| Stat 250 Fall 1998 | Name ________________________________ |
| Activity #8: Sampling distributions | Student ID __ __ __ - __ __ - __ __ __ __ |
| Sheet 2 | Section # 1 2 |
| Random
Sample # |
Data | Sample Average | Sample Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ____ ____ ____ ____ | ||
| 2 | ____ ____ ____ ____ | ||
| 3 | ____ ____ ____ ____ | ||
| 4 | ____ ____ ____ ____ |
After you have completed the above, work with at least one other student in answering the following questions:
1. A probability distribution of a statistic, such as a sample
average, is called a sampling distribution. If we created
a histogram or dotplot of all of the class' above sample averages, what
do you think the shapes of the distributions would look like?
2. Again, a probability distribution of a statistic, such as a
sample maximum, is called a sampling distribution. If we created
a histogram or dotplot of all of the class' above sample maximums, what
do you think the shapes of the distributions would look like?
3. The average of all of the sample averages can be thought of
as the "mother of all averages." What do you think the average of
all of the class' sample averages will equal?
4. We can also calculate the standard deviation of all of the class' sample averages. When we take the standard deviation of sample averages, we call it standard error rather then standard deviation. Suppose the standard error is 3.25 for sample averages based on samples of 4 people. Do you think the standard error would increase, decrease, or stay the same if we instead took samples of, say, 16 people?