Question

Which of the following sample sizes for a large number of samples taken from a population will result in the mean of the sample means most closely approximating the population mean?

A. 1
B. 9
C. 89
D. 19

Answer 1

how close do you think the mean would be if your sample was 1. how close to the mean would it be if your sample was the whole population?

Answer 2

Do I add them all up 1+9+89+19=118 and divide by 4=29.5 which is closest to D. 19. Is that how you solve this?

Answer 3

I don't think so, think of a question you could ask a population like, how many people in your household. if there is 1000 houses and you ask 1 person, is that enough information to make a guess about how many people in each house? what if you asked everyone? you would know for sure the average number of people in each house.

Answer 4

I think the question is worded poorly for what its worth

Answer 5

I don't think that would be enough information to just ask 1 person

Answer 6

I you asked everyone you could get an average by adding them all up and dividing by 1000 houses I think.

Answer 7

right, so asking 1000 houses would give a mean value = to the real mean value, what if you asked 999 houses? would that be close?

Answer 8

yes

Answer 9

why?

Answer 10

I don't think one house would make a big difference

Answer 11

so the idea the question is getting at is if you increase the number of samples, most of the time it will be closer to the real number. (not all the time, which is why i think its a bad question) but most of the time it is true that a higher number of samples is better.

Answer 12

I am a little confused as to what the answer would be then?

Answer 13

so if i had a 1000 houses and i asked 4 people to find the mean number of people in each house. the first guy asked one house, the second guy asks 9 houses, the third guy asks 19 people and the last guy asks 89 people. who do you think has the best guess?

Answer 14

89

Answer 15

yeah

Answer 16

Thanks for your help :)