Lecture-13: Sampling Distributions

Prepared By: Mashfiqul Huq Chowdhury

September 18, 2020

Definitions

The main goal of inferential statistics is to make predictions on the value of

population parameters using a sample statistic.

• Parameter: A characteristic of a population. Example: Population mean (µ),

Population variance (σ 2 ), Population correlation coefficient (ρ).

• Statistic: A characteristic of the sample. Example: Sample mean (x̄), Sample

variance (s2 ), Sample correlation coefficient (r).

• Sampling Distributions: Statistics vary from sample to sample and hence are
random variables. The probability distributions for statistics are called sampling
distributions.

• Standard Error: The positive square root of the variance of a statistic is known
as standard error of the statistic.

Central Limit Theorem

If random samples of n observations are drawn from a non-normal population with

finite mean µ and standard deviation σ, then, when n is large, the sampling distribution of
the sample mean (x̄) is approximately normally distributed, with mean µ and standard
deviation √σn . The approximation becomes more accurate as n becomes large. The
approximation is exact for normal populations. Thus,
x̄ − µ
z= ∼ N (0, 1)
√σ
n

1
 Exercises

1. A population consist of N = 4 numbers: 2, 4, 6, 8.

(a) Find Population mean and Population variance.

(b) Draw a random sample of size n = 2 with replacement.
(c) Find the sampling distribution for the sample mean (x̄).
(d) Find E(x̄) and V (x̄)
σ2
(e) Show that E(x̄) = µ and V (x̄) = n
.
(f) Draw histogram of x̄ and comment of this distribution.

2. The average age of a vehicle registered in the United States is 8 years, or 96 months.
Assume the standard deviation is 16 months. If a random sample of 36 vehicles
is selected, find the probability that the mean of their age is between 90 and 100
months. Answer: The probability that the 36 vehicles selected have a mean age
between 90 and 100 months is 92.1%.

3. Assume that the mean systolic blood pressure of normal adults is 120 millimeters
of mercury (mm Hg) and the standard deviation is 5.6. Assume the variable is
normally distributed.

(a) If an individual is selected, find the probability that the individual’s pressure
will be between 120 and 121.8 mm Hg. Answer: 0.126
(b) If a sample of 30 adults is randomly selected, find the probability that the
mean systolic blood pressure will be between 120 and 121.8 mm Hg. Answer:
0.461