Data Handling is one of 9 topics in the Grade 11 Mathematical Literacy CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. What is the difference between a "population" and a "sample" in data handling?
A population is the entire group being studied, while a sample is a smaller subset selected from it
A population and a sample always refer to exactly the same group of people
A sample is always larger than the population it is drawn from
A population only refers to countries, never to groups like learners in a school
Answer: A population is the entire group being studied, while a sample is a smaller subset selected from it — The population is the entire group being studied, while a sample is a smaller, selected subset of that population, used to collect data more practically.
Easy
2. What is the term for the tool used to record data as it is collected, such as a set of prepared questions given to respondents?
Answer: questionnaire — A questionnaire (or survey) is a data-collection instrument consisting of a set of prepared questions given to respondents.
Medium
3. A researcher wants to know the average time Grade 11 learners across an entire province spend on homework, but only surveys learners from a single school. Why might this sample produce misleading conclusions about the wider population?
Because a single school may not be representative of the whole province, so results from it may not generalise accurately to all Grade 11 learners province-wide
Because surveying any sample at all always produces completely accurate results regardless of how it is chosen
Because a single school always has too many learners to survey accurately
Because homework habits never vary between different schools or areas
Answer: Because a single school may not be representative of the whole province, so results from it may not generalise accurately to all Grade 11 learners province-wide — A sample drawn from just one school may differ systematically from the wider provincial population (for example, in school policies, socioeconomic factors, or urban/rural differences), so conclusions from this narrow sample may not accurately represent all Grade 11 learners in the province.
