Chapter 6

Sampling Distributions

A sampling distribution is the probability distribution of a sample

statistic that is formed when samples of size n are repeatedly taken
from a population.
 6.1 Populations and Samples
Population Sample
Size N n
Mean μ �
𝒙𝒙
St. dev. σ S

Sample Sample
Sample
Sample Sample
Sample
Population Sample
Sample

Sample Sample
 Sampling Distributions

If the sample statistic is the sample mean, then the distribution is the
sampling distribution of sample means.

Sample 3
Sample 1 x3 Sample 6
Sample 4
x4 x1 Sample 5 Sample 2
x6
x5 x2

The sampling distribution consists of the values of the sample

means, x1 , x 2 , x 3 , x 4 , x 5 , x 6 .
6.2 The Sampling Distribution of the Mean
(σ known)

Properties of Sampling Distributions of Sample Means

1. The mean of the sample means, μx , is equal to the population
mean. μx = μ
2. The standard deviation of the sample means,σ x , is equal to the
population standard deviation, σ , divided by the square root of n.

σ x =σ
n
The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
means is called the standard error of the mean.
 The Central Limit Theorem
If a sample of size n ≥ 30 is taken from a population with any type of
distribution that has a mean = µ and standard deviation = σ,

x x
µ µ
the sample means will have a normal distribution.
xx
x x
x x x
x x x x x x
µ
 The Central Limit Theorem
If the population itself is normally distributed , with mean = µ
and standard deviation = σ,

x
µ
the sample means will have a normal distribution for any
sample size n.
xx
x x
x x x
x x x x x x
µ
 The Central Limit Theorem

In either case, the sampling distribution of sample means has a mean

equal to the population mean.
μx = μ Mean of the sample
means
The sampling distribution of sample means has a standard deviation
equal to the population standard deviation divided by the square root
σ x𝑥𝑥̅ = σ
of n.
Standard deviation of the sample
n means
This is also called the standard
error of the mean.
 Example 1

The heights of fully grown magnolia bushes have a mean height of 8

feet and a standard deviation of 0.7 feet. 38 bushes are randomly
selected from the population, and the mean of each sample is
determined. Find the mean and standard error of the mean of the
sampling distribution.
Standard deviation
Mean (standard error)
μx = μ σx = σ
n
= 8
0.7
= = 0.11
38
Continued.
 Example 1 (Cont.)

The mean of the sampling distribution is 8 feet ,and the standard

error of the sampling distribution is 0.11 feet.

From the Central Limit Theorem,

because the sample size is greater than
30, the sampling distribution can be x
approximated by the normal 7.6 8 8.4
distribution. μx = 8 σ x = 0.11
 Example 1 (Cont.)
Find the probability that the mean height of the 38 bushes is less than
7.8 feet.
μx = 8 n = 38
σ x = 0.11
x − μx
z=
P ( x< 7.8) σx
x
7.6 8 8.4 7.8 − 8
=
7.8 0.11
z
0 = −1.82
P (z < −1.82 ) = 0.0344
The probability that the mean height of the 38 bushes is less than 7.8
feet is 0.0344.
Continued.
 Example 2 (page 185)
If a 1-gallon can of paint covers on the average 513.3
square ft., with a standard deviation of 31.5 square ft.,
what is the probability that the sample mean area covered
by a sample of 40 of these 1-gallon cans will be between
510 and 520 square ft.?

P (510< x < 520)

P(510 < x< 520) = P(−0.66 < z < 1.34)

= F(1.34) − F(−0.66) = 0.9099 – 0.2546 =

-0.66
0.6553

510 − 513.3 520 − 513.3

𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒, 𝑧𝑧1 = = −0.66 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑧𝑧2 = = 1.34
31.5 31.5
√40 40
 6.3 The Sampling Distribution of the Mean
(σ unknown)

When a sample size is less than 30, and the random variable x is approximately
normally distributed, it follow a t-distribution.
t =x −μ
s
n
Properties of the t-distribution
1. The t-distribution is bell shaped and symmetric about the mean.
2. The t-distribution is a family of curves, each determined by a
parameter called the degrees of freedom. The degrees of freedom are
the number of free choices left after a sample statistic such as x is
calculated. When you use a t-distribution to estimate a population
mean, the degrees of freedom are equal to one less than the sample
size.
d.f. (𝜈𝜈) = n – 1 Degrees of freedom
 The t - Distribution
3. The total area under a t-curve is 1 or 100%.
4. The mean, median, and mode of the t-distribution are equal to zero.
5. As the degrees of freedom increase, the t-distribution approaches the
normal distribution. After 30 d.f., the t-distribution is very close to
the standard normal z-distribution.

The tails in the t-distribution are

“thicker” than those in the standard
normal distribution.
d.f. = 2
d.f. = 5
t
0
Standard normal curve
 Example (Ex. 6.21 page 191)
The following is the time taken (in minutes) for an ambulance in a certain city
and the patient's arrival at the hospital in 6 calls: 27, 15, 20, 32, 18, and 26. Use
these figures to judge the reasonableness of ambulance service's claim that it
takes 20 minutes on average between the call for an ambulance and the patient's
arrival at the hospital. Assume normality.

∑ 𝑥𝑥 ∑(𝑥𝑥𝑖𝑖 − 𝑥𝑥)̅ 2
𝑥𝑥̅ = = 23 , 𝑠𝑠 = = 6.39
𝑛𝑛 𝑛𝑛 − 1

̅ 𝜇𝜇
𝑥𝑥− 23−20
𝑡𝑡 = = 6.39 = 1.15 → ν = 5. Then from Table (4) we find
𝑠𝑠/√𝑛𝑛
6
that →
𝑡𝑡 = 1.15 ; 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡0.1 = 1.476 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝜈𝜈 = 5,
So the data fail to reject the claim.
 6.4 The Sampling Distribution of the
Variance

The point estimate for σ 2 is s2, and the point estimate for σ is s. s2
is the most unbiased estimate for σ 2.
You can use the chi-square distribution to construct a confidence interval
for the variance and standard deviation.

If the random variable x has a normal distribution, then the

distribution of
2 (n − 1)s 2
χ =
σ
2

forms a chi-square distribution for samples of any size n > 1.

 The Chi-Square Distribution
Four properties of the chi-square distribution are as follows.
1. All chi-square values χ2 are greater than or equal to zero.
2. The chi-square distribution is a family of curves, each determined by the
degrees of freedom. To form a confidence interval for σ2, use the χ2-
distribution with degrees of freedom. To form a confidence interval for σ2,
use the χ2-distribution with degrees of freedom equal to one less than the
sample size.αThe area under each curve of the chi-square distribution
equals one.
3. Chi-square distributions are positively skewed.
 Example (page 190)
An optical firm purchases glass to be ground into lenses, and it is known from
past experience that the variance of refractive index of this kind of glass is
1.26*10-4. As it is important that the various pieces of glass have nearly the same
index of refraction, the firm rejects such a shipment if the sample variance of 20
pieces selected at random exceeds 2.0*10-4 . Assuming that normal population,
what is that a shipment will be rejected even σ2 = 1.26*10-4 ?

2 (n − 1)s 2 (20 − 1)2 ∗ 10−4

χ = = = 30.2
σ2 1.26 ∗ 10 −4
 Example page 190 (Cont.)
𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 5 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎,
for ν = 19, χ20.95 = χ20.05 = 30.14.
Thus the probability that a good
shipment will be rejected is less
than 0.05.