Session 7 : Sampling Distributions of Sample Means

Learning Competencies:
1. Illustrates random sampling.
2. Distinguishes between parameter and statistic.
3. Identifies sampling distributions of statistics (sample mean).

ENTRY CARD
A. Find the mean of the following sets of numbers.
Given Mean
2, 3, 8, 10, 4
6, 10, 9, 12, 4, 5
12, 2, 5, 7, 11, 8, 4
14, 10, 15, 14, 17, 19, 20
20, 22, 24, 18, 14, 25, 26, 28
B. Evaluate the following.
1. ❑5 C 3 2. ❑8 C 4 3. ❑9 C 6 4. ❑10 C 3 5. ❑12 C 8

It is a descriptive measure computed from a population.

It is a descriptive measure computed from a sample. This value is used as an estimate for
the population mean.

Activity 1 :
A population consists of the numbers 2, 4, 9, 10, and 5. List all samples of size 3 from this
population and compute the mean of each sample.

Sample Mean
2, 4, 9 5
2, 4, 10 5.33
2, 4, 5 3.67
2, 9, 10 7
2, 9, 5 5.33
2, 10, 5 5.67
4, 9, 10 7.67
4, 9, 5 6
4, 10, 5 6.33
9, 10, 5 8

There are 10 possible samples of size 3 that can be drawn from the given population.

The number of samples of size n that can be drawn from a population of size N is given by ❑N C n.

Make a frequency distribution of the sample means. This is called the sampling distribution of the
sample means which is a frequency distribution using the means computed from all possible random
samples of a specific size taken from a population.

Means vary from sample to sample. Thus, sample mean is a random variable which depends on
the particular sample and being a random variable, it has probability distribution.
Sampling Distribution of the Sample Means
Sample Mean ( )X f Probability P ( X )
3.67 1 1/10
5 1 1/10
5.33 2 2/10
5.67 1 1/10
6 1 1/10
 6.33 1 1/10
7 1 1/10
7.67 1 1/10
8 1 1/10
Total 10 1.00

The means of the samples are less than or greater than the mean of the population. The difference
between the sample mean and the population mean is called the sampling error. It is the error due to
sampling.

Draw histogram of the distribution. (x-axis is for the means, y-axis is for the probability)

Activity 2 : Drawing Cards

Samples of three cards are drawn at random from a population of four cards numbered 1 to 4.
a. How many possible samples can be drawn?
b. Construct the sampling distribution of sample means.
c. Construct a histogram of the sampling distribution of the means.

Steps in constructing the sample distribution of the means:

1. Determine the number of possible samples that can be drawn from the population.
2. List all possible samples and compute thee mean of each sample.
3. Construct a frequency distribution of the sample means obtained in step 2.

Exercises:
1. How many different samples of size n=3 can be selected from a population with the given size?
a. N=4 b. N=8 c. N=20 d. N=50

2. A population consists of five numbers 2, 3, 6, 8, and 11. Consider samples of size 2 that can be
drawn from this population.
a. List all possible samples and compute each mean.
b. Construct the sampling distribution of the sample means.
c. Draw a histogram of the sampling distribution of the means.

3. A group of students got the following scores in a test: 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21. Consider samples of
size 4 that can be drawn from this population.
a. List all possible samples and compute each mean.
b. Construct the sampling distribution of the sample means.
c. Draw a histogram of the sampling distribution of the means.