Suppose the population mean of a sample of the nest counts is 28 examples of 6" - 9" nestlings with a standard deviation of 3. Which of the following would be a reasonable inference to make about the sample?
The population and the sample statistics should be the same.

The population statistics over-counted the number of nestlings.

The sample represents the population.

The sample undercounts the population of nestlings.

Question

Suppose the population mean of a sample of the nest counts is 28 examples of 6" - 9" nestlings with a standard deviation of 3. Which of the following would be a reasonable inference to make about the sample?
The population and the sample statistics should be the same.

The population statistics over-counted the number of nestlings.

The sample represents the population.

The sample undercounts the population of nestlings.

mww · Answer

C would be the safest answer. While it is true the mean of sample means in the same as the true population mean (see Central Limit theorem), the standard deviation is not the same. It is given by population SD / sqrt(n), thus the variance is smaller for very large values of n. http://www.stat.yale.edu/Courses/1997-98/101/sampmn.htm