Chapter 6

Sampling
Distributions

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Known vs. unknown parameters

❑ Previously, we assumed that we knew the

probability distribution of a random variable,
and using this knowledge, we were able to
compute the mean, variance, and
probabilities associated with the random
variable.
❑ However, in most practical applications, this
information is not available.

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Known vs. unknown parameters

❑ In most situations, the true mean and

standard deviation are unknown quantities
that have to be estimated.
❑ Numerical quantities that describe
probability distributions are called
parameters.

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Definition

❑ Thus, 𝑝, the probability of a success in a

binomial experiment, and 𝜇 and 𝜎, the mean
and standard deviation, respectively, of a
normal distribution, are examples of
parameters.

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Definition

❑ We have also discussed the sample mean 𝑥,

sample variance 𝑠 2 , sample standard deviation 𝑠,
and the like, which are numerical descriptive
measures calculated from the sample.
❑ We will often use the information contained in
these sample statistics to make inferences about
the parameters of a population.

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Table 6.1

❑ Note that the term statistic refers to a sample

quantity and the term parameter refers to a
population quantity.

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 6.1
The Concept of a Sampling Distribution

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The Concept of a Sampling Distribution

❑ If we want to estimate a parameter of a

population—say, the population mean 𝜇—
we can use a number of sample statistics for
our estimate.
❑ Two possibilities are the sample mean 𝑥 and
the sample median 𝑀.
❑ Which of these do you think will provide a
better estimate of 𝜇?

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Figure 6.1 Comparing the sample mean ( x )
and sample median (M) as estimators of the
population mean ()

❑ This simple example illustrates an important point:

Neither the sample mean nor the sample median will
always fall closer to the population mean.
❑ Consequently, we cannot compare these two
sample statistics or, in general, any two sample
statistics on the basis of their performance with a
single sample
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The Concept of a Sampling Distribution

❑ Sample statistics are themselves random

variables because different samples can lead to
different values for the sample statistics.
❑ As random variables, sample statistics must be
judged and compared on the basis of their
probability distributions (i.e., the collection of
values and associated probabilities of each
statistic that would be obtained if the sampling
experiment were repeated a very large number of
times).
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Conceptual example

❑ Suppose it is known that the daily high temperature

recorded for all past months of January has a mean
𝜇 = 10 ˚𝐶 and a standard deviation 𝜎 = 5 ˚𝐶.
❑ The first sample of 25 temperature measurements
have a mean 𝑥 = 9.8, the second sample a mean
𝑥 = 11.4, the third sample a mean 𝑥 = 10.5, etc.
❑ If the sampling experiment were repeated a very
large number of times, the resulting histogram of
sample means would be approximately the
probability distribution of 𝑥.

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Definition

❑ If 𝑥 is a good estimator of 𝜇, we would expect the

values of 𝑥 to cluster around 𝜇 as shown in Figure
6.2.
❑ This probability distribution is called a sampling
distribution because it is generated by repeating a
sampling experiment a very large number of times.

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Figure 6.2 Sampling distribution for x
based on a sample of n = 25 temperature
measurements

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Figure 6.3 Two sampling distributions for
estimating the population variance 

❑ You would prefer

statistic A over statistic
B. You would do so
because the sampling
distribution for statistic
A centers over 𝑠 2 and
has less spread
(variation) than the
sampling distribution for
statistic B.

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Problem

❑ In a single toss of a fair coin, let 𝑥 equal the

number of heads observed. Now consider a
sample of 𝑛 = 2 tosses. Find the sampling
distribution of 𝑥, the sample mean.

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Solution

❑ For one coin toss, the result is either a head

(H) or tail (T).
❑ The value of 𝑥 is either 𝑥 = 1 or 𝑥 = 0.

❑ The four possible outcomes (sample points)

for two coin tosses and corresponding
probabilities are listed Table 6.2.
❑ Since a fair coin is tossed, these four
possible outcomes are equally likely.
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Table 6.2

❑ The value of 𝑥 for each outcome is also

listed in Table 6.2.
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Solution

❑ You can see that the values are either 0, .5,

or 1.

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Problem

❑ The rolling machine of a steel manufacturer produces sheets

of steel of varying thickness. The thickness of a steel sheet
follows a uniform distribution with values between 150 and
200 millimeters. Suppose we perform the following
experiment over and over again: Randomly sample 11 steel
sheets from the production line and record the thickness 𝑥 of
each. Calculate the two sample statistics
σ𝑥
❑ 𝑥 = Sample mean =
11
𝑀 = Median = Sixth sample measurement when the 11
❑
thicknesses are arranged in ascending order
❑ Find approximations to the sampling distributions of 𝑥 and 𝑀.
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Figure 6.4 Uniform distribution for thickness
of steel sheets

❑ The population of
thicknesses follows the
uniform distribution
shown in Figure 6.4.

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Table 6.4

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Figure 6.5 Histograms for sample mean
and sample median

❑ You can see that the values of 𝑥 tend to cluster around m to

a greater extent than do the values of 𝑀.
❑ Thus, on the basis of
the observed sampling
distributions, we
conclude that 𝑥
contains more
information about 𝜇
than 𝑀 does
—at least for samples
of 𝑛 = 11
measurements from
the uniform distribution.

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 6.2
Properties of Sampling Distributions:
Unbiasedness and Minimum Variance

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Definition

❑ For example, the sample mean 𝑥 is a point

estimator of the population mean 𝜇.
2
❑ Similarly, the sample variance 𝑠 is a point
estimator of the population variance 𝜎 2 .

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Figure 6.6 Sampling distributions of
unbiased and biased estimators

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Definition

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Figure 6.7 Sampling distributions for two
unbiased estimators

Naturally, we will
choose the
sample statistic
that has the
smaller standard
deviation.
Note: The standard deviation
of the sampling distribution of
a statistic is also called the
standard error of the
statistic.
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 6.3
_
The Sampling Distribution of x and the
Central Limit Theorem

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Figure 6.8 Sampled uniform population

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Figure 6.9 MINITAB histogram for sample
mean in 1,000 samples

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Definition

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Theorem

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Theorem

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Figure 6.10
Sampling
distributions
of x for
different
populations
and different
sample
sizes

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Sufficiently large samples have a sampling
distribution of 𝒙 that is approximately normal

❑ Generally speaking, the greater

the skewness of the sampled
population distribution, the larger
the sample size must be before
the normal distribution is an
adequate approximation to the
sampling distribution of 𝑥.
❑ For most sampled populations,
sample sizes of 𝑛 ≥ 30 will suffice
for the normal approximation to
be reasonable.

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 Figure 6.11 A population relative frequency
distribution and the sampling distribution for x

❑ Suppose we have selected a random sample of n = 36

observations from a population with mean equal to 80 and
standard deviation equal to 6. It is known that the population
is not extremely skewed.
❑ Sketch the relative frequency distributions for the population and for the
sampling distribution of the sample mean 𝑥.
❑ Find the probability that 𝑥 will be larger than 82.

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Figure 6.12 The sampling distribution of x

P(𝑥>82) = P(z>2) = .5 − .4772 = .0228

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Problem

❑ A manufacturer of automobile batteries claims that the

distribution of the lengths of life of its best battery has a
mean of 54 months and a standard deviation of 6 months.
Suppose a consumer group decides to check the claim by
purchasing a sample of 50 of the batteries and subjecting
them to tests that estimate the battery’s life.
❑ Assuming that the manufacturer’s claim is true, describe the
sampling distribution of the mean lifetime of a sample of 50
batteries.
❑ Assuming that the manufacturer’s claim is true, what is the
probability that the consumer group’s sample has a mean life of 52
or fewer months?

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Figure 6.13 The sampling distribution of x
in Example 6.9 for n = 50

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