Mrs. Hampton’s class is studying the feeding habits of captive turtles in the community.
Which of these samples represents the best random sample for the study?
A.
some turtles at the local reptile zoo and some turtles kept as pets
B.
all the turtles found in science classrooms at the school
C.
every other turtle the class finds in the pond behind their school
D.
every third turtle that appears on the beach near the lake

Question

Mrs. Hampton’s class is studying the feeding habits of captive turtles in the community.
Which of these samples represents the best random sample for the study?
 A. 
some turtles at the local reptile zoo and some turtles kept as pets
 B. 
all the turtles found in science classrooms at the school
 C. 
every other turtle the class finds in the pond behind their school
 D. 
every third turtle that appears on the beach near the lake

Vocaloid · Answer

Thoughts? The study is seeking information on *captive* turtles. Choices C and D describe *wild* turtles so you can eliminate those. Between A and B which is more likely to be a random sample? (Ideally you don’t want to get all your subjects from the same source as that can lead to bias)