Example 1.

Desc: Solve a word problem on the formulas of the mean and the variance

Adding two numbers a and b to the set of data {2, 3, 6, 9} increases the mean by 1 and the variance
by 2.5. Find a and b.

Version: 2

Adding two numbers a and b to the set of data {4, 6, 10, 12} increases the mean by 1 and the variance
by 1 2/3. Find a and b.

Example 2.
Desc: Solve a word problem applying the formulas of the mean and the variance

There are 22 students in grade 10. On the day of the Grade 10 statistics exam, John and Andrew were
absent. The average grade on the exam for those who took the exam was 90%, with a standard
deviation of 2.5. The following week, John and Andrew took the same exam and the teacher
recalculated the new average to be 89%, with a variance of 16.5.
What were John’s and Andrew’s grades on that exam?

Version: 2
There are 22 students in grade 10. On the day of the Grade 10 statistics exam, John and Andrew were
absent. The average grade on the exam for those who took the exam was 88%, with a standard
deviation of 2.5. The following week, John and Andrew took the same exam and the teacher
recalculated the new average to be 87%, with a variance of 16.5.
What were John’s and Andrew’s grades on that exam?

Example 3.
Desc: Solve a word problem on the mean and the standard deviation of a set of data after a
linear transformation
A set of numbers is scaled from a set with a mean of 20 and a standard deviation 1. The scaled set has
a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 2. The linear equation used to transform the original set is y =
mx + n, where y is the scaled mean and x is the original mean.
Find
a) m and n.
b) the scaled number whose original value is 70.
c) the original number whose scaled value is 80.

Version: 2

A set of numbers is scaled from a set with a mean of 20 and a standard deviation 1. The scaled set has
a mean of 40 and a standard deviation of 3. The linear equation used to transform the original set is y =
mx + n, where y is the scaled mean and x is the original mean.
Find
a) m and n.
b) the scaled number whose original value is 50.
c) the original number whose scaled value is 70.

1
Example 4.
The masses of 15 boys to the nearest kilogram are listed below.

65 72 77 71 63
64 81 63 76 65
66 78 65 74 85
a) Find the mean and the standard deviation of the masses.
b) It was later found that the scale was malfunctioning and was adding 5 kilograms to every boy’s
mass. Find the true mean and standard deviation.

Version: 2

The masses of 15 girls to the nearest kilogram are listed below.

62 68 73 67 59
62 79 62 77 66
65 72 62 74 72
a) Find the mean and the standard deviation of the masses.
b) It was later found that the scale was malfunctioning and was adding 4 kilograms to every girl’s
mass. Find the true mean and standard deviation.

Example 5.
A set X of numbers has a mean of 232 and a standard deviation of 23. A new set Y is obtained by
adding 16 to each number in the set and then dividing the sum by 2. Find the mean, the standard
deviation, and the variance of the new set.

Version: 2

A set X of numbers has a mean of 138 and a standard deviation of 24. A new set Y is obtained by
adding 15 to each number in the set and then dividing the sum by 3. Find the mean, the standard
deviation, and the variance of the new set.

2
Example 6.
Desc: Apply the formulas of the mean and the standard deviation after a linear transformation,
given a frequency table of a discrete set of data

Refer to the frequency table below.

x  300
x f y fy fy2
50
50 3
100 4
150 9
200 15
250 26
300 21
350 19
400 17
450 14
500 6

a) Fill in the missing values in the table.

b) Find the mean y and the standard deviation sy .
c) Use y and sy obtained in part (b) to find the mean x and the standard deviation sx .

Version: 2

Refer to the frequency table below.

x  100
x f y fy fy2
15
20 3
40 4
60 9
80 15
100 26
120 21
140 19
160 17
180 14
200 6

a) Fill in the missing values in the table.

b) Find the mean y and the standard deviation sy .
c) Use y and sy obtained in part (b) to find the mean x and the standard deviation sx .

3
Example 7.
Desc: Apply the formulas of the mean and the standard deviation after a linear transformation

A group of liquids has a mean freezing point of 23.52˚C with a standard deviation of 1.58˚C. Find the
mean and standard deviation for this group in Kelvin degrees.
(To convert from Celsius degrees to Kelvin degrees, add 273.16)

Version: 2

A group of liquids has a mean freezing point of 45.26˚C with a standard deviation of 2.19˚C. Find the
mean and standard deviation for this group in degree Kelvin. (To convert from Celsius degrees to
Kelvin degrees, add 273.16)

Example 8.
A distributor of salt claims that 30 kg of salt are packed into each bag before it is shipped. A sample of
80 bags is examined and the mass x kg of each bag is recorded.
Analyzing the sample data shows that   x  30   31.2 and   x  30   91.2 .
2

Find the mean and the standard deviation of the masses of the bags of salt the distributor packs.

Version: 2
.
A distributor of sugar claims that 45 kg of salt are packed into each bag before it is shipped. A sample
of 50 bags is examined and the mass x kg of each bag is recorded.
Analyzing the sample data shows that   x  45  28.7 and   x  45  87.6 .
2

Find the mean and the standard deviation of the masses of the bags of salt the distributor packs.

Example 9.
Desc: Apply the formulas of the mean and the variance involving a linear transformation

Given are  f  x  200  227 ,  f  x  200   3593 , and f

2
 45 .
Find the mean and the variance of the data set X.

Version: 2

Given are  f  x  180   234 ,  f  x  180   4532 , and f

2
 55 .
Find the mean and the variance of the data set X.

4
Example 10.
Desc: Apply the formulas of the mean and the standard deviation involving a linear
transformation ax + b where a <>1

Given are   2 x  80   250 ,   2 x  80   550 , and n = 200.

2

Find the mean and the standard deviation of X.

Version: 2

Given are   3x  72   180 ,   3x  72   480 , and n = 150.

2

Find the mean and the standard deviation of X.

Example 11.
Desc: Apply the formulas of the mean and the standard deviation involving the inverse of a
linear transformation on a sample data set

Consider the sample set Y in the frequency table below.

y f
-2 3
-1 5
0 11
1 7
2 4
3 1

x  614
Use the transformation y  to find the mean x and standard deviation sx of the set X of
4

Version: 2

Consider the sample set Y in the frequency table below.

y f
-3 3
-1 5
0 11
1 7
3 4
5 1

x  455
Use the transformation y  to find the mean x and standard deviation sx of the set X of
5