Pearson Business Statistics Answer Key
Rosella Brain
Our examWizard tool is an online resource containing a huge bank of past paper questions and support materials to help you create your own mock exams and assessments. It is available for a range of GCSE, International GCSE, A level subjects, BTEC and Functional Skills.
Many centres will be focused on delivering mock exams this term and using those mock exam results to inform intervention and revision. The ResultsPlus Mock analysis service can help you get the most from that data.
Examiners' reports are a useful way of understanding the standard that has been applied. You can see exemplar student answers to each question with examiner comments and tips. Combining a reading of the examiners' reports with the mark schemes can provide useful insights.
Quantitative skills are an important part of the specification. Candidates will be expected to be able to apply a range of quantitative skills. If the question asks for a percentage or to two decimal places, then full marks can only be gained by using a percentage sign and two decimal places! Make sure you know how to round up or down correctly.
Although full marks can be achieved by just stating a correct answer, it is strongly advised to show full workings. It may be possible to pick up marks if an incorrect final answer is given. Full marks can only be achieved by using the correct units.
If the question asks for a percentage or an answer to two decimal places, then full marks can only be achieved by using a percentage and to two decimal places! Make sure you know how to round up or down correctly. Ensure percentage calculations show a percentage sign to gain full marks
PED is always a minus figure as price and demand for goods/services have a negative correlation. It is important that centres teach their students to include this in the workings and the final answer.
Supply and demand diagrams are an essential part of the course and candidates are still incorrectly labelling the axes: only Price and Quantity (or P and Q) is accepted for the x axis and y axis. The equilibrium price and quantity must be clearly labelled on the x axis and y axis. Simply showing a dotted line to indicate changes in price and quantity will not be rewarded. Demand and supply diagrams should only show one shift. Answers that show both a shift to demand and supply will not be rewarded.
For six-mark questions, it is a good idea to briefly plan a response. Think about how the marks can be achieved and what is required before starting to write the response. This helps to make sure that the question set is being answered and that you are making two distinct points before developing them.
Tip: There are 2 knowledge marks, 2 application marks and 2 analysis marks for analyse questions. Although the knowledge marks can be given for an appropriate definition instead of stating ways/advantages/reasons etc., it is not possible to apply or analyse this and so marks would be limited with this approach.
Examiners read the whole response and decide which level is the best match. There are three levels in an eight-mark question. If a response is lacking certain characteristics, examiners move towards the bottom of the level. If it is a strong match, they will move towards the top and this approach is used for all levels of response questions on the paper.
The command word 'discuss' requires a two-sided argument. If candidates only look at one side, full marks are unlikely to be gained because the response will not fully match the level descriptors in the mark scheme. Candidates should always provide counterbalance / competing arguments.
To gain the top-level marks, students need to show thorough knowledge and logical chains of reasoning. There should also be a balanced and contextualised answer which leads to a supported judgement. Remember, the 'assess' command word requires a full and balanced awareness of the validity and significance of competing arguments.
For a high Level 4 response, examiners need to see evaluation as well as a balanced awareness of competing arguments, leading to a supported judgement. It is really important that the student focusses on a balanced argument. Where possible balance the advantages and disadvantagesof the topic. The students should consider these points to examine the significance of the competing arguments presented.
With the level of response questions, it is a good idea to read through your response and try and decide if the examiner could determine the question set from reading the essay. If this is not the case, then it is unlikely that the question has been fully answered. Generic answers are not going to score high marks!
Some questions encourage candidates to include examples of businesses studied in the classroom. If questions state ' businesses such as', then you are able to refer to other businesses studied if you wish.
Data is a very useful way to incorporate context and can be used on both sides of an argument and often it is ignored or not used in answers. Use the data from the extracts to help support your evaluations. Always use examples to support your arguments. Use the source material but don't just copy it out.
Remember to use the conditional when appropriate such as 'this may happen' or 'it is likely that'. It is rare that there is a ever a certain link or outcome in this subject. Avoid making unsupported assertions, the examiner wants to know
why or how something might happen.
There are many ways to evaluate and some candidates prefer to write the advantages and then consider the disadvantages with a final conclusion. Others prefer to integrate their advantages and disadvantages and the mark scheme is applied holistically, so it does not matter how you evaluate or structure your answer.
A conclusion/judgement is required for 12-mark question. Don't just repeat the points you have already made. Try to add something extra and reach a supported judgement. Evaluation must provide a balanced assessment and an awareness of competing arguments to access the higher levels.
This question is worth 25% of the marks, so it is essential to ensure enough time is spent on it.
It is important for candidates to remember that examiners are looking for an awareness of how significant competing arguments are. It is advisable to look at the descriptor table in the mark scheme when practising essays.
The quality of the evaluation is key to accessing the higher levels on the 20 mark questions. Some of the better responses are much more selective in their approach, focusing on the depth of evaluation rather than breadth. Better candidates use the information in the Extracts to help contextualise responses rather than copy out large chunks. Responses in level 4 are able to provide an effective conclusion that suggests a solution and/or recommendation.
An effective conclusion that proposes a solution and/or recommendations is required. Often this is not seen or if there is a conclusion, it is just a repetition of earlier points. A good conclusion which should weigh up the arguments presented and provide justification for the recommendations.
Candidates should make their conclusion count and answer the question. Do not just repeat or summarise your previous points but add some sort of judgement. There is no 'right' answer, but we are looking for the ability to come to a judgement based on the evidence available.
The Extracts are there for a reason but do not copy out large sections of the Extracts. For Application to be rewarded, it must be used and integrated into the response rather than separate to the response.
It is always advised that you use the examples and evidence from the source booklet to illustrate your argument. However, it is not good practice to simply copy evidence from the source booklet without using this information to explain your points. Stand-alone evidence will not be rewarded if it does not support the points being made.
The IAL specification uses marking descriptors for all levels-based questions. It is essential that centres look at these and understand how these are applied. The levels-based mark schemes are applied in a holistic way instead of looking for individual Assessment Objectives. This means that a candidate who attempts evaluation with some context will not necessarily be placed in the top levels and may only achieve Level 2 if the evaluation is weak. Far too many candidates are still simply copying out large sections of the Extracts with a limited attempt at evaluation; this will only ever achieve lower levels.
A grade boundary is the minimum mark at which a letter grade can be achieved. For example, if the grade boundary for a B is 60 marks, then 60 is the minimum mark at which a B can be achieved. A mark of 59 would therefore be a C grade.
Raw marks are converted to UMS marks for all modular qualifications. This is because raw mark grade boundaries may change from exam session to exam session to take into account variations in the difficulty of assessments.
A statistical technique called chi-squared test (represented symbolically as χ) is employed to examine discrepancies between the data distributions that are observed and those that are expected. Known also as Pearson's chi-squared test, it was developed in 1900 by Karl Pearson for the analysis of categorical data and distribution. Assuming the null hypothesis is correct, this test determines the probability that the observed frequencies in a sample match the predicted frequencies.
The null hypothesis, which essentially suggests that any observed differences are the result of random chance, is a statement that suggests there is no substantial difference between the observed and predicted frequencies. Usually, the sum of the squared differences between the predicted and observed frequencies, normalized by the expected frequencies, over the sample variance is used to construct chi-squared tests. This test offers a means to test theories on the links between categorical variables by determining whether the observed deviations are statistically significant or can be attributable to chance.
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