Cutting It Fine Statistics In Your World 
Student Notes
Teachers Notes
How Much in a Packet?
 
Are Loaves Underweight?
 

British or Continental

How Much In a Packet?
Many foods are weighed and put into packets. The weights are never completely accurate.

Until recently packets of food bought in this country usually had 'Minimum contents'or'Minimum weight' printed on the side. This is changing now we are in the EEC. On the Continent, the packets are usually marked 'Average contents'.

A packet of sweets bought on the Continent will be marked 'Average contents 100 grams'.

A packet of sweets bought in Britain may be marked 'Minimum contents 100 grams'.

  1. Write down one disadvantage to the customer of buying the Continental packet rather than the British packet.

Suppose a packet is marked 'Average contents 50 grams'. It might contain between 49 grams and 51 grams or even between 25 grams and 75 grams.

  1. How would this matter to a customer?

 

Are Loaves Underweight?
When this unit was being written, loaves in Britain were sold as 'Minimum weight 400 grams'.

  1. If you bought a 400-gram loaf in this country, would you expect it to weigh:
    exactly 400 grams,
    more than 400 grams,
    less than 400 grams?

Read the following news item, adapted from The Grocer magazine.

  1. What fraction of loaves sold in Britain is claimed to be overweight?
  2. The standard loaf should weigh 400 grams. What can you say about the mean (average) weight of these 400-gram loaves?

 

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