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Date May 2009 Marks available 2 Reference code 09M.1.sl.TZ2.9
Level SL only Paper 1 Time zone TZ2
Command term Find Question number 9 Adapted from N/A

Question

Two boxes contain numbered cards as shown below.


Two cards are drawn at random, one from each box.

Copy and complete the table below to show all nine equally likely outcomes.


[2]
a.

Let S be the sum of the numbers on the two cards.

Find the probability of each value of S.

[2]
b.

Find the expected value of S.

[3]
c.

Anna plays a game where she wins \(\$ 50\) if S is even and loses \(\$ 30\) if S is odd.

Anna plays the game 36 times. Find the amount she expects to have at the end of the 36 games.

[3]
d.

Markscheme


     A2     N2

[2 marks]

a.

\({\rm{P}}(12) = \frac{1}{9}\) , \({\rm{P}}(13) = \frac{3}{9}\) , \({\rm{P}}(14) = \frac{3}{9}\) , \({\rm{P}}(15) = \frac{2}{9}\)     A2     N2

[2 marks]

 

b.

correct substitution into formula for \({\text{E}}(X)\)     A1

e.g. \({\rm{E}}(S) = 12 \times \frac{1}{9} + 13 \times \frac{3}{9} + 14 \times \frac{3}{9} + 15 \times \frac{2}{9}\)

\({\rm{E}}(S) = \frac{{123}}{9}\)     A2     N2

[3 marks]

c.

METHOD 1

correct expression for expected gain E(A) for 1 game     (A1)

e.g. \(\frac{4}{9} \times 50 - \frac{5}{9} \times 30\)

\({\rm{E}}(A) = \frac{{50}}{9}\)

amount at end = expected gain for 1 game \( \times 36\)     (M1)

= 200 (dollars)     A1     N2

METHOD 2

attempt to find expected number of wins and losses     (M1)

e.g. \(\frac{4}{9} \times 36\) , \(\frac{5}{9} \times 36\)

attempt to find expected gain E(G)     (M1)

e.g. \(16 \times 50 - 30 \times 20\)

\({\text{E}}(G) = 200\) (dollars)     A1     N2

[3 marks]

d.

Examiners report

Most candidates completed parts (a), (b) and (c) successfully.

a.

Most candidates completed part (b) successfully.

b.

Many found the expected value correctly, while some showed difficulty with the arithmetic.

c.

This was often left blank or only superficially attempted. Some found the expected value \(\frac{{50}}{9}\) but did not answer the question about the amount of money.

d.

Syllabus sections

Topic 5 - Statistics and probability » 5.5 » The probability of an event \(A\) is \(P\left( A \right) = \frac{{n\left( A \right)}}{{n\left( U \right)}}\) .
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