GCSE Maths – Probability
Samples
Worksheet
NOTES SOLUTIONS
This worksheet will show you how to work out different types of sampling
questions. Each section contains a worked example, a question with hints
and then questions for you to work through on your own.
This work by PMT Education is licensed under [Link]
[Link] CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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Section A
Worked Example
Jonah wants to take a systematic sample of 40 people from a population of 600
people. What interval should he use to select people for the sample?
Step 1: Recall the definition of systematic sampling and the formula used to calculate interval size.
Systematic sampling means the population is ordered, and items are then chosen from the
population at regular intervals.
To calculate the interval, divide the population size by the sample size.
Step 2: Apply the formula and calculate the interval.
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 = 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ÷ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = 600 ÷ 40 = 15
The interval is 15. This means every 15th person should be added to the sample.
Guided Example
Maria needs a systematic sample of 16 people from a population of 480 people.
What interval should she use?
Step 1: Recall the definition of systematic sampling and the formula used to calculate interval size.
Step 2: Apply the formula and calculate the interval.
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Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.
1. Find the interval size using systematic sampling in each of the following scenarios:
a) Tom wants a sample of 15 people from a population of 150 people.
b) Alfie needs to interview 20 students from a school of 180 students.
2. Izzie uses an interval of 15 to collect a sample of 60 towns. How big is the
population?
3. Jude is carrying out a study on the 200 children in his football club. Using an interval
of 5, how many children will be in his sample?
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Section B
Worked Example
Percy wants to find out how many people in his school enjoy maths, based on their
year group. He needs a sample of 100 students. What is the most appropriate
method of sampling to use? Give a reason for your answer.
Step 1: Consider the population.
A school population is split into year groups. This means there are sub-groups of the
population that should be taken into account.
Step 2: Select the best method of sampling to use.
Stratified sampling.
This is used when the population can be split into sub-categories (or strata) with the same
characteristic. Random or systematic sampling can then be applied to each strata.
Step 3: Give a valid reason.
Valid reasons include:
• The school is separated into year groups.
• This is most representative of the population.
• This will represent each year group equally.
Guided Example
Nathan is studying customer satisfaction at his local shop. He takes a list of contact
details from 250 customers and must choose a sample of 25 customers to talk to.
What is the best method of sampling to use? Explain your answer.
Step 1: Consider the population.
Step 2: Select the best method of sampling to use.
Step 3: Give a valid reason for your answer.
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Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.
4. Select the best method of sampling for each of the following situations:
a) Ethan wants to choose 50 people from 2000 strangers who visited the market
today.
b) Amina has a list of 200 towns in England and needs a sample of 20 towns.
c) Jasmine wants to interview 15 of the 150 girls at her rugby club, who are split into
5 different age groups.
d) Harley needs to select 10 students from his maths class of 50. He uses a class
register to choose his sample.
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Section C
Worked Example
Josie wants to find out whether the people in her village approve of the new building
development. She has the following information and wants to select a sample of 40
people using stratified sampling. Complete the table to show how many people
should be chosen from each age group.
Age (A) 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 Total
Number of
140 260 300 100 800
people
Number of
people in 40
sample
Step 1: Recall the formula for stratified sampling.
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
𝑁𝑁𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑐𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 =
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
× 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
Step 2: Apply the formula to the information in the table.
140
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐: × 40 = 7
800
260
𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒: × 40 = 13
800
300
𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔: × 40 = 15
800
100
𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏: × 40 = 5
800
Check that your calculated values add up to the sample size: 7 + 13 + 15 + 5 = 40.
Step 3: Complete the table.
Age (A) 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 < 𝑨𝑨 ≤ 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 Total
Number
140 260 300 100 800
of people
Number
of people 7 13 15 5 40
in sample
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Guided Example
Matt is carrying out a survey on the students in his school who study English.
Complete the table below to show how many students from each year group should
be included in his sample.
Year Group Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Total
Number of
people who 560 440 250 300 450 2000
take maths
Number of
people in 200
sample
Step 1: Recall the formula for stratified sampling.
Step 2: Apply the formula to the information in the table.
Step 3: Complete the table.
Year Group Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Total
Number of
people who 560 440 250 300 450 2000
take maths
Number of
people in 200
sample
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Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.
5. Alice visits 100 people in local cafés.
She takes a sample of 10 people to investigate what people like to drink.
Café A Café B Café C Total
Number of people in the cafe 30 20 50 100
Number of people in sample 10
6. Emmilé wants to interview people at a football game. She needs a sample of 40
people from a population of 800.
Men Women Children Total
Number of people at the game 420 180 200 800
Number of people in sample 40
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7. Richard has obtained the following information from a colleague at work. Fill in the
table so that every cell contains the correct number of fruits.
Apples Bananas Pears Lemons Oranges Total
Number of fruits 250 200 150
in the shop
Number of fruits 10 8 4 40
in sample
8. The table shows information about the shoe size Number of
of 50 football players chosen at random from Size
players in sample
Manchester United. There are 600 football
players at the club. 5 10
Work out an estimate for the number of players at 6 10
the club who have size 7 feet.
7 15
8 15
9. A sample of 250 apples is chosen at random from a supermarket. There are 5000
apples total in the shop.
If 800 apples in the supermarket are in bad condition, how many apples in the
sample would be expected to be in bad condition?
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