Finding the Mean and

Variance of the Sampling

Distribution of Means
LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

• Find the mean and variance of the sampling distribution

of the sample means; and
• State and explain the Central Limit Theorem
Starting point

You have learned how to find the mean and variance of

a frequency distribution and probability distribution. In
this lesson, you will learn how to find the mean and
variance of a sampling distribution of the sample
means. Find out if you are ready to learn the present
lesson by doing the next activity
Entry card
A. Rolling a Die
the following are data obtained from rolling a die several times.
Compute the mean and variance of the frequency distribution.
Outcomes Number of Occurrence
1 4
2 8
3 6
4 12
5 3
6 7
Entry Card
B. Mean and Variance and Probability Distribution
find the mean and variance of the following probability
distribution.
X P(X)
1 0.237
2 0.317
3 0.178
4 0.157
5 0.070
6 0.026
7 0.015
Getting Ready
Statisticians do not just describe the variation
of the individual data values about the mean of
the population. They are also interested to know
how the means of the samples of the same
population vary about the population mean.
 In this lesson, you will learn how to describe
the sampling distribution of the sample means
and variance. You will also make a general
conclusion regarding the mean, variance, and
shape of the sampling distribution of the sample
means.
Activity no. 1
Mean and Variance of Sampling Distribution
of Sample Means
Consider a population consisting of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. suppose of
samples of size 2 are drawn from this population. Describe the
sampling distribution of the sample means.
• What is the mean and variance of the sampling distribution of the
sample means?
• Compare these values to the mean and variance of the population.
• Draw the histogram of the sampling distribution of the population
mean.
Steps 1: Compute the mean of the population
(µ)
SOLUTION:
µ=
=
= 3.00

So, the mean of the population is 3.00

Step 2: Compute the variance of the
population (σ)
X X-
solution: 1 -2 4
2 -1 1
3 0 0
4 1 1
= 5 2 4

=2 = 10

So, the variance of the population is 2

Step 3: Determine the number of possible
samples of size n=2
Solution:

Use the formula

So, there are 10 possible sample of size 2 that can be drawn.

Step 4. List all possible samples and their
corresponding means
Samples Mean
1,2 1.50
1,3 2.00
1,4 2.50
1,5 3.00
2,3 2.50
2,4 3.00
2,5 3.50
3,4 3.50
3,5 4.00
4,5 4.50
 Sampling Distribution of Sample Means

Step 5. Sample Mean x̄ Frequency Probability P(x̄)

Construct the 1.50 1

sampling distribution
2.00 1

2.50 2
of the sample means. 3.00 2

3.50 2

4.00 1

4.50 1

total 10 1.00
 Sample Mean ̄̄x̄ Probability x̄.P(x̄)
Step 6: ̄ P (x̄)
Compute the mean of the sampling 1.50 0.15

distribution of the sample means. Follow 2.00 0.20

these steps:
2.50 0.50
a. Multiply the same mean by the
corresponding probability. 3.00 0.60

b. Add the results. 3.50 0.70

µ= x̄·P(x̄)
4.00 0.40
= 3.00
So, the mean of the sampling 4.50 0.45

Distribution of the sample means is 3.00 total 1.00 3.00

 x̄ P(x̄ ) x̄ - µ.
Step 7: Compute the variance of the
sampling distribution of the sample 1.50 -1.50 2.25 0.225
means. Follow these steps:
2.00 -1.00 1.00 0.100
a. Subtract the population mean (µ)
from each sample mean (x̄). Label
2.50 -0.50 0.25 0.050
this as x̄ - µ.
b. Square the difference. Label this as 3.00 0.00 0.00 0.000

c. Multiply the results by the

3.50 0.50 0.25 0.050
corresponding probability. Label this
as P(x̄ )· 4.00 1.00 1.00 0.100
d. Add the results.
4.50 1.50 2.25 0.225

total 1.00 0.750

Step 8: Construct the histogram for the
sampling distribution of the sample means.
Try to think about the answer to these question:

• How do you compare mean of the sample means

and the mean of the population?
• How do you compare variance of the sample means
and the variance of the population?
ACTIVITY 2
 Sample Means from a Finite Population
Consider a population consisting of 1, 2, 3, 4, and
5. Suppose samples of size 3 are drawn from this
population. Describe the sampling distribution of the
sample means. What is the mean and variance of the
sampling distribution of the sample means? Compare
these values to the mean and variance of the
population.
Step 1: Compute the mean of the population.
SOLUTION:
µ=
=
= 3.00

So, the mean of the population is 3.00

Step 2: Compute the variance of the
population X X-
solution: 1 -2 4
2 -1 1
3 0 0
4 1 1
= 5 2 4
= 10
=2

So, the variance of the population is 2

Step 3: Determine the number of possible
samples of size n=3
Solution:

Use the formula

So, there are 10 possible sample of size 2 that can be drawn

 Samples Mean
Step 4: 1, 2, 3 2.00

1, 2, 4

List all possible 1, 2, 5

samples and their 1, 3, 4

corresponding 1, 3, 5 3.00

means. 1, 4, 5

2, 3, 4 3.00

2, 3, 5

2, 4, 5

3, 4, 5 4.00
 Sampling Distribution of Sample Means
Step 5: Sample Mean x̄ Frequency Probability P(x̄)
Construct the 2.00 1
sampling 1

distribution of the 2

sample means. 3.00 2

4.00 1

total 10 1.00
Step 6: Sample Mean ̄̄x̄ Probability x̄.P(x̄)
̄ P (x̄)
Compute the mean of the 2 0.15
sampling
distribution of the sample means. 0.20
Follow these procedure:
0.50
a. Multiply the same mean by the
corresponding probability. 3 0.60

b. Add the results.

0.70
µ= x̄·P(x̄)
= 3.00 0.40

So, the mean of the sampling 4 0.45

Distribution of the sample means is
3.00 total 1.00 3.00
 x̄ P(x̄ ) x̄ - µ.
Step 7:
2 -1 1
Compute the variance of the
sampling distribution of the sample -
means. Follow these steps:
a. Subtract the population mean (µ) -
from each sample mean (x̄). Label
this as x̄ - µ. 3 0 0.00 0

b. Square the difference. Label this

as
c. Multiply the results by the
corresponding probability. Label
this as P(x̄ )· 4 1 1

d. Add the results. total 1.00

Step 8: Construct the histogram for the
sampling distribution of the sample means
Try to think about the answers to these question:
• how do you compare mean of the sample means and the mean of the
population?

• How do you compare variance of the sample means and the variance of
population?
Let us summarize what we have done for the proceeding activities by
comparing the means and variances of the population and the sampling
distribution of the means.
In-class Activity 1 In-class
activity 2
Population Sampling Population Sampling
(N = 5) Distribution of (N=5) Distribution of
the Sample the Sample
Means (n=2) Means (n=2)
Mean µ = 3.00 µ = 3.00
Variance = 2.00 = 0.75 = 2.00 = 0.33
Standard = 1.41 = 0.87 =1.41 = 0.57
Deviation
Observe that the mean of the sampling distribution of the sample
means is always equal to the mean of the population mean of the
population. The variance of the sampling distribution is obtained by
using the formula, = This formula holds when the population is finite.
The examples shown in the preceding activities are all finite population.

A finite population is one consist of a finite or fixed number of

elements, measurements, or observations; while an infinite population
contains, hypothetically at least, infinitely elements.
 The expression, is called the finite population
correction factor. In general, when the population is
large and the sample size is small, the correlation factor
is not used since it will be very close to 1.
We summarize the properties of
the sampling distribution below.
 Properties Of The Sampling Distribution
Of Sample Mean
If all possible samples of size n are drawn from a population of size N
with mean µ and variance then the sampling distribution of the
sample means has the following properties:
1. The mean of the sampling distribution of the sample means is equal
to the population mean µ. That is = µ
2. The variance of the sampling distribution of the sample means σ is
given by:
for finite population; and = for infinite population.
3. The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the sample
means is given by:

• = for finite population where is the finite population correction

factor.

• = for infinite population

 The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the
sample means is also known as the standard error of the mean. It
measures the degree of accuracy of the sample mean ( ) as na estimate
of the population mean (µ).
A good estimate of the mean is obtained if the standard error of
the mean ) is small or close to zero, while a poor estimate, if the
standard error of the mean ) is large. Observe that the value of
depends on the size of the sample (n). What happens to when n
increases?
Thus, if we want to get a good estimate of the population mean,
we have to make n sufficiently large. This fact is stated as a theorem,
which is known as The Central Limit Theorem.
The Central Limit Theorem
If random samples of size n are drawn from a
population, then as n becomes larger, the sampling
distribution of the mean approaches the normal
distribution, regardless of the shape of the population
distribution.
Activity 3
Describing the Sampling Distribution of
the Sample Means from an Infinite
Population
Example 1.

A population has a mean of 60 and a

standard deviation of 5. A random sample of 16
measurements is drawn from this population.
Describe the sampling distribution of the sample
means by computing its mean and standard
deviation.
 We shall assume that the population is
infinite.
Steps Solution
1. Identify the given information. Here µ = 60, σ = 5, and n = 16

2. Find the mean of the sampling distribution. Use the = µ.

property that = µ. =60

3. Find the standard deviation of the sampling =

distribution. Use the property that = .
=

= 1.25
Example 2.
The heights of male college students are
normally distributed with mean of 68 inches and
standard deviation of 3 inches. If 80 samples
consisting of 25 students each are drawn from the
population, what would be the expected mean
and standard deviation of the resulting sampling
distribution of the means?
 We shall assume that the population is
infinite.
Steps Solution
1. Identify the given information. Here µ = 68, σ = 3, and n = 25

2. Find the mean of the sampling distribution. Use the = µ.

property that = µ. =60

3. Find the standard deviation of the sampling =

distribution. Use the property that = .
=

= 0.6
EXERCISES 1
Think about the answers to following question. Write your answer in
one whole yellow pad.
If sample is drawn from a population, what happens to the
standard error of the mean if the sample size is:
1. Increase from 50 to 200?
2. Increased from 25 to 225?
3. Increased from 200 to 400?
4. Decreased from 600 to 40?
Exercise 2
A. Find the infinite population correction factor given the following:
a. N = 200, n = 10
b. N = 2000, n = 10
c. N = 400, n = 40
d. N = 500, n = 10
e. N = 200, n = 20
B. Consider all sample of size 5 from this population:
2 5 6 8 10 12 13

1. Compute the mean (µ) and standard deviation (σ) of the

population.
2. List all samples of size 5 and compute the mean (x) for each
sample.
3. Construct the sampling distribution of the sample means.

Sampling Distribution of Sample Means

Sample Mean (x) Frequency Probability P(x)
4. Calculate the mean () of the sampling distribution of the sample
means. Compare this to the mean of the population.

5. Calculate the standard deviation ( ) of the sampling distribution of

the sample means. Compare this to the standard deviation of the
population.