Question

Determine whether the numerical value is a statistic or a parameter.

1. You are a volunteer for a candidate in an election for the mayor of your city. A poll of 1000 randomly selected registered voters is conducted a week before the election. The results show that 52% of the sample is planning on voting for your candidate.

2. A newspaper column asked: “If you could do over again, would you have children?” Out of 1400 respondents, 30% said they would not.

3. As of January 1, 2016 there were 2,943 inmates on death row in the United States.

4. After surveying 500 households, the average square footage of their homes was found to be 1802 square feet.

Answer 1

A numerical value is a statistic if it is obtained from a sample. A numerical value is a parameter if it is computed from a population census.

1. Statistic

The value is statistic because it is from a sample of 1000, not the entire voters of the city.

2. Statistic

Here, the 1400 respondents is a sample of the population of all newspaper readers.

3. Parameter

The total number of death row inmates is 2,943. Therefore, it is a population.

4. Statistic

500 households is a sample of the population of all households in a city, state, or country. It can be considered as a population if it is mentioned that these are the only households in a neighbourhood and that is the population of interest.