Lesson 14: Sampling in a Fair Way | Unit 8: Probability and Sampling

Multiple Choice

The meat department manager at a grocery store is worried some of the packages of ground beef labeled as having one pound of meat may be under-filled. He decides to take a sample of 5 packages from a shipment containing 100 packages of ground beef. The packages were numbered as they were put in the box, so each one has a different number between 1 and 100. Describe how the manager can select a fair sample of 5 packages.

• Select 5 packages from the first 5 in the shipment.
• Choose every 20th package starting from the first one.
• Take the last 5 packages in the box.
• Select 5 unique random numbers between 1 and 100 to identify the packages.

Multiple Select

Select **all** the reasons why random samples are preferred over other methods of getting a sample.

• If you select a random sample, you can determine how many people you want in the sample.

• If a random sample is selected, the desired number of people in the sample can be determined.

• A random sample is likely to give a sample that is representative of the population.

• A random sample is a fair way to select a sample because each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

• If a random sample is used, the sample mean will always be the same as the population mean.

Open Ended

Jada is using a computer’s random number generator to produce 6 random whole numbers between 1 and 100 so she can use a random sample. The computer produces the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Should she use these numbers or have the computer generate a new set of random numbers? Explain your reasoning.

Open Ended

Diego wants to survey a sample of students at his school to learn about the percentage of students who are satisfied with the food in the cafeteria. He decides to go to the cafeteria on a Monday and ask the first 25 students who purchase a lunch at the cafeteria if they are satisfied with the food. Do you think this is a good way for Diego to select his sample? Explain your reasoning.