IT 403 Practice Problems (5-1) – Chapter 5: Sampling Distributions (§5.1-§5.

2) – Answers

#1. Suppose a population can be described with a Normal distribution with 𝜇𝜇=20 and 𝜎𝜎=1.1.
In this example, 𝜇𝜇 is a

a. statistic.
b. parameter.
c. distribution.

ANSWER: b (parameter)

#2. A survey is conducted of 300 likely voters. The proportion, 𝑝𝑝 ̂=.52, for a particular candidate is an example of

a. statistic.
b. parameter.
c. distribution.

ANSWER: a (static)

#3. Interest is in estimating a population mean. Which of the following sample sizes would have the lowest
variability in the sampling distribution?

a. 10
b. 100
c. 1000

ANSWER: c (1000)

#4. [Exercise 5.4, p. 289] Radio talk shows often report opinion polls based on tens of thousands of listeners.
These sample sizes are typically much larger than those used in opinion polls that incorporate probability
sampling. Does a larger sample size mean more trustworthy results? Explain your answer.

ANSWER: Only if the sampling is done randomly.

#5. [Exercise 5.18, p. 297] Compute the mean and standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean when you plan to take an SRS of size 64 from a population with mean 44 and standard deviation 16.
𝜎𝜎 16
ANSWER: 𝜇𝜇𝑥𝑥̅ = 𝜇𝜇 = 44. 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥̅ = = = 2.
√𝑛𝑛 √64

#6. [Exercise 5.19, p. 297] In the setting of the previous exercise, repeat the calculations for a sample size of 576.
Explain the effect of the sample size increase on the mean and standard deviation of the sampling distribution.
𝜎𝜎 16
ANSWER: 𝜇𝜇𝑥𝑥̅ = 𝜇𝜇 = 44. 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥̅ = = = 0.667. When the sample size increases, the mean of the sampling
√𝑛𝑛 √576
distribution remains the same, but the standard deviation of the sampling distribution decreases.

#7. A population distribution has a mean of 100 and variance of 16. The standard deviation of the sampling
distribution with a sample of size 25 would be:
 a. 0.64.
b. 4.
c. 0.8.

16 4
ANSWER: c (0.8) = � = = 0.8
25 5

#8. [Exercise 5.20, p. 298] You take an SRS of size 64 from a population with mean 82 and standard deviation 24.
According to the central limit theorem, what is the approximate sampling distribution of the sample mean? Use
the 95 part of the 68–95–99.7 rule to describe the variability of x-bar.
𝜎𝜎 24 24
ANSWER: With n = 64, 𝜇𝜇𝑥𝑥̅ = 𝜇𝜇 = 82, 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥̅ = = = = 3. So by the Central Limit Theorem, sample means
√𝑛𝑛 √64 8
are normally distributed with distribution 𝑁𝑁(82, 3). By the 95 part of the 68-95-99.7 rule, about 95% of all
samples will have mean 𝑥𝑥̅ within two standard deviations of µ, that is within +/- 6 of 82.

#9. [Exercise 5.21, p. 299] In the setting of Exercise 5.20, suppose that we increase the sample size to 2304. Use
the 95 part of the 68–95–99.7 rule to describe the variability of this sample mean. Compare your results with
those you found in Exercise 5.20.
𝜎𝜎 24 24
ANSWER: With n = 2304, 𝜇𝜇𝑥𝑥̅ = 𝜇𝜇 = 82, 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥̅ = = = = 0.5. So by the Central Limit Theorem, sample
√𝑛𝑛 √2304 48
means are normally distributed with distribution 𝑁𝑁(82, 0.5). About 95% of all samples will have mean 𝑥𝑥̅ within
two standard deviations of µ, that is within +/- 0.5 of 82. With the larger sample size, the standard deviation
decreased.

#10. Incomes in a certain town are strongly right-skewed with mean $36,000 and standard deviation $7000. A
random sample of 75 households is taken. What is the standard deviation of the sample mean?

a. $808.29
b. $93.33
c. $7000
𝜎𝜎 7000 7000
ANSWER: a ($808.29) 𝜎𝜎𝑥𝑥̅ = = = = 808.31.
√𝑛𝑛 √75 8.66

#11. Incomes in a certain town are strongly right-skewed with mean $36,000 and standard deviation $7000. A
random sample of 75 households is taken. What is the probability that the sample mean is greater than
$37,000?

a. 0.4432
b. 0.1080
c. 0

ANSWER: b (0.1080.. close enough)

3700−3600
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋� > 3700) = 1 − 𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋� ≤ 3700) = 1 − 𝑃𝑃 �𝑍𝑍 ≤ � = 1 − 𝑃𝑃(𝑍𝑍 ≤ 1.24) = 1 − 0.8925 = 0.1075
808.31

#12. The contents of bottles of beer are Normally distributed with a mean of 300 ml and a standard deviation of
5 ml.

What is the probability that the contents of an individual bottle exceeds 303 ml?
 a. 0.1743
b. 0.2743
c. 0.3714

ANSWER: b (0.2743)

Note that this question is asking about the value of X, not the sample mean.
303 − 300
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 > 303) = 1 − 𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋 ≤ 303) = 1 − 𝑃𝑃 �𝑍𝑍 ≤ � = 1 − 𝑃𝑃(𝑍𝑍 ≤ 0.6) = 1 − 0.7257 = 0.2743
5
#13. The contents of bottles of beer are Normally distributed with a mean of 300 ml and a standard deviation of
5 ml.

What is the probability that the total contents of a six-pack exceed 1776 ml?

a. 0.9750
b. 0.1876
c. 0.3348

ANSWER: a (0.9750)

Note that this question is asking about the total content consisting of 6 bottles.
1776
First the sample mean 𝑋𝑋� = = 296. So
6

296 − 300 −4
𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋� > 296) = 1 − 𝑃𝑃(𝑋𝑋� ≤ 296) = 1 − 𝑃𝑃 �𝑍𝑍 ≤ � = 1 − 𝑃𝑃 �𝑍𝑍 ≤ � = 1 − 𝑃𝑃(𝑍𝑍 ≤ −1.96)
5 5
√6 2.45
= 1 − 0.0250 = 0.9750

#14. The contents of bottles of beer are Normally distributed with a mean of 300 ml and a standard deviation of
5 ml.

There is a 6.3% chance that the average contents of a six-pack will exceed how many ml?

a. 301.11
b. 302.12
c. 303.12

ANSWER: c (303.12)

Since the contents of bottles of beer are normally distributed, we can use the standard normal table to derive X
(ml). The z-score k where P(Z < k) = 0.937 is 1.53. So we derive the X value as
5
300 + (1.53) ∙ � � = 300 + (1.53) ∙ (2.04) = 300 + 3.12 = 303.12.
√6

#15. The contents of bottles of beer are Normally distributed with a mean of 300 ml and a standard deviation of
5 ml.

What is the probability that the contents of an individual bottle will be between 294 ml and 306 ml?

a. 0.5392
 b. 0.8419
c. 0.7698

ANSWER: c (0.7698)

Note that this question is asking about X, the content of an individual bottle, NOT X-bar.
294 − 300 306 − 300
𝑃𝑃(294 < 𝑋𝑋 < 306) = 𝑃𝑃 � < 𝑍𝑍 < � = 𝑃𝑃(−1.2 < 𝑍𝑍 < 1.2) = 0.7698.
5 5

#16. The contents of bottles of beer are Normally distributed with a mean of 300 ml and a standard deviation of
5 ml.

What is the probability that the total contents of a six-pack will be between 1758 ml and 1842 ml?

a. 0.9994
b. 0.9996
c. 0.9998

ANSWER: a (0.9994)

Note that this question is answered by the average of the 6 bottles, thus X-bar.

293 − 300 307 − 300

𝑃𝑃(293 < 𝑋𝑋� < 307) = 𝑃𝑃 � < 𝑍𝑍 < � = 𝑃𝑃(−3.43 < 𝑍𝑍 < 3.43) = 0.9994.
5 5
√6 √6