Analytica

l Methods
Assignment 01
Dinuka Lakshan
Denipitiya CSCT
2013383

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Acknowledgement
First of all I would like to thank Mr.Isuru Withanage the lecturer of
Unit: ANM003
Analytical Methods. Because he guide me to do this assignment properly.
I should thank the management of CSCT campus for organizing HND
in Quantity Surveying for us to improve our knowledge and the environment
facilitated with resources such as computer lab, library and other required
facilities to do our work without any problems.
I would thank Prof. Chitra Wedikkara, with great pleasure that
everything she has done for us, for our future.
Then I would like to specially thank for my parents for being by the
side of me in my all difficulties, encourage me to achieve my target.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgement...................................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................................ 4
Task 01....................................................................................................................... 5
Task 02..................................................................................................................... 10
Task 03..................................................................................................................... 13
Task 04..................................................................................................................... 19
Task 05..................................................................................................................... 23
Conclusion................................................................................................................ 27
References................................................................................................................ 28

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Introduction
This assignment is about Analyze and solve problems using statistics and
probability. Statistics is a type of analysis involving the use of quantified
models, representations and summaries for given set of empirical data or
real world observation.
As a person it is needed to have some sort of knowledge of statistics. Even if
we are sellers, doctors, accountants, journalist we should have a somewhat
knowledge about the statistics.
Statistics as a subjects, it can be applied to every fields. It helps to set out
the final result of a data collection. Data representation of statics can be
divided in to 2 main parts, called diagrammatic & graphical representation of
Data.

Task
01
Define
Statistics and explain why and how it is useful in various fields. (P8)
Definition of statistics
The modern world is based on calculations more than anything else.
Calculations of money, calculation of wages, calculation of taxes and all
these calculations need to be assimilated, and utilized in making more
calculations. Thus, a proper system of data usage involves collecting all the
data and organizing it properly. Moreover, not everyone will be able to
understand data in the form it is organized, which, in turn, requires proper
interpretation of data. In fact, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Over the years,
the importance of statistics has risen dramatically. Today, statistics is used in
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almost all the fields. In the following lines, we have given a note on the
significance of statistics in the different fields. Statistics plays a vital role in
every fields of human activity. Statistics has important role in determining
the existing position of per capita income, unemployment, population growth
rate, housing, schooling medical facilities etcin a country. Now statistics
holds a central position in almost every field like Industry, Commerce, Trade,
Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Biology, Botany, Psychology,
Astronomy etc, so application of statistics is very wide. Now we discuss
some important fields in which statistics is commonly applied

Some consider statistics a mathematical body of science that pertains to the

collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data,
while others consider it a branch of mathematics concerned with collecting
and interpreting data. Because of its empirical roots and its focus on
applications, statistics is usually considered a distinct mathematical science
rather than a branch of mathematics.
Much of statistics is non-mathematical: ensuring that data collection is
undertaken in a way that produces valid conclusions; coding and archiving
data so that information is retained and made useful for international
comparisons of official statistics; reporting of results and summarized data
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(tables and graphs) in ways comprehensible to those who must use them;
implementing procedures that ensure the privacy of census information.
Statisticians improve data quality by developing specific experiment
designs and survey samples. Statistics itself also provides tools for prediction
and forecasting the use of data and statistical models. Statistics is applicable
to a wide variety of academic disciplines, including natural and social
sciences, government, and business. Statistical consultants can help
organizations and companies that don't have in-house expertise relevant to
their particular questions.
Statistical methods can summarize or describe a collection of data. This is
called descriptive statistics. This is particularly useful in communicating the
results of experiments and research. In addition, data patterns may
be modeled in a way that accounts for randomness and uncertainty in the
observations.

Significance of Statistics
"Significance level" is a misleading term that many researchers do not fully
understand. This article may help you understand the concept of statistical
significance and the meaning of the numbers produced by The Survey
System.
This article is presented in two parts. The first part simplifies the concept of
statistical significance as much as possible; so that non-technical readers can
use the concept to help make decisions based on their data. The second part
provides more technical readers with a fuller discussion of the exact meaning
of statistical significance numbers.
In normal English, "significant" means important, while in
Statistics "significant" means probably true (not due to chance). A research
finding may be true without being important. When statisticians say a result
is "highly significant" they mean it is very probably true. They do not
(necessarily) mean it is highly important.
Take a look at the table below. The chi (pronounced kie like pie) squares at
the bottom of the table show two rows of numbers. The top row numbers of
0.07 and 24.4 are the chi square statistics themselves. The meaning of these
statistics may be ignored for the purposes of this article. The second row
contains values .795 and .001. These are the significance levels and are
explained following the table.
Significance levels show you how likely a result is due to chance. The most
common level, used to mean something is good enough to be believed, is .
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95. This means that the finding has a 95% chance of being true. However,
this value is also used in a misleading way. No statistical package will show
you "95%" or ".95" to indicate this level.
Instead it will show you ".05," meaning that the finding has a five percent
(.05) chance of not being true, which is the converse of a 95% chance of
being true. To find the significance level, subtract the number shown from
one. For example, a value of ".01" means that there is a 99% (1-.01=.99)
chance of it being true. In this table, there is probably no difference in
purchases of gasoline X by people in the city center and the suburbs,
because the probability is .795 (i.e., there is only a 20.5% chance that the
difference is true). In contrast the high significance level for type of vehicle
(.001 or 99.9%) indicates there is almost certainly a true difference in
purchases of Brand X by owners of different vehicles in the population from
which the sample was drawn.
The Field Of Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from
the Ancient Greek (oikonomia, "management of a household,
administration") from (oikos, "house") + (nomos, "custom" or
"law"), hence "rules of the house(hold)". Political economy was the earlier
name for the subject, but economists in the late 19th century suggested
"economics" as a shorter term for "economic science" that also avoided a
narrow political-interest connotation and as similar in form to "mathematics",
"ethics", and so forth.
A focus of the subject is how economic agents behave or interact and
how economies work. Consistent with this, a primary textbook distinction is
between microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics examines
the behavior of basic elements in the economy, including individual agents
(such as households and firms or as buyers and sellers) and markets, and
their interactions. Macroeconomics analyzes the entire economy and issues
affecting it, including unemployment, inflation, economic growth, and
monetary and fiscal policy.
Other broad distinctions include those between positive
economics (describing "what is") and normative economics (advocating
"what ought to be"); between economic theory and applied economics;
between rational and behavioral economics; and between mainstream
economics (more "orthodox" and dealing with the "rationality-individualismequilibrium nexus") and heterodox economics (more "radical" and dealing
with the "institutions-history-social structure nexus").
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Economic analysis may be applied throughout society,
as in business, finance, health care, and government, but also to such
diverse subjects as crime, education, the family, law, politics, religion, social
institutions, war, and science.] At the turn of the 21st century, the expanding
domain of economics in the social sciences has been described as economic
imperialism
The Field of Natural & Social Sciences
For any of the natural sciences, experimentation is very important. Now, for
the precise measurement of results, their tabulation, i.e. recording and
comparison, is required, which is nothing but a form of statistics. Similarly, in
social sciences scenario, it is very important to consider all the data related
to the subjects in observation. Since social science spectrums includes a
great number of subjects, mass data collection and assimilation is inevitable.
This can be a really tedious task, if not done using proper statistical
channels.

The Field Of Astronomy

Astronomy is an ancient art and one of the most primitive too. Star gazing
may be one of the easiest things to do in the night, but capturing exact
distances in the space and predicting celestial events can be next to
impossible, if a statistical approach is not used. Astronomers have been
using statistical methods, like method of least squares, for a long time for
calculation of celestial distances and comparing objects. Astronomy is one of
the oldest branches of statistical study; it deals with the measurement of
distance, sizes, masses and densities of heavenly bodies by means of
observations. During these measurements errors are unavoidable so most
probable measurements are founded by using statistical methods.
The Banking Sector
Banking sector is very important for general public. This sector, too, uses
statistical data utilization approach for its functioning. The banking sector
works on the money exchange system. They collect money from depositors
and give money to people who want to borrow. All the while banks earn
interest, a part of which they offer to the depositors. The banks calculate
through statistical approach, which is they calculate the number of people
who will appear each day as depositors or withdrawers and plans their
actions similarly. If the calculation goes wrong, chances of the business
collapsing and public money being at jeopardy is high. Statistics play an
important role in banking. The banks make use of statistics for a number of
purposes.
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The Field Of Business

In business structures, there may be nothing more important than statistical
data and vice versa. Every business collects data about its consumers and
their needs. This data is then assimilated and interpreted in order to form the
base of their future plans and goals. Only on the basis of accurate data
collection and assimilation can accurate projections for the future of the
business be derived. Everything, right from expansion plans, disinvestment
moves and new business and product proposals depend on such statistical
calculations. Any small mistake here can spell doom for the business.
Statistics play an important role in business.

Mathematics
Statistical plays a central role in almost all natural and social sciences. The
methods of natural sciences are most reliable but conclusions draw from
them are only probable, because they are based on incomplete evidence.
Statistical helps in describing these measurements more precisely. Statistics
is branch of applied mathematics.
State Management
Statistics is essential for a country. Different policies of the government are
based on statistics. Statistical data are now widely used in taking all
administrative decisions. Suppose if the government wants to revise the pay
scales of employees in view of an increase in the living cost, statistical
methods will be used to determine the rise in the cost of living.

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Task 02
Select at least 2 problems/situations relevant to your field and explain how
you use statistical methods to solve, analyze these problems/situations. (P8)
Statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive for 2005/06 show the
rate of fatal and major injuries in the construction industry is continuing to
fall. The Health and Safety Statistics 2005/06 report shows:
1. The rate of reported fatal injuries (to all workers, including the selfemployed) in construction between 1999/00 and 2005/06 has reduced
by around 36%;
2. The rate of reported major injuries to employees in construction
between 1999/00 and 2005/06 has reduced by around 22%;

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Construction injury rates since 1999/2000

There has also been good progress towards the all industry Revitalising
targets of 2000, although the industry is still falling short of its own
ambitious targets set at the 2001 Construction Summit.
For the first time the proportion of major injuries due to falls from height has
been overtaken by those resulting from slips, trips and falls on the same
level. Injuries due to slips and trips and manual handling have risen steadily
over the past few years while those from falls from height and being struck
by an object have been reduced substantially.

The Health and Safety Statistics 2005/06 report shows:

There were 981 major injuries in construction caused by slips, trips or

falls on the same level;
There were 917 major injuries in construction caused by falls from
height;
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There were 577 major injuries in construction while handling, lifting or

carrying;

There were 572 major injuries in construction caused by struck by moving,

including flying/falling object.
Detail of causes for fatalities can be found at
Commenting on the statistics, HSE's Chief Inspector of Construction, Stephen
Williams said: "My congratulations go out to the industry on the progress it
has made so far. I am particularly pleased to see the encouraging signs that
it has taken ownership of its health and safety performance and worked hard
to achieve the lowest incidence rates ever for fatal, major injuries and over
three day injuries."
"There has been very good progress in reducing injuries due to falls and
being hit by objects. This, coupled with the decrease in fatal injuries
announced earlier this year (down to 59 from last year's total of 69) shows
that the hard work by many in the industry is paying off. However, slips and
trips and manual handling injuries are increasing. It may be that they receive
less attention because they rarely result in fatalities; nevertheless more
needs to be done to prevent these types of injury. In particular, sites need to
be kept tidy, which is hard work and requires persistence.
"We need to focus more on these areas, while maintaining the progress on
falls from height. If the industry had made the same progress in these other
areas it would have been close to meeting its own challenging targets."

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Task 03
(A) State and explain one diagrammatic and one graphical representation
used to illustrate/ interpret the data. Which is more suitable to interpret a
discrete set of data?
Diagrammatic representation of data
Data can be represented diagrammatically by pictograms, column graphs,
horizontal bar charts, pie charts, line graphs etc. In bar chart, numerical data
is represented by bars, which may be vertical (column graph) or horizontal
(in horizontal bar graph). These bars must be of uniform width and equally
spaced. The labels on horizontal and vertical axes should be clear. If
subcomponents of items are given, then the bars may be subdivided. If two
or more different values are given for each item, and comparison between
these values is required, then multiple bar charts are better. Here bars for an
item are placed side-by-side.

Bar chart
In a bar chart, the height of the bar shows the frequency of the result. As the
height of bar represents frequency, label the vertical axis 'Frequency'.

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Graphical representation of data

Visualization techniques are ways of creating and manipulating graphical
representations of data. We use these representations in order to gain better
insight and understanding of the problem we are studying - pictures can
convey an overall message much better than a list of numbers. In this
section we describe some graphical presentations of data.

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Visualization techniques are ways of creating and manipulating graphical

representations of data. We use these representations in order to gain better
insight and understanding of the problem we are studying - pictures can
convey an overall message much better than a list of numbers.
In this section we describe some graphical presentations of data.
Line or Dot Plots
Line plots are graphical representations of numerical data. A line plot is a
number line with xs placed above septic numbers to show their frequency.
By the frequency of a number we mean the number of occurrence of that
number. Line plots are used to represent one group of data with fewer than
50 values.
Example 30.1
Suppose thirty people live in an apartment building. These are the following
ages:
58 30 37 36 34 49 35 40 47 47
39 54 47 48 54 50 35 40 38 47
48 34 40 46 49 47 35 48 47 46
Simple Bar Diagram
Presentation of statistical data by means of rectangular bars with height
proportional to magnitude of the items is called bar diagram. Usually, vertical
bars are drawn, but, horizontal bars can as will be of use.
Simple bar diagram is drawn when items have to be compared with regard to
a single characteristic. Here, the items are represented by rectangular bars
of equal width and height proportional to their magnitude. The bars are
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drawn on a common base line, with equal distance between consecutive
bars. The bars may be shaded.
Histogram
In statistics, a histogram is a graphical representation showing a visual
impression of the distribution of data. Histograms are used to plot density of
data, and often for density estimation: estimating the probability density
function of the underlying variable. It is an estimate of the probability
distribution of a continuous variable and was first introduced by Karl Pearson.
A histogram consists of tabular frequencies, shown as adjacent rectangles,
erected over discrete intervals, with an area equal to the frequency of the
observations in the interval.

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The most suitable representation to interpret a discrete set of data is the
graphical method. It is because it gives all the necessary information and the
details so that at once instance the viewer can spot the correct details out of
it.
Example
For the following frequency distribution of height of students in a tourism
section draw the histogram.
Height

140145

145150

150155

155160

160165

165170

170175

Total

No of
Stude
nt

10

18

20

19

80

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(B) The responses of the 25 people who were asked about the type of
house/building they lived in.
Where F Flat, T Terraced house, SD Semidetached house, D Detached
house
B Bungalow.
F
6

T
5

SD
7

D
4

B
3

Suitable diagrammatic representation to illustrate the accommodation

Histogram

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Pie chart

1
2
3
4
5
6

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Task 04
During a construction of a building the builder has questioned the
consistency and quality if concrete block. As a first check one of the
technicians for the builder has collected measurements in the masses of 150
blocks as follows;
Mass (kg)

No of blocks (f)

fx

8.0 - 8.4

8.2

16.4

8.5 -8.9

8.7

60.9

9.0 - 9.4

15

9.2

138.0

9.5 - 9.9

20

9.7

194.0

10.0 - 10.4

27

10.2

275.4

10.5 - 10.9

29

10.7

310.3

11.0 - 11.4

25

11.2

280.0

11.5 - 11.9

12

11.7

140.0

12.0 -12.4

10

12.2

122.0

12.5 - 12.9

12.7

38.1

150

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1575.5

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ii.
(a)
Mean (M)= fx/f
= 1575.5/150
=10.503
(b)
The median,
A + B= 29

2 + 7 + 15 + 20 + 27 + A = B + 25 + 12 + 10 + 3
71 + A = B + 52
A-B = -19

1 + 2
2A = 10
A=5
The width of A = 5/29 * class interval
= 5/29* 0.5 = 0.0862
Median = 10.5 + 0.0862
= 10.5862

(c)
The range

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= 12.9 - 7.95 = 4.95(5 kg)

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(d)
The variance =
[(8.2-10.5)2 + (8.7-10.5)2 + (9.2-10.5)2 +(9.7-10.5)2 +(10.2-10.5)2 +(10.7-10.5)2 +(11.210.5)2 +( 11.7-10.5)2 + ( 12.2-10.5)2 +( 12.7-10.5)2 ] / 10
= 20.59/10
=2.059.
iii.

According to my idea to builders that should take high weights blocks take to
foundation. If more than 10.5kg its suitable to use for foundation. If its less
than 10.5kg its suitable to use for walls.

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Task 05
A construction firm has 30 designs of houses for the clients, which can be
considered under three groups Luxury, Semi-Luxury and Moderate. The
details of these designs according to

Roof (tile / sheets)

Floor area ( > 1500 sq.ft / 1500 sq.ft )

Finished walls (smooth / rough)

are given in table 2.

Description of variables
X1 Type of the house: 1 Luxury
2 Semi Luxury
3 Moderate
X2 Roof :

1 Tile
2 Sheets

X3 Floor Area : 1 - > 1500 sq.ft

2 - 1500 sq.ft
X4 Finished Walls : 1 Smooth

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Plan

X1

X2

X3

X4

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

1
1
2
2
2
3
2
1
1
2
3
3
1
2
3
1
2
2
3
3
2
1
3
2
1
2
2
2
1
2

2
2
2
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
2

1
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
2

1
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1

i.
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(a)
. A luxury house- 9/30
(b). A semi luxury house- 14/30
(c). Moderate house- 7/30
(d). A luxury house or a house with floor area > 1500 sq.ft- 21/30
(e). A house with a tile roof given that it is a semi luxury house- 6/30
ii.
This combination is not there in the designs. Therefore the probability of
selecting a moderate house with a sheet roof, rough finish and with the floor
area <1500sq.ft is 0
iii.
(a)
1. Event 1: luxury houses with a floor area which is < or equal to 1500 and
rough walls
Event 2: a house with a sheet roof, with rough wall and a floor area less than
1500 square feet
{x1=1 , x2=2 , x3=2 , x4=2 }
2. Event 1: luxury houses with rough walls, more than 1500 in area.
Event 2: a house with a sheet roof, rough walls and more than 1500square
feet in area.
{x1=1, x2=2 , x3=1 , x4=2 }

3. Event 1: a moderate house, with sheet roof and with an area of less than
1500 square feet
Event 2: a moderate house with sheet roof and with rough walls.
{x1=3 , x2=2 , x3=2 , x4=2 }

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a. Three mutually exclusive events,

Sheet roof, rough wall ,floor area less than 1500 square feet. Mutually
Exclusive Events is a situation where the occurrence of one event is not
influenced or caused by another event.
b. Two independent events Described here
Luxury house with rough wall and floor area more than 1500 square feet.
Independent events are events where the outcome of one event does not
affect the outcome of the other events.
iv.
Ceiling type
1. Wooden ceiling
2. Asbestos sheets

Floor
3.
4.
5.
6.

type
Ceramic
Marble
Granite
Teraso

Include doors and windows

7. Yes
8. No

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Conclusion
As we have finished the assignment we got to know that we can use
statistics in everywhere. Here in construction, civil engineering and quantity
surveying theres always statistics and probability been used and of course
mathematics is very widely used.
Data or a collection of data can be represented in diagrammatically and also
graphically to interpret the behavior in a meaningful way. Most widely used
here is the use of the histogram and also frequency polygon.
As the conclusion, again I would like to say statistics are important to all the
people who live in the world. Because, we need to know somewhat of
statistics to survive the life from getting stuck. Especially as a professional in
construction industry, sometimes we have to work with data sets. Therefore
as a professional, we should have a fluent knowledge in statistics.
Probability is also a very frequently used mathematical operation for various
calculations. It cannot be used where humans are involved such as in a
cricket match because we cannot predict the winning team, where as we can
predict the most number of occurrences of masses of bricks to choose a
correct mass range of bricks for construction

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References
http://www.emathzone.com/tutorials/basicstatistics/importance-of-statisticsin-different-fields.html
http://quarknet.fnal.gov/toolkits/new/histograms.html

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