Sampling and Sampling Distributions

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Chapter Seven
In the following multiple choice questions, circle the correct answer.
1.

The set of all elements of interest in a study is

a.
set notation
b.
a set of interest
c.
a sample
d.
a population
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

2.

A subset of a population selected to represent the population is

a.
a subset
b.
a sample
c.
a small population
d.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

3.

The purpose of statistical inference is to provide information about the

a.
sample based upon information contained in the population
b.
population based upon information contained in the sample
c.
population based upon information contained in the population
d.
mean of the sample based upon the mean of the population
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

4.

A random sample of size n from a finite population of size N is a sample selected

such that each possible sample of size
a.
N has the same probability of being selected
b.
n has a probability of 0.5 of being selected
c.
n has a probability of 0.1 of being selected
d.
n has the same probability of being selected
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

5.

The probability distribution of all possible values of the sample mean x is

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

the probability density function of x

the sampling distribution of x
the grand mean, since it considers all possible values of the sample mean
one, since it considers all possible values of the sample mean
None of the above answers is correct.

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ANSWER:

6.

The probability distribution of all possible values of the sample proportion

the

is

a.
probability density function of p
b.
sampling distribution of x
c.
same as p , since it considers all possible values of the sample proportion
d.
sampling distribution of p
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

Sampling and Sampling Distributions

7.

177

The point estimator with the smaller variance is said to have

a.
smaller relative efficiency
b.
greater relative efficiency
c.
smaller relative consistency
b.
greater relative consistency
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

8.

Convenience sampling is an example of

a.
probabilistic sampling
b.
stratified sampling
c.
nonprobabilistic sampling
d.
cluster sampling
e.
None of the above answers is correct
ANSWER: c

9.

Which of the following is an example of nonprobabilistic sampling?

a.
simple random sampling
b.
stratified simple random sampling
c.
cluster sampling
d.
judgment sampling
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

10.

Stratified random sampling is a method of selecting a sample in which

a.

the sample is first divided into strata, and then random samples are taken
from each stratum
b.
various strata are selected from the sample
c.
the population is first divided into strata, and then random samples are
drawn from each stratum
d.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c
11.

A population consists of 500 elements. We want to draw a simple random sample

of 50 elements from this population. On the first selection, the probability of an
element being selected is
a.
0.100
b.
0.010
c.
0.001
d.
0.002
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

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Chapter Seven

12.

The closer the sample mean is to the population mean,

a.
the larger the sampling error
b.
the smaller the sampling error
c.
Both a and b are correct, depending on the size of the population.
d.
All of the above answers are correct.
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

13.

Since the sample size is always smaller than the size of the population, the sample
mean must
a.
always be smaller than the population mean
b.
be larger than the population mean
c.
be equal to the population mean
d.
be zero
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: e

14.

As the sample size increases, the

a.
standard deviation of the population decreases
b.
population mean increases
c.
standard error of the mean decreases
d.
standard error of the mean increases
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

15.

A simple random sample from an infinite population is a sample selected such that
a.
each element selected comes from the same population
b.
each element is selected independently
c.
both a and b must be satisfied
d.
the probability of being selected changes
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

16.

A population consists of 8 items. The number of different simple random samples

of size 3 that can be selected from this population is
a.
24
b.
56
c.
512
d.
128
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

17.

In point estimation

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179

a.
data from the population is used to estimate the population parameter
b.
data from the sample is used to estimate the population parameter
c.
data from the sample is used to estimate the sample statistic
d.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b
18.

The sample statistic s is the point estimator of

a.

b.

x
c.
p
d.
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

19.

The sample mean is the point estimator of

a.

b.

x
c.
p
d.
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: a

20.

If we consider the simple random sampling process as an experiment, the sample

mean is
a.
always zero
b.
always smaller than the population mean
c.
a random variable
d.
exactly equal to the population mean
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

21.

The probability distribution of the sample mean is called the

a.
central probability distribution
b.
sampling distribution of the mean
c.
random variation
d.
standard error
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

22.

The expected value of the random variable x is

a.

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Chapter Seven
b.
the standard error
c.
the sample size
d.
the size of the population
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: e

23.

The standard deviation of all possible x values is called the

a.
standard error of proportion
b.
standard error of the mean
c.
mean deviation
d.
central variation
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

24.

In computing the standard error of the mean, the finite population correction factor
is not used when
a.
n/N 0.05
b.
N/n 0.05
c.
n/N 0.05
d.
n/N 30
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

25.

As the sample size becomes larger, the sampling distribution of the sample mean
approaches a
a.
binomial distribution
b.
Poisson distribution
c.
hypergeometric distribution
d.
chi-square distribution
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: e

26.

Whenever the population has a normal probability distribution, the sampling

distribution of x is a normal probability distribution
a.
for only large sample sizes
b.
for only small sample sizes
c.
for any sample size
d.
for only samples of size thirty or greater
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

27.

The sampling error is the

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181

a.
b.

same as the standard error of the mean

difference between the value of the sample mean and the value of the
population mean
c.
error caused by selecting a bad sample
d.
standard deviation multiplied by the sample size
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b
28.

A sample statistic is an unbiased estimator of the population parameter if

a.
b.
c.

the expected value of the sample statistic is equal to zero

the expected value of the sample statistic is equal to one
the expected value of the sample statistic is equal to the population
parameter
d.
All of the above answers are correct.
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c
29.

From a population of 200 elements, a sample of 49 elements is selected. It is

determined that the sample mean is 56 and the sample standard deviation is 14.
The standard error of the mean is
a.
3
b.
2
c.
greater than 2
d.
less than 2
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

30.

Which of the following is considered to be a more efficient estimator?

a.
sample median
b.
sample mode
c.
sample mean
d.
any measure of central location
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

31.

Which of the following sampling methods does not lead to probability samples?
a.
stratified sampling
b.
cluster sampling
c.
systematic sampling
d.
convenience sampling
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

32.

Which of the following is(are) point estimator(s)?

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Chapter Seven

a.

b.

c.
s
d.
All of the above answers are correct.
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c
33.

A probability distribution for all possible values of a sample statistic is known as a

a.
sample statistic
b.
parameter
c.
simple random sampling
d.
sampling distribution
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

34.

A population characteristic, such as a population mean, is called

a.
a statistic
b.
a parameter
c.
a sample
d.
the mean deviation
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

35.

A property of a point estimator that occurs whenever larger sample sizes tend to
provide point estimates closer to the population parameter is known as
a.
efficiency
b.
unbiased sampling
c.
consistency
d.
relative estimation
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

36.

A sample statistic, such as a sample mean, is known as

a.
a statistic
b.
a parameter
c.
the mean deviation
d.
the central limit theorem
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: a

37.

The standard deviation of a point estimator is called the

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183

a.
standard deviation
b.
standard error
c.
point estimator
d.
variance of estimation
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b
38.

A single numerical value used as an estimate of a population parameter is known as

a.
a parameter
b.
a population parameter
c.
both a or b are correct
d.
a point estimate
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

39.

The sample statistic, such as x , s, or

population parameter is known as

, that provides the point estimate of the

a.
a point estimator
b.
a parameter
c.
a population parameter
d.
both b and c are correct
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: a
40.

A theorem that allows us to use the normal probability distribution to approximate

the sampling distribution of sample means and sample proportions whenever the
sample size is large is known as the
a.
approximation theorem
b.
normal probability theorem
c.
central limit theorem
d.
central normality theorem
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

41.

A property of a point estimator that occurs whenever the expected value of the
point estimator is equal to the population parameter it estimates is known as
a.
consistency
b.
the expected value
c.
the estimator
d.
unbiasedness
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

42.

A simple random sample of 64 observations was taken from a large population.

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Chapter Seven
The sample mean and the standard deviation were determined to be 320 and 120
respectively. The standard error of the mean is
a.
1.875
b.
40
c.
5
d.
15
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

43.

The number of random samples (without replacement) of size 3 that can be drawn
from a population of size 5 is
a.
15
b.
10
c.
20
d.
125
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: b

44.

Random samples of size 81 are taken from an infinite population whose mean and
standard deviation are 200 and 18, respectively. The distribution of the population
is unknown. The mean and the standard error of the mean are
a.
200 and 18
b.
81 and 18
c.
9 and 2
d.
200 and 2
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

45.

A population has a mean of 80 and a standard deviation of 7. A sample of 49

observations will be taken. The probability that the sample mean will be larger
than 82 is
a.
0.5228
b.
0.9772
c.
0.4772
d.
0.0228
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

46.

A population has a mean of 180 and a standard deviation of 24. A sample of 64

observations will be taken. The probability that the sample mean will be between
183 and 186 is
a.
b.

0.1359
0.8185

Sampling and Sampling Distributions

185

c.
0.3413
d.
0.4772
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: a
47.

Random samples of size 525 are taken from an infinite population whose
population proportion is 0.3. The standard deviation of the sample proportions
(i.e., the standard error of the proportion) is
a.
0.0004
b.
0.2100
c.
0.3000
d.
0.0200
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: d

48.

A sample of 400 observations will be taken from an infinite population. The

population proportion equals 0.8. The probability that the sample proportion will
be greater than 0.83 is
a.
0.4332
b.
0.9332
c.
0.0668
d.
0.5668
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

49.

A random sample of 121 bottles of cologne showed an average content of 4

ounces. It is known that the standard deviation of the contents (i.e., of the
population) is 0.22 ounces. The standard error of the mean equals
a.
0.3636
b.
0.0331
c.
0.0200
d.
4.000
e.
None of the above answers is correct.
ANSWER: c

50.

A random sample of 121 bottles of cologne showed an average content of 4

ounces. It is known that the standard deviation of the contents (i.e., of the
population) is 0.22 ounces. The point estimate of the mean content of the bottles
is
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

0.22
4
121
0.02
None of the above answers is correct.

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ANSWER: