Author Topic: BBC News Quiz of the week  (Read 2909 times)

BBC News Quiz of the week
« on: 08 July, 2011, 09:07:54 am »
7 out of 7 today for the first time in about three years.

Is anyone else addicted to this annoying online weekly news quiz.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #1 on: 08 July, 2011, 09:15:46 am »
Yes.

I don't think I've ever got 7 though!

<edit> see - I got 3 today!
It is simpler than it looks.

Rhys W

  • I'm single, bilingual
    • Cardiff Ajax
Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #2 on: 08 July, 2011, 10:35:42 am »
Probably worst ever score for me today - 1/7.

I find it annoying that the questions are based on trivial side-stories that I don't pay attention to, but I come back week after week. I think I need to get 7/7 to get it out of my system.

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #3 on: 08 July, 2011, 10:45:28 am »
I like to do the news quiz, I got 3 today.

I have had 7 on only 2 occasions, I really must do better.

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #4 on: 08 July, 2011, 10:48:44 am »
Me too Marj and in about seven years of doing this  today was the second. Usually I get 4 occasionally 6 but I have to be lucky with a trivia guess to get that. Today there were four that I new for certain what the answer was and the rest were educated or complete guesses.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Tim

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #5 on: 08 July, 2011, 01:09:53 pm »
If it is pure chance (1 in 3 each question) I reckon you would need to play for over 29 years to expect to have got 7/7 at least once.

Though I have managed a perfect set in the past it was not this week.

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #6 on: 08 July, 2011, 01:16:26 pm »
If it is pure chance (1 in 3 each question) I reckon you would need to play for over 29 years to expect to have got 7/7 at least once.

37 / 52 =~ 42 years
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #7 on: 08 July, 2011, 01:18:37 pm »
Cool I'm doing considerably better than a monkey with a mouse then.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Tim

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #8 on: 08 July, 2011, 01:26:26 pm »
If it is pure chance (1 in 3 each question) I reckon you would need to play for over 29 years to expect to have got 7/7 at least once.

37 / 52 =~ 42 years
Eh?

(1-(1/3)^7) = 0.99954 (odds you're not getting full marks)
0.99954^1516 = .4999 (first time odds of all weeks with a failure drops below ½)
1516/52 = 29 anna bit years

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #9 on: 08 July, 2011, 01:43:06 pm »
The time at which the odds drop above/below 50% is not the same thing as the time you'd "expect to have got 7/7 at least once".

The latter implies considerably greater than 50% confidence.

Consider rolling a normal 6-sided die and looking for a 6.

(5/6)^4 = 0.4822

So it's tantamount to saying you'd 'expect to have got a 6 at least once' with just 4 rolls? Yes there's a better than 50:50 chance I'd see a 6 after 4 rolls, but it's a bit of a leap to "expect to see at least one".
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Tim

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #10 on: 08 July, 2011, 01:56:12 pm »
Granted I did not calculate the expectation of the first time you would get seven right answers (for expectation is a carefully defined concept, see moments of probability functions).

As you say what I provided was at a population level the time period at which most people would have got seven out of seven and referred to this as the time one could expect to have got a full house.

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #11 on: 21 March, 2014, 07:32:37 am »
7 out of 7 again today !

Only three years since I last managed it.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Wombat

  • Is it supposed to hurt this much?
Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #12 on: 21 March, 2014, 08:08:19 am »
Only 5 today, got the dino wrong, based on what I'd heard on the BBC news(!) and wrongly guessed about what the cat did.  They are indeed a trifle trivial, so its mostly luck.
Wombat

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #13 on: 21 March, 2014, 08:13:00 am »
I had to guess the cat one.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #14 on: 12 September, 2014, 08:41:41 am »
Top marks again today. That's twice in one year.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #15 on: 20 April, 2018, 11:24:41 am »
And 7/7 today. Only took me four years this time.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
  • Help me!
Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #16 on: 20 April, 2018, 01:30:33 pm »
1 out of 7.  :-[
The only one I got right was the last one, which was a guess.  Strangely, I was almost disappointed to get that one.
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: BBC News Quiz of the week
« Reply #17 on: 20 April, 2018, 01:45:27 pm »
only 5 today
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens