The mean and variance of 7 observations are 8 and 16, respectively. If five of the observations are 2, 4, 10, 12 and 14. Find the remaining two observations.
Let the remaining two observations be x and y.
The observations are 2, 4, 10, 12, 14, x, y.
From (1), we obtain
x2 + y2 + 2xy = 196 … (3)
From (2) and (3), we obtain
2xy = 196 – 100
⇒ 2xy = 96 … (4)
Subtracting (4) from (2), we obtain
x2 + y2 – 2xy = 100 – 96
⇒ (x – y)2 = 4
⇒ x – y = ± 2 … (5)
Therefore, from (1) and (5), we obtain
x = 8 and y = 6 when x – y = 2
x = 6 and y = 8 when x – y = – 2
Thus, the remaining observations are 6 and 8.