Solution Toni's not for publishing
The maximum who can score 100 occurs if the rest score as few marks
as possible, so if
candidates score 100 and the rest score zero
then
so
. The standard deviation is given
by
so
to 3
s.f.
If
candidates score 100 then, as
, if
, we know
so
.
Clearly
cannot be equal to 2 because the marks of the remaining
48 candidates will contribute to the standard deviation but we now
suppose the standard deviation is a little higher, say 8.2. Then
so
. As
is a whole number it is
at most 2.
If 2 candidates score 100 then the remaining 48 score 2800 between
them for the mean to be 60. To minimise the variance they should all
score marks as close to 60 as possible. Dividing 2800 by 48 gives
58.3 to 3 s.f. Suppose q candidates score 59 and (48-q) score 58
then
so
. Hence the mean mark is 60 if 2 candidates score 100, 16
score 59 and 32 score 58. In this case the standard deviation is
given by
So the standard deviation is 8.178 to 3 d.p.
The number of candidates who score 100 is less than
so if
this is less than
so it is impossible for any candidates to have scored 100
because the scores of the other 49 candidates also contribute to the
standard deviation.
So with a standard deviation of
(approx 5.657 to 3 d.p)
or less no candidates could have scored 100.