CIE AS Maths: Probability & Statistics 1

Topic Questions

2.3 Further Probability

1a
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1 mark

Two letters are chosen at random from the eleven letters in the words SAVE space MY space EXAMS comma without replacement.  

Given that the probability of the first letter being an S is 2 over 11, explain why the probability of choosing a second S is not also 2 over 11.

1b
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3 marks

The event X is defined as ‘the two letters are the same’ and the event Y is defined as ‘at least one of the letters chosen is a vowel left parenthesis straight A comma space straight E comma space straight I comma space straight O comma space or space straight U right parenthesis ’.

(i)

Describe the event X apostrophe  in words.

(ii)

Write down the outcomes which satisfy the event X intersection Y and hence, explain why the events X and  Y are not mutually exclusive.

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2a
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4 marks

A tin of biscuits contains three ginger biscuits and six plain biscuits.  Bonita takes one biscuit, eats it and then takes another from the tin.  Let the event A be ‘the first biscuit taken is a ginger biscuit’ and the event B be ‘the second biscuit taken is a ginger biscuit’. 

Write the following probabilities in context:

(i)
straight P open parentheses A union B close parentheses
(ii)
P left parenthesis B vertical line A right parenthesis
(iii)
straight P left parenthesis A ’ right parenthesis
(iv)
P left parenthesis left parenthesis A intersection B right parenthesis to the power of apostrophe right parenthesis.
2b
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2 marks

Find the value of straight P left parenthesis B │ A right parenthesis.

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3a
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2 marks

100 children were asked whether they liked football and cricket.  84 said they liked football (F).  58 said they liked cricket (C).  Of those who did not like football, 10 also said they did not like cricket. 

Complete the two-way table illustrating this information. 

 

Like Football ( bold italic F)

Dislike Football (bold italic F bold apostrophe)

Total

Like Cricket (C)

 

 

58

Dislike Cricket (C apostrophe)

 

10

 

Total

84

 

100

3b
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3 marks

One of the children is selected at random. Find the probability that

(i)

they like cricket

(ii)

they like both football and cricket

(iii)

they like football or cricket, but not both.

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4a
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2 marks

A and B are two independent events such that  straight P left parenthesis A right parenthesis equals 0.3 and straight P left parenthesis B right parenthesis equals 0.8

(i)
Complete this formula for independent events:  straight P left parenthesis A intersection B right parenthesis space space equals space _ _ _ _ space cross times space straight P left parenthesis B right parenthesis
(ii)
Use the formula to find straight P left parenthesis A intersection B right parenthesis.
4b
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3 marks

Another formula for independent events is straight P left parenthesis A intersection B right parenthesis space equals space straight P left parenthesis A right parenthesis space cross times space straight P left parenthesis B vertical line A right parenthesis where straight P left parenthesis B │ A right parenthesis means the probability of B happening given that A has already happened.

(i)
Use the formula to find straight P left parenthesis B vertical line A right parenthesis
(ii)
Deduce a similar formula involving  straight P left parenthesis A │ B right parenthesis and use it to find  straight P left parenthesis A space vertical line space B right parenthesis.
4c
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1 mark

Briefly explain why, for independent events A and B,  straight P left parenthesis A │ B right parenthesis equals P left parenthesis A right parenthesis.

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5a
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2 marks

Kimona is participating in a snowboarding competition whereby participants are given two attempts to complete a particular trick.  If a participant completes the trick at the first attempt, they are still allowed a second attempt.
From experience the probability of Kimona completing the trick at the first attempt is 0.3  If Kimona completes the trick at the first attempt, the probability of completing the trick at the second attempt is 0.6.  However, if Kimona fails at the first attempt, the probability of completing the trick at the second attempt is 0.5.

 Complete the tree diagram below representing Kimona’s situation.
(C denotes a completed trick, F denotes a failed trick.)q5a-easy-3-2-further-probability-edexcel-a-level-maths-statistics

5b
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2 marks

Use the tree diagram to find the probability that
(i)      Kimona fails both attempts at completing the trick
(ii)     Kimona completes the trick at least once.

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6a
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2 marks

Two events, Aand B are mutually exclusive.

(i)
Briefly explain why straight P open parentheses A intersection B close parentheses equals 0.
(ii)
Hence use the formula straight P open parentheses A union B close parentheses space equals straight P open parentheses straight A close parentheses plus straight P open parentheses straight B close parentheses minus straight P open parentheses straight A intersection straight B close parentheses to show that, for mutually exclusive events, straight P open parentheses A union B close parentheses equals straight P open parentheses straight A close parentheses plus straight P open parentheses straight B close parentheses.
6b
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3 marks

Two events,D and E are such that  P open parentheses D close parentheses equals 0.2P open parentheses E close parentheses equals 0.4  and  P open parentheses E vertical line D close parentheses equals 0.7.

(i)
Use the formula  straight P open parentheses D intersection E close parentheses equals straight P open parentheses D close parentheses cross times straight P open parentheses E vertical line D close parentheses  to find  straight P open parentheses D intersection E close parentheses.

(ii)
Use the formula P open parentheses D intersection E close parentheses equals P open parentheses D close parentheses plus P open parentheses E close parentheses minus P open parentheses D union E close parentheses to find  straight P open parentheses D space U space E close parentheses.

(iii)
Use the formula  P open parentheses D intersection E close parentheses equals P open parentheses D close parentheses cross times P open parentheses E close parentheses  to deduce whether the events D and E are independent or not.

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7a
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2 marks

The two-way table below shows how students in year 12 and year 13 travel to school and back.

 

 

Walk

Lift

Bus

Drive

Total

Year 12

 

 

22

0

160

Year 13

 

2

12

3

 

Total

79

 

 

3

200

 

Complete the two-way table.

7b
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4 marks

One person is chosen at random. B is the event ‘the person takes the bus to school’.  T is the event ‘the person is in year 12’.  Find:

(i)
straight P left parenthesis B right parenthesis
(ii)
straight P left parenthesis B intersection T right parenthesis
(iii)
straight P left parenthesis B vertical line T right parenthesis
(iv)
straight P left parenthesis T │ B right parenthesis.

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8a
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3 marks

A box contains 7 blue and 3 red equally sized counters.  A counter is taken from the box and its colour is noted, but it is not replaced in the box.  A second counter is then taken from the box and its colour noted.

 Draw a tree diagram to represent this information.

8b
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2 marks

Use your tree diagram from part (a) to find the probability that:

(i)
both counters are of the same colour
(ii)
neither counter is blue.
8c
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1 mark

Explain why, if four counters were taken one at a time and without replacement, the probability of all of them being red is zero.

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1a
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3 marks

Three letters are chosen at random from the letters in the word space PROBABLE spaceand arranged in a line to make a three-letter word. 

Given that the words do not have to mean anything, find the total number of different words that could be made.

1b
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2 marks

Find the probability that the three letters spell out the word EAR.

1c
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1 mark

Explain why your answer to part (b) is not equal to the reciprocal of your answer to (a).

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2a
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2 marks

Some attendees at a pizza fandom convention are surveyed regarding their opinions about anchovies and bananas as pizza toppings.  144 of them say they do not like anchovies. 320 of them say they do not like bananas.  28 of them say they like bananas but not anchovies. Only 12 of them like both toppings. 

Let  and  be the events ‘likes anchovies as a pizza topping’ and ‘likes bananas as a pizza topping’ respectively. 

Draw a two-way table to show this information.

2b
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4 marks

One of the attendees is chosen at random. Find:

(i)
straight P open parentheses B close parentheses

(ii)
straight P open parentheses A to the power of apostrophe intersection B to the power of apostrophe close parentheses

(iii)
straight P open parentheses B vertical line A close parentheses

(iv)
straight P open parentheses A vertical line B to the power of apostrophe close parentheses

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3a
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3 marks

A and B are two events with straight P open parentheses A close parentheses space equalsx  and  straight P open parentheses B close parentheses equalsy,  where x not equal to 0.  Given that A and B are independent, find the following probabilities in terms of x and y:

(i)
straight P open parentheses B vertical line A to the power of apostrophe close parentheses

(ii)
straight P open parentheses A intersection B vertical line A close parentheses

 

3b
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4 marks

A group of 18- to 25-year-olds, and a group of people over 65 years old, were asked whether they would prefer to holiday in Ibiza or Skegness. The following two-way table shows part of the results of the survey:

  Ibiza Skegness total
18-25     99
over 65     45
total 64 80 144

(i)

Find P(over 65) and P(Ibiza)

(ii)

Given that for the people in the sample the events ‘is over 65’ and ‘prefers to holiday in Ibiza’ are independent, find the missing values and complete the table of survey results.

 

 

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4a
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4 marks

Farah is playing a game with a coin.  She tosses the coin three times and awards herself points using the following rules. If the coin lands heads up she gets one point and if the coin lands tails up she gets two points.  However, if the coin lands the same way it did on the previous coin toss, she awards herself two points for heads up and four points for tails up.  The final score is the sum of the points awarded from the three tosses of the coin.

(i)
Given that the coin landed on heads three times in a row, find the probability that Farah’s final score was 5 points.
(ii)

Given that Farah’s final score was 5 points, find the probability that the coin landed on heads three times in a row.

4b
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2 marks

The event A is ‘Farah’s final score is 5 points’ and event B is ‘the coin lands on heads at least two times’.  Determine whether the events A and B are independent.  Justify your answer.

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5a
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4 marks

Olivia owns a pottery business where she runs workshops on Saturdays and sells pots during the week.  If she has run a workshop on the previous Saturday, she will open the shop for a short week, Monday to Thursday, with a probability of 0.6.  If she did not run a workshop, she will open the shop for a short week, Monday to Thursday, with a probability of 0.2.  Otherwise, she will open the shop for a long week, Monday to Friday.  The probability that Olivia opens the shop for a short week, Monday to Thursday, on any given week is 0.46.  

Find the probability that Olivia runs a workshop on any given week.

5b
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3 marks

Given that Olivia opened the shop for a short week, Monday to Thursday, on a particular week, find the probability that she ran a workshop the previous Saturday.

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6a
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3 marks

Shalit has seven identical red socks and x identical blue socks in his drawer.  He takes two socks out of his drawer at random and puts them on. 

2-3-sq--q6a-hard-cie-a-level-statistics

Find expressions for a comma b comma c space and space d on the tree diagram above.

6b
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4 marks

The probability that Shalit took two red socks, given that he took two socks of the same colour is begin mathsize 16px style 7 over 8 end style. Find the value of x.

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7a
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4 marks

A bag contains 12 orange marbles, 8 purple marbles and 5 red marbles.  A marble is taken from the bag and its colour is recorded, but it is not replaced in the bag.  A second marble is then taken from the bag and its colour is recorded.

Draw a tree diagram to represent this information.

7b
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4 marks

Find the probability that:

(i)
both marbles are different colours
(ii)
the second marble is purple, given that both marbles are different colours.

 

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8a
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3 marks

Rosco is a somewhat inept rural county sheriff who frequently finds himself involved in car chases with well-meaning local entrepreneurs.  During any given car chase, Rosco inevitably runs into one of three obstacles – a damaged bridge (with probability 0.47), an oil slick (with probability 0.32), or a pigpen at the end of a dead-end road.

If he encounters a damaged bridge there is a 25% chance that he will make it across safely; otherwise he lands in the river and ends up covered in mud.  If he encounters an oil slick there is a 40% chance that his car will spin around and he will end up continuing his hot pursuit in the wrong direction; otherwise he goes off the road into a farm pond and ends up covered in mud.  If he encounters a pigpen at the end of a dead-end road there is a 15% chance he will stop his car in time; otherwise he drives into the muddy end of the pigpen while the pigs sit at the other end laughing.  If he drives into the muddy end of a pigpen there is a 20% chance he will only end up covered in mud; otherwise he ends up covered in mud and other things that are found in pigpens.

Draw a tree diagram to represent this information.

8b
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3 marks

Find the probability that in the course of a randomly chosen car chase

(i)
Rosco ends up covered in mud
(ii)
Rosco ends up covered in mud, but only in mud.
8c
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3 marks

Given that Rosco ends up covered in mud in the course of a randomly chosen car chase, find the probability that he didn’t encounter an oil slick. Give your answer as an exact value.

8d
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2 marks

In the course of a particular day Rosco finds himself engaged in three separate car chases with well-meaning local entrepreneurs.  The car chases may be considered to be independent events.

Determine the probability that on that day Rosco will not end up covered in other things that are found in pigpens.

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1a
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3 marks

The probability that it rains, R, on any given day in a certain month is given as 0.4.  If it rains, Suresh takes the bus to work and arrives on time, T, with a probability of 0.6.  If it doesn’t rain, Suresh cycles to work and arrives on time with a probability of 0.9.

2-3-sq--q1a-medium-cie-a-level-statistics

Write down the values of:

(i)
straight P open parentheses R apostrophe close parentheses
(ii)
P left parenthesis T apostrophe │ R right parenthesis
(iii)
straight P left parenthesis straight T apostrophe │ straight R apostrophe right parenthesis
1b
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2 marks

Use the probability tree diagram, or otherwise to find the probability that Suresh arrives at work on time.

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2a
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2 marks

240 students are surveyed regarding their belief in supernatural creatures. 144 say they believe in unicorns open parentheses U close parentheses. 75 say they believe in vampires open parentheses V close parentheses. Of those who believe in vampires, 27 also believe in unicorns. 

Draw a two-way table to show this information.

2b
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4 marks

One student is chosen at random. Find:

(i)
straight P left parenthesis U to the power of apostrophe right parenthesis
(ii)
straight P left parenthesis U to the power of apostrophe intersection V to the power of apostrophe right parenthesis
(iii)
straight P left parenthesis U vertical line V right parenthesis
(iv)
straight P left parenthesis V vertical line U right parenthesis

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3a
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2 marks

Aand B are two events with  straight P open parentheses A close parentheses space equals space 0.47 and  P open parentheses B close parentheses equals 0.31.  Given that Aand B are independent, write down

(I)
straight P open parentheses A vertical line B close parentheses

(ii)
P open parentheses B vertical line A to the power of apostrophe close parentheses
3b
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4 marks

A group of middle and senior school students were asked whether they preferred vinegar or ketchup as a topping on their chips. The following two-way table shows the results of the survey:

  vinegar ketchup total
middle 49 21 70
senior 63 27 90
total 112 48 160

(i)

Find and P(ketchup | middle) and P(middle | ketchup).
(ii)
Use your results from part (b)(i) to show that for the students in the sample ‘is in middle school’ and ‘prefers ketchup on chips’ are independent events.

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4a
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3 marks

Katin is collecting tadpoles for her biology project.  In the pond there are five female tadpoles and six male tadpoles, however they all look the same. She takes two tadpoles at random from the pond, without replacement. 

Draw a tree diagram to represent this information.

4b
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3 marks

Find the probability that Katin’s two tadpoles are

(i)

either both female or both male.

(ii)

both female, given that they are the same sex.

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5a
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2 marks

A fair hexagonal spinner with seven equal sections numbered 0, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3 and 3 is spun twice and the sum of the two numbers the spinner lands on is recorded.

2-3-sq--q5a-medium-cie-a-level-statistics

Draw a sample space to represent the outcomes of this experiment.

5b
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4 marks

S is the event ‘the sum of the two numbers is a square number’ and E is the event ‘the sum of the two numbers is a positive even number’. Use your sample space to find:

(i)
straight P open parentheses S close parentheses
(ii)
straight P open parentheses E close parentheses
(iii)
straight P open parentheses S intersection E close parentheses
(iv)
straight P left parenthesis S │ E right parenthesis
5c
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1 mark

Use your answers to part (b) to show that

               straight P space left parenthesis S │ E right parenthesis equals fraction numerator straight P left parenthesis S intersection E right parenthesis over denominator straight P open parentheses E close parentheses end fraction

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6a
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4 marks

A standard pack of 52 playing cards is comprised of thirteen different cards for each of the four suits: hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs.  Each suit is made up of nine different number cards (two to ten) and four court cards (jack, queen, king and ace).  A full pack of cards is shuffled and one card is selected at random.  Let H be the event ‘the card chosen is a heart’.  Let C be the event ‘the card chosen is a court card (jack, queen, king or ace)’. 

Find

(i)
straight P open parentheses C close parentheses
(ii)
straight P open parentheses H close parentheses
(iii)
straight P open parentheses H intersection C close parentheses
(iv)
P left parenthesis H │ C right parenthesis
6b
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1 mark

Use your answers to part (a) to show that the events C and H are independent events. 

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7a
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3 marks

A bag contains 15 blue tokens and 27 yellow tokens.  A token is taken from the bag and its colour is recorded, but it is not replaced in the bag.  A second token is then taken from the bag and its colour is recorded.

 Draw a tree diagram to represent this information.

7b
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4 marks

Find the probability that:

(i)
the second token selected is blue
(ii)
both tokens selected are blue, given that the second token selected is blue. 

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8a
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3 marks

Ichabod is a keen chess player who plays one game of chess online every night before going to bed.  In any one of those games, the probabilities of Ichabod winning, drawing, or losing are 0.4, 0.27 and 0.33 respectively.  Following each game, the probabilities of Ichabod sleeping well after winning, drawing or losing are 0.7, 0.9 and 0.2 respectively.

 Draw a tree diagram to represent this information.

8b
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4 marks

Find the probability that on a randomly chosen night

(i)
Ichabod loses his chess game and sleeps well
(ii)
Ichabod sleeps well.
8c
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4 marks

Given that Ichabod sleeps well, find the probability that his chess game did not end in a draw.

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1a
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5 marks

1b
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4 marks

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2a
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2 marks

2b
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3 marks

2c
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3 marks

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3a
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3 marks

3b
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4 marks

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4a
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5 marks

4b
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2 marks

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5a
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4 marks

5b
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3 marks

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6a
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5 marks

6b
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3 marks

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7
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7 marks

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8a
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3 marks

8b
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3 marks

8c
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2 marks

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