🖨 TEACHER PRINTING GUIDE
Print this page and cut along the dashed lines. Hand out Card 0 (Scenario) to all students at the start.
Give each subsequent card only when the group demonstrates their work from the previous phase.
Suggested passwords for interactive version: Phase 1→2: SAMPLE01  |  Phase 2→3: CUMUL02  |  Phase 3→4: STATS03  |  Phase 4: COMPAR04

The City Sleep Study — Printable Cards

IBDP Mathematics AA · SL/HL 4.1–4.3 · Cut along dashed lines

📋

The City Sleep Study — Scenario & Data

IBDP Mathematics AA · SL/HL 4.1–4.3 · Descriptive Statistics Review
 
 
 

A public health researcher in a large city wants to understand sleep patterns among teenagers and young adults. She surveyed 80 residents aged 13–25 about the number of hours of sleep they get on a typical school/work night. The results are below. You will use this table for all four phases — keep this card throughout.

Hours of sleep h 4 ≤ h < 5 5 ≤ h < 6 6 ≤ h < 7 7 ≤ h < 8 8 ≤ h < 9 9 ≤ h < 10 10 ≤ h < 11
Frequency 3718241693
cut here
1

Phase 1 — Sampling: How Did She Get This Data?

SL 4.1 · Sampling methods & bias · ≈ 5 min
Task 1a · Identify
Name the sampling method

She stands at a shopping mall entrance on Saturday and asks every person who walks in until she has 80. Name this method. State one potential source of bias.

Task 1b · Compare
Alternative sampling methods

Describe how she could use: (i) simple random, (ii) systematic, (iii) stratified sampling (age groups 13–17 and 18–25). Which is most appropriate? Justify.

Task 1c · Calculate
Stratified sample sizes

The city has 3 200 teenagers (13–17) and 4 800 young adults (18–25). How many from each group in a stratified sample of 80? Show full working.

Working space
cut here
2

Phase 2 — Cumulative Frequency Graph

SL 4.2 · Ogive, median, quartiles, percentiles, IQR · ≈ 10 min
Task 2a · Table
Build the cumulative frequency table

Add a cumulative frequency row to the data table. Use upper class boundaries as x-values: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

Task 2b · Graph
Sketch the ogive (S-curve)

Draw a clearly labelled S-shaped curve, then use dotted horizontal and vertical lines to mark and read off Q₁, the median (Q₂), and Q₃ — record their values.

Task 2c · Percentiles
Read off percentiles

Estimate (i) the 20th percentile and (ii) the 90th percentile. Explain in context what the 90th percentile means.

Task 2d · Spread
IQR and range

Find IQR = Q₃ − Q₁. State the range. What does IQR tell us that range does not?

Sketch your ogive here
cut here
3

Phase 3 — Mean, Standard Deviation & Box Plot

SL 4.3 · Mean (grouped), σ, outliers, box & whisker · ≈ 12 min
Task 3a · Mean
Estimate the mean from grouped data

Calculate an estimate for the mean of this dataset using the frequency table. Show your full working.

Task 3b · Standard deviation
Find the standard deviation

Your calculator gives you two different standard deviations. Decide which one is appropriate for this study, justify your choice, and explain in a sentence what it tells us about the data.

Task 3c · Outliers
Outlier boundaries

Lower fence = Q₁ − 1.5 × IQR. Upper fence = Q₃ + 1.5 × IQR. Are there outliers? What would one mean in context?

Task 3d · Box plot
Draw the box and whisker diagram

Use min, Q₁, Q₂, Q₃, max. Mark outliers with ×. Compare mean and median. What does this suggest about the shape?

Draw box plot here
cut here
4

Phase 4 ★ — Comparing Two Groups

SL 4.2–4.3 · Parallel box plots, linear transformations · ≈ 8 min
New data
Teenager sub-group (aged 13–17)

Mean = 7.0 h, σ = 1.45 h, Q₁ = 6.1 h, median = 6.9 h, Q₃ = 8.0 h, min = 4 h, max = 10 h.

Task 4a
Draw a parallel box plot

On the same scale as Phase 3, draw a second box and whisker diagram for the teenager sub-group directly below.

Task 4b
Compare the two distributions

Write at least 3 comparative statements using median, IQR, range, and symmetry. Always compare in context — not just numbers.

Task 4c
Linear transformation — hours → minutes

All values are multiplied by 60. Without recalculating, state the new: mean, σ, Q₁, Q₃, IQR, range. What stays the same? What changes? Why?

Parallel box plots + working space