Mathematics

Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

LESSON 7.2
Sampling Distribution of the Sample Mean
(when the Variance is Unknown)
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Test Your Prerequisite Skills 2

DepEd Competency 2

Objectives 3

Warm-Up! 3

Learn about It! 4

Let’s Practice 5

Check Your Understanding 10

Key Points 11

Bibliography 12
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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

Lesson 7.2
Sampling Distribution of the Sample
Mean (when the Variance is Unknown)

Fig. 1. A Band

Introduction
It is undeniable that technology has developed drastically over the years. One notable thing
that technology brought is the use of streaming sites, which paved the way for some aspiring
artists to fame and gained some monetary gains through the advertisements on the
streaming sites.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

In this lesson, you will discover how relevant the sampling distribution of the mean is in
determining the analytics of these streaming sites, as well as what other industries might
benefit from this concept.

Test Your Prerequisite Skills

Before you get started, answer the following items on a separate sheet of paper. This will help
you assess your prior knowledge and practice some skills that you will need in studying this
lesson. Show your complete solution.

1. Solve for the mean and variance of the following sets of numbers.
a. 26, 28, 38, 23, 22, 30
b. 3, 9, 5, 1, 5, 7, 2, 8, 9, 10
c. 129, 164, 192, 132, 167, 149
d. 59, 62, 58, 61, 60

DepEd Competency
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to define the sampling distribution of
the sample mean for normal population when the variance is: (b) unknown
(M11/12SP-IIIe-1).

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Accurately differentiate a sample variance from a population variance.

● Correctly solve for the mean, variance, and standard deviation of the
sampling distribution of the sample mean when the population variance
is unknown.

Warm-Up!

The Mean is Sinking!

Materials
● pen
● paper
● fishbowl or any container

Instructions
1. This activity will be done as a class.
2. Each student will choose a random integer from 1 to 5. No one may change
numbers during the activity.
3. Form groups with four members each. For each group, determine the mean of the
integers of the members. Write this mean on a piece of paper and place it on the
fishbowl.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

4. Form new groups with four members each. Make sure that no one is in the same
group as the previous one. Determine the mean of the group. Write down the
mean on a piece of paper and place it on the fishbowl.
5. For the last time, form new groups with four members each. Make sure that no
one is in the same group as the previous two groups. Determine the mean of the
group. Write down the mean on a piece of paper and place it on the fishbowl.
6. Collect all the means from the fishbowl. Arrange the means in order and construct
a frequency distribution table of the means. What do you notice in the frequency
distribution?

Learn about It!

In Warm Up!, you may have noticed that there are many possible samples of size 4 from your
class. The different groupings that you had may not have covered all the possible samples of
your class. The activity illustrates how the sample mean varies using different samples.

In the previous lesson, we learned the relationship between the population parameters and
the parameters of the sampling distribution of the sample mean of a normally distributed
population. That is, given a sample size, we can solve for the mean and standard deviation of
the sampling distribution of the sample mean if we know the population mean and
population standard deviation. However, in most applications, the population standard
deviation 𝜎 is unknown. In these cases, we can use the sample standard deviation 𝑠 instead.

If a population is normally distributed and the population standard deviation is unknown, the
variance 𝜎𝑋̅ 2 of the sampling distribution of the sample mean is estimated by

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

𝑠2
𝜎𝑋̅ 2 =
𝑛

where 𝑠 2 is a sample variance, which is an unbiased estimate of 𝜎 2 , and 𝑛 is the sample size.

Moreover, the standard deviation 𝜎𝑋̅ of the sampling distribution of the sample mean is
estimated by

𝑠
𝜎𝑋̅ =
√𝑛

Essential Questions
How does the sampling distribution of the sample mean differ when the
population variance is known and when it is unknown?

Let’s Practice
Example 1
Given a normally distributed set of data with mean 𝜇 = 45 and a sample standard deviation
𝑠 = 3, what is the mean and standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean with a sample size of 81?

Solution
Step 1: Determine the mean of the sampling distribution of the sample mean.

Since the given population is normally distributed, the mean of the sampling
distribution of the sample mean is equal to the population mean. Thus, 𝜇𝑋̅ =
𝜇 = 45.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

Step 2: Determine the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean.

Since the given population is normally distributed and the population standard
deviation is unknown, we will use the given sample standard deviation to
estimate the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean.

𝑠
𝜎𝑋̅ =
√𝑛
3
=
√81
1
= ≈ 0.33
3

Thus, the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample mean
is approximately 𝟎. 𝟑𝟑.

Try It Yourself!
Given a normally distributed set of data with mean 𝜇 = 150 and a sample standard
deviation 𝑠 = 10, what is the mean and standard deviation of the sampling
distribution of the sample mean with a sample size of 100?

Example 2
Given a normally distributed set of data with a sample standard deviation 𝑠 = 20, estimate
the variance of the sampling distribution of the sample mean with a sample size of 200.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

Solution
Step 1: Determine a sample variance.

We can use the given sample standard deviation in the problem to determine
a sample variance. Since 𝑠 = 20, we have 𝑠 2 = 400.

Step 2: Determine the variance of the sampling distribution of the sample mean.

Since the given population is normally distributed and the population variance
is unknown, we will use the sample variance from Step 1 to estimate the
variance of the sampling distribution of the sample mean.

𝑠2
𝜎𝑋2̅ =
𝑛
400
=
200
=2

Thus, the variance of the sampling distribution of the sample mean is 𝟐.

Try It Yourself!
Given a normally distributed set of data with mean with a sample standard deviation 𝑠 =
10, estimate the variance of the sampling distribution of the sample mean with a sample
size of 10.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

Example 3
If the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample mean of a normally
distributed set of data is estimated by 𝜎𝑋̅ = 5 using the sample variance 𝑠 2 = 100, determine
the sample size of the sampling distribution.

Solution
Since the given population is normally distributed and the population standard deviation is
unknown, we can estimate the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean using a sample standard deviation.

Since the given sample variance is 𝑠 2 = 100, we have the sample standard deviation
𝑠 = 10.

𝑠
𝜎𝑋̅ =
√𝑛
𝑠
√𝑛 =
𝜎𝑋̅
10
√𝑛 =
5
𝑛=4

Thus, the sample size of the sampling distribution of the sample mean is 𝟒.

Try It Yourself!
If the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample mean of a normally
distributed set of data is estimated by 𝜎𝑋̅ = 2 using the sample variance 𝑠 2 = 36, determine
the sample size of the sampling distribution.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

Essential Questions
How will you interpret the mean of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean?

Real-World Problems
Example 4
The weight of mangoes in a certain plantation follows a normal
distribution with mean 𝜇 = 210 g. Using a sample standard deviation
of 40 g, determine the mean and standard deviation of the sampling
distribution of the sample mean of the weight of mangoes with a
sample size of 64.

Solution
Step 1: Determine the mean of the sampling distribution of the sample mean.

Since the given population is normally distributed, the mean of the sampling
distribution of the sample mean is equal to the population mean. Thus, 𝜇𝑋̅ =
𝜇 = 210 g.

Step 2: Determine the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean.

Since the given population is normally distributed and the population standard
deviation is unknown, the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of
the sample mean can be estimated using the sample standard deviation.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

𝑠
𝜎𝑋̅ =
√𝑛
40
=
√64
=5

Thus, the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample mean
is estimated at 𝟓 g.

Try It Yourself!
The weekly view count of music videos of a Filipino band
follows a normal distribution with mean 𝜇 = 3 000 views.
Using a sample standard deviation of 1 000 views,
determine the mean and standard deviation of the
sampling distribution of the sample mean of the views
with a sample size of 100.

Check Your Understanding

A. Solve the following.

1. Given a normally distributed set of data with mean 𝜇 = 10 and a sample standard
deviation 𝑠 = 4, what is the mean and standard deviation of the sampling
distribution of the sample mean with a sample size of 36?

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

2. Given a normally distributed set of data with mean 𝜇 = 50 and a sample standard
deviation 𝑠 = 20, what is the mean and standard deviation of the sampling
distribution of the sample mean with a sample size of 49?

3. Given a normally distributed set of data with mean 𝜇 = 45 and a sample standard
deviation 𝑠 = 50, what is the mean and standard deviation of the sampling
distribution of the sample mean with a sample size of 121?

B. Determine the population mean 𝜇 and sample standard deviation 𝑠 used given the
following information about the sampling distribution of the sample mean of a
normally distributed population whose population standard deviation is unknown.
1. 𝜇𝑋̅ = 105, 𝜎𝑋̅ = 10, 𝑛 = 90
2. 𝜇𝑋̅ = 1, 𝜎𝑋̅ = 0.1, 𝑛 = 4
3. 𝜇𝑋̅ = 20, 𝜎𝑋̅ = 2, 𝑛 = 50

Key Points

• The variance of the sampling distribution of the sample mean, also called the
sampling variability, shows how the sample mean varies from sample to sample.
o If the population is normally distributed and the population standard deviation
is unknown, the variance of the sampling distribution of the sample mean is
𝑠2
estimated by 𝜎𝑥̅ 2 = 𝑛
, where 𝑠 2 is the sample variance, which is an unbiased

estimate of 𝜎 2 , and 𝑛 is the sample size.

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Grade 11 • Unit 7: The Central Limit Theorem

• The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample mean, also
called the standard error, is used to measure the accuracy with which the sample
represents the population.
o If the population is normally distributed and the population standard deviation
is unknown, the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
𝑠
mean is estimated by 𝜎𝑥 = .
√𝑛

Bibliography
Batanero, Carmen and Manfred Borovcnik. Statistics and Probability in High School. USA:
Springer, 2016.

Khan, Salman. “Central Limit Theorem.” Khan Academy. Retrieved 27 July 2019 from
https://bit.ly/2YzqSgQ

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