Populations and Sampling — Quiz Answers

An insurance company is trying to determine the number of phone calls made weekly while driving. Which best describes the population?

A supervisor wants to know the average number of hours worked by employees in a factory. There are 18 managers, 240 laborers, and 54 administrators. Three managers are chosen to participate in the survey. In order for the sample to accurately represent the population, about how many administrators should be chosen?

Emily wants to find out if the carpool line around her school causes too much traffic on neighborhood roads. Which is a valid sample for her survey?

A middle school contains sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Each grade level contains approximately the same number of students. The principal wants to find the answer to a survey question affecting each student in the school. He asks a sample group “What time do you get up in the morning?” Which of these characteristics define the best sample?

A teacher needs to find out how many seventh-grade students will be going on a field trip. Which best describes the population that the teacher should survey?

Zander wants to find out what the most popular sporting event is in the district’s high schools. He surveys a sample of the population. Under which condition is surveying a sample valid?

Residents in a neighborhood determine the approximate number of dandelions in each yard. Then, they treat some yards with a weed-killing substance. The residents want to answer the question “About how many dandelions are in your yard?” to determine the effectiveness of the weed killer. From which group would it be best to take a sample?

A population of middle school students contains 160 sixth graders, 180 seventh graders, and 140 eighth graders. Nine seventh graders were part of a random sample of the population chosen to participate in a survey. For the sample to accurately represent the population, about how many sixth graders should be chosen?

Amalie wants to know if students in her class prefer hot dogs or hamburgers. Why should Amalie survey the entire population rather than a sample of the population?

A camp counselor is trying to determine, of the places they have previously camped, where his campers’ favorite camping spots are. What is the population of the survey?