The stats quiz that tests your vulnerability to spin

Do you have the number skills to be able to see through the claims made by politicians, the media and businesses?

Open thread – how did you do in Matt's test, and explainers

A fear of numbers leaves you leaves you vulnerable to being misled and statistics by politicians, the media and businesses, according to the British Academy. The academy's president, Prof Sir Adam Roberts, claims that a lack of quantitative skills leaves you 'vulnerable to misinterpretation and wrong decision-making'. Are your number skills good enough to protect you from spurious arguments made by politicians and salespeople? Take our stats test to find out! Each questions tests your ability to avoid progressively harder statistics and number fallacies.

  1. 1. You're selling second-hand books and a buyer accidentally pays you the extra 20% VAT above the sale price when they didn't have to, making the total paid £60. They ask you to transfer 20% of the total they paid back to them. What percentage should you actually give back?

  2. 2. A report claims that drinking coffee increases your risk of a certain type of mouth cancer by 50% (it currently affects 1 in 100,000 non-coffee-drinking people). If a million people all started drinking coffee, how many extra cases of that mouth cancer would you expect?

  3. 3. A bank offers you payment protection insurance on your 12-month loan. For only an extra £20 per month they will make one monthly £210 repayment for you if you lose your job for any reason. If you take the insurance and do need to claim, how much better off are you than without the insurance?

  4. 4. You are choosing between two universities by looking at their pass rates in different subjects. University A passed 98 of its 120 English students (81.7%) and 56 of its 78 maths students (71.8%). University B passed 1,367 of its 1,700 English students (80.4%) and 46 of its 87 maths students (52.9%). Which university has the better percentage of total student passes and by how much?

  5. 5. You take a blood test for a genetic defect (a defect about 0.1% of the population have). The test can tell if you do or do not have the defect with an accuracy of 99%. You result comes back positive for the defect. What is the probability you actually have the genetic defect?

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