1

BIOL 1608 Biostatistics

Assignment I Answer All Questions by Hand Writing
Deadline for Submission = 18 March (Tuesday, 6:30 pm)
Answer All Questions (all questions carry equal marks)
1) The following data are the lengths (measured by a ruler in cm; accuracy 0.5 cm) of twenty of the
areolated grouper Epinephelus areolatus sampled at a marine reserve.
34
36

19
33

34
33

62
50

32
50

38
80

51
33

32
36

40
35

30
36

Compute your answers using calculator: What are the median, mode, mean, standard deviation,
variance, standard error of mean and 96% confidence interval of these observations? You should ensure
that your answer includes an appropriate unit and correct decimal place(s).
Using Excel or SPSS: Infer if the dataset follows the normal distribution. Provide the statistics to
support your answer.
2) You measure the maximum distance of detected seeds originating from a special tree. You obtain the
following data (in meters; n = 16): 23.0, 14.0, 16.0, 18.0, 60.0, 40.0, 20.5, 20.5, 23.4, 21.0, 23.0, 24.0,
36.2, 40.5, 28.7 and 22.0 m. Given that this data set is normally distributed, describe the average
distance to which you believe the seed may spread and provide an estimate of the range within which
you are 95% confidence that the true value lies. Based on the results and standard normal curve, in what
proportion of cases would you expect seeds to be found more than 24 m from its source?
3) You measure the maximum distance, to the nearest 10 meters, at which you can detect pollen originating
in fields of genetically modified (GM) oats. You obtain the following data (in meters):
620, 480, 490, 800, 180, 400, 510, 630, 510, 700, 650, 300, 250, 420, 450, 880, 400, 250 and 420 m.
Given that this data set is normally distributed, describe the average distance, using a suitable statistic, to
which you believe the pollen may spread and provide an estimate of the range within which you are 95%
confident that the true mean lies. Based on these data and the standard normal curve, estimate the
probability that pollen can be found more than 650 m from its source. In one sentence, how might you
use the outcome of this final analysis to explain the risk of contamination of natural oats by GM pollen
to a farmer living 650 m from a test site?
4) A student investigated the biomass of 200 freshwater snails (Brotia hainanensis), which were cultured
under the same laboratory conditions for 12 months since hatched from eggs. The data followed the
normal distribution with a mean of 2.56 g 0.87 g (SD).
What is the probability of having snails < 1.0 g?
What is the probability of having snails > 2.0 g?

5) In a questionnaire, 1000 students of the University of Hong Kong were asked what they thought about
applying tax on usage of plastic bag in supermarkets or wet markets (e.g. 0.5 dollar per bag) as a means
of reducing plastic waste. 575 students agreed that increasing the tax would be beneficial, while the
remainder disagree. Perform a Chi-square test to determine if the results are obtained by chance.
Within the students disagreed this new policy, 65% of them are males. In contrast, 70% of interviewees
are females in the 575 students agreeing the suggestion. Perform a Chi-square test to test if the survey
results are sex-dependent.

6) The results of a questionnaire survey are collected on whether or not HK people support to the proposal
that a residential area should be developed within one of the country parks: 179 people answered Yes
and 201 people answered No. Perform a Chi-square test to determine if the results are obtained by
chance.
7) Small boat owners asked if they had ever used antifouling paints to protect their hulls from plant and
animal growth, and if their boat exceeded a length of 5 m. Perform a Chi-square test of independence.
Boat size

Used antifouling paint

Yes
18
28

< 5 m long
> 5 m long

No
35
19

8) Observations from a single catch of 100 wild fish, revealed the following frequency of lice found on the
blue fine tuna:
No. of lice per fish
No. observations

0
37

1
34

2
16

3
9

4
4

If the lice attach themselves to the fish at random, then they will follow a Poisson distribution. Use a
Chi-square test, to test the hypothesis that lice attach randomly to the fish.
9) The data consist of observed frequencies of female juvenile birds in 50 litters of 3 offspring per litter. X
= 0 denotes a litter having no females, X = 1 a litter having one female, etc.; F is the observed number of
litters. Test if the observed pattern follows the Poisson distribution.
X
F

0
14

1
25

2
4

3
7

10) A previous study has demonstrated that the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus produces more male
chicks under good nutritional conditions but produces more female chicks during poor nutritional
conditions. A researcher has investigated whether such a theory also applies to the little egret Egretta
garzetta. She visited 40 nests in an area with limited food resources available to the egret. She also
noted that each female would only produce four eggs in each nest. Her observations are tabulated as
below:
No. of female chicks in each nest
Observed frequency (no. of nests)

0
18

1
13

2
5

3
3

4
1

a) Test whether or not the sexes of the offspring reflect a binomial distribution with p = q = 0.5 where
p is the probability to have a female chick.
b) Test whether or not the sexes of the offspring reflect a binomial distribution with p = 0.7 and q =
0.3.

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