Name____________________________Sect__________

Population, Parameter, Sample, Statistic

Population: The population is what we want to learn about. Most of the time it is large. Sample: The set of individuals, items, or data that is taken from the population and surveyed. Parameter: Describes the population; most of the time we do not know this number. We usually estimate. Statistic: Describes the sample. We use this along with margin of error to estimate the parameter. __________________________________________________________________________________ The following is a quirky example. Suppose I am an ant. Yes I said ant and not aunt. As a matter of fact I am the queen ant. Lately I have notice that my worker ants have been acting somewhat discontent with their jobs. I decide that I want to find out about job satisfaction in my hill. There are some many ants in my hill that it would be impossible for me ask all of them. So instead I ask 200 how they feel. I find that 99% of them are dissatisfied and would rather spend their time eating at the picnic rather than carrying the food back to me. In this example the population is the entire ant hill. The sample is the 200 ants surveyed. The statistic is the 99% dissatisfied. The parameter is the percent of the entire hill that is dissatisfied. This exact number is impossible to know since I cannot ask all the ants. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Read the following examples. Tell me the population, sample, parameter and statistic. I want to know how American voters will vote in the next upcoming election. I use an online poll and get 550 respondents. 52% of the respondents will vote republican. Population: Sample: Parameter: Statistic:

I want to know how many people in Fayette Co KY, recycle. I interview those people who live in the area codes 40504 and 40508. 74% of them recycle. Population: Sample: Parameter: Statistic:

I work at the Happy Candles, Candle Company, I want to know what the average amount of wax in each candle is. I take a random sample of 300 candles. I find the average amount of wax in the 300 candles is 32 oz. Population: Sample: Parameter: Statistic:

I work for the M&M company I want to know what the average number of red M&Ms in a large bag is. I take a random sample of 210 bags of M&Ms. I found that the average number of red M&Ms in a bag is 80. Population: Sample: Parameter: Statistic:

Critical Thinking Questions: 1. Give three reasons why taking a sample is necessary. (It may help to think about why asking/looking at the entire population is impossible/impractical) a.

b.

c.

2. Do you think you will get the same results if you take two samples from the same population. Why or Why not?

3. Ideally when we pick a sample we want it to reflect the population. What are some things that can interfere with that?