Populations & Samples

The manager of a book store surveys people who buy mystery novels to see if the store should expand its hours.  What is the population?

• People who visit the bookstore.
• People who buy mystery novels.
• Residents of the town
• People who like to read.

A student surveys mathematics teachers at her school to get their opinion on teaching.  What is the sample?

• All teachers in the world.

• All teachers within the school.

• All mathematics  teachers in the school.

• All teachers except mathematics teachers.

A computer manufacturer surveys its customers who purchased laptop computers to ask what software the company should include with its computer.  Identify the population.

• Customers who purchased laptop computers.
• Customers of the store.
• Customers who are interested in software.
• Computer manufacturers

A music store gives comment cards to all members of its Jazz Club to find out about satisfaction with the club's features.  Identify the sample.

• People who play instruments.
• All music store customers except Jazz Club members.
• All music store customers
• Jazz Club members

A new cable TV station wants to study the viewing habits of households.  The station surveys every household that purchased a new TV within the last 2 years in New York.  Is this random sampling?

• Yes
• No

A U.S. senator from Maine wants to find out the opinion of the voters in his state on issues concerning education.  The office of the senator sends out a survey to every 10th registered voter in Maine.  Is this random sampling?

• Yes

• No

True or False: all samples lead to a good prediction about an entire population.

• True
• False

Ana wants to know the average student’s opinion of the tardy policy at her school. Which group of students should she survey in order to achieve the most accurate results?

• thirty students who are often tardy
• thirty students who are rarely tardy
• thirty of her friends
• thirty randomly selected students from her school

A beverage company wanted to see if people in the United States liked their new logo. Which choice best represents a population?

• A selection of logo artists.

• Every person in the United States.

• A selection of shoppers from different states.

• 3,800 children age 5 - 15

A local candle store surveys 50 customers to find out their opinion on a new scented candle. The customers were chosen randomly from the store mailing list.

Is this sampling method random?

• Yes

• No