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078 Sampling-Distribution-Of-The-Sample-Mean

The document discusses using the central limit theorem to analyze sample data from a school's students. It indicates that a random sample of 200 students would allow the school to use the central limit theorem, as the sample size is large enough (>30) and random, but less than 10% of the total population. Smaller random samples or non-random samples would not meet the criteria to apply the central limit theorem.

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wissam
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54 views

078 Sampling-Distribution-Of-The-Sample-Mean

The document discusses using the central limit theorem to analyze sample data from a school's students. It indicates that a random sample of 200 students would allow the school to use the central limit theorem, as the sample size is large enough (>30) and random, but less than 10% of the total population. Smaller random samples or non-random samples would not meet the criteria to apply the central limit theorem.

Uploaded by

wissam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Topic: Sampling distribution of the sample mean

Question: A school finds that time spent studying for a test isn’t normally
distributed for their 2,800 students. They would like to use the central limit
theorem to normalize the data. Which sample allows them to use the
central limit theorem?

Answer choices:

A The school samples 300 students randomly

B The school samples 200 students randomly

C The school samples 200 students from honors classes

D The school samples 25 students randomly

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Solution: B

The random sample of 200 students will allow the school to use the central
limit theorem. The sample is random, less than 10 % of the population, and
greater than 30, so it’s large enough to normalize the data.

The other answer choices wouldn’t allow the school to use the central limit
theorem. Answer choice A samples more than 10 % of the population
which doesn’t maintain independence, answer choice B isn’t random
because selecting students in honors classes will skew the data, and
answer choice D doesn’t have a big enough sample because a sample size
smaller than 30 won’t normalize the data.

207
Topic: Sampling distribution of the sample mean

Question: A hospital finds that the average birth weight of a newborn is 7.5
lbs with a standard deviation of 0.4 lbs. The hospital randomly selects 45
newborns to test this claim. What is the standard deviation of the sampling
distribution?

Answer choices:

A σx̄ = 0.0596

B σx̄ = 1.118

C σx̄ = 0.0533

D σx̄ = 0.0089

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Solution: A

To find the standard deviation of the sampling distribution, we’ll plug


population standard deviation σ = 0.4 and the sample size n = 45 into the
formula for sample standard deviation.
σ
σx̄ =
n

0.4
σx̄ =
45

σx̄ = 0.0596

209
Topic: Sampling distribution of the sample mean

Question: A company produces tires in a factory. Individual tires are filled


to an approximate pressure of 36 PSI (pounds per square inch), with a
standard deviation of 0.8 PSI. The pressure in the tires is normally
distributed. The company randomly selects 125 tires to check their
pressure. What is the probability that the mean amount of pressure in the
tires is within 0.1 PSI of the population mean?

Answer choices:

A 8.38 %

B 91.62 %

C 71.55 %

D 83.24 %

210
Solution: D

To verify normality, our sample must be random, no more than 10 % of the


population, and (if the population is not normal) the sample size must be
greater than 30.

The sample was collected randomly. It’s safe to assume that 125 tires is
less than 10 % of the total tires produced in the factory. The population is
normal, so the sample size doesn’t have to be greater than 30, but 125 is
greater than 30 anyway. The sample space meets the conditions of
normality.

Find the standard deviation of the sampling distribution.


σ
σx̄ =
n

0.8
σx̄ =
125

σx̄ = 0.07155

We want to know the probability that the sample mean x̄ is within 0.1 PSI of
the population mean. We need to express 0.1 in terms of standard
deviations.

0.1
= 1.38
0.07155

This means we want to know the probability P(−1.38 < z < 1.38). Using a z-
table, a z-value of −1.38 gives 0.0838 and a z-value of 1.38 gives 0.9162. The
probability under the normal curve between these z-scores is

211
P(−1.38 < z < 1.38) = 0.9162 − 0.0838

P(−1.38 < z < 1.38) = 0.8324

P(−1.38 < z < 1.38) = 83.24 %

There’s an 83.24 % chance that our sample mean will fall within 0.1 PSI of
the population mean of 36 PSI.

212

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