MSN 518

Homework 3
Deadline 28/03/2021

1) Use your favourite software or coding language (e.g., Matlab, Phyton) to generate
three populations composed of random data sets obeying the following three
distributions; uniform, Gaussian, and exponential. Each data set should contain 105
elements. Plot these distributions. Then, calculate the mean and standard deviations
(SD) for each distribution.

2) Pick random samples of size N from your random populations (from each
distribution). Calculate the SD as a function of the sample size N (You need to vary N
between 1 and 1000 and plot the SD for each case).

3) Compare the SD of the population to the SDs of the samples for each distribution by
plotting the SD difference (i.e., the SD of population minus SD of a sample of size N).

4) Calculate the standard errors (SE) and plot them for each distribution as a function of
sample size N. Which distribution gives the best results in the terms SE’s
convergence?

• Note: In the your answer sheet, please add your codes and plots.