^2χ2 goodness of fit test to see if a normal distribution is a suitable model for the times. His calculated test statistic was 3.82 (to 3 significant figures) and he did not pool any classes.

Using a 5% level of significance, complete the assistant's test, stating the critical value and the degrees of freedom used.

[3]
d.

Estimate, to 2 significant figures, the proportion of charging sessions that take longer than 52 minutes.

[2]

2.4.8 Normal distribution as a model (A-level only) Questions

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