CHAPTER 28: SAMPLING

In this chapter, students will:

. Ieam conccpts ofpopulation and saiuple
. undcrstand thc concepts ofrandom. stratified, systematic and quota examplcs
. leam the advantages and disadvantages ofthe various sampling methods
. understand the distribution ofsanple means from a normal population
. usc Central Limit Theorem to treat samplc means as having normal distributio[ when
the sanple sizc is sufficiently large
. calculatc unbiased estimates ofthe population mean and variance from a sample
. solve problems ilvolving thc sarnpling distribution

SAMPLE AND POPUI,ATION

In many^practical statisticar investigatio'sj we arc intercsted in gathering infomation

about a large
group ofindividuals or objects (known as It
lpopulation'). shoujd be notid that in any investigatio"n,
the population nceds to be clcarly defined. Howc-1 in many cases, it is not possiblc
to obtain
information about all meinbers ofa population tbr the lbllowing ieasons:

1. The colle<tion or tcsting of infomatiort on every individual or object of the popuhttion

,nay
destro! the populatiorL
2. I'he population ma! be inJinita or very large.
3. The collection oJ i JorDtnlio, ott all ftenbe' i, thc populatio, n ay be tu)o costl! ot
too tit te
tonsafiing.

In such cases, wc gather information about thc p,rpullion hascd ,,n dah derived
liom a sample ofthe
populali0n-

A sample is a finite subset ofthe population.

'lb galher useful inlbnnation, the samplc must be rcPresentatiye of thc population.
A samplc is
described as represe tative if it is believed that it fairly and comprehensively
rcprcsents the
population ftom which it is drawn. A sarnple is biased if it over_repr;sents
or under_iepresents a
pafticular subgoup. The rvords .unbiased, and .rcpresentative' arc usually
interchangeable.

SAMPLING METIIODS
SampJing is collectiirg data frollr a rcprcsentative san1ple
int.oduce 4 t)?es ofsampling, narnely,
of a population. h the following, we
. Random sampling
. Stratificd sampling
. Systcmatic samphng
. Quota sampling

( t21t- l
Some gcneral comments before the details ofeach method :
The finit 3 t)?es .LIe rcferred to as probabilistic sarnpling in which everv member of the poDulation
has an equal chance of being selectcd. The sample obtained is called a random sample- ln each of
thesesallpling methods, a samDlins frame (see section trelow) is necded.
Quota sampling is a tjpe of nonprobabilistic sampling and the sample obtained is non-random. I
samplingframe is not nee(led in quota sampling.

We are more likely to represent the population well through probability sampling. In gerleral,
researchers prefer probability sampling methods and consider them to be more accuratc and rigorous.

Dxample l.l
Which of the following is a random sample?
(D John picks out 2 identical balls liom a bag of2l, without replac€ment.
(ii) Mark picks out 2 identical balls from a bag of2l, with replacement.
(iiD Mattlew picks out 2 identical balls ftom 2 bags, one from a bag of l0 and one from a bag of
11.
(i") Luke picks out 3 identical balls liom 3 bags of7, one Aom each bag.
Solution
Recall:
ln a sampling method, if every member ofthe pop,rlatioihas an equal chance of beins selected, t!7en
Llre sampl( oblaincd is a random sarnple.

(i) The probability ofselecting the first ball is l/21- Sincc the lirst ball is not rcplaced before thc
second ball is drawn, the probabiiity of selecting the second ball is l/20_ Tlus, we see that
each member of the population does 4qt have an equal chance l)1. being selectcd and we
co{clude that the sample is non-random.

(it Since the lirst ball is replaced before the second ball is drawn, the probabiljty ofselecting the
second ball is l/21. Thus, we see that each member ofthc population has an equal chance of
treing selccted and we conclude that thc sample is random.

(iiD The probability ofselecting a ball liom rhc bag of 10 is 1/10 and the probability ofselecting a
ball from the bag of 1l is l/11. Thus, we see that oach member of the population does !!)t
have aa equal chance ofbeing selected and we concludc that the sample is non-random.

(iu) The probability ofselecting each ball from a bag of7 is l/7. 'lhus, we see that each member of
the population has an equal chance of being selectcd and we conclude that the sample is
random,

Example 1-2 (Do it yourself)

(Adapted from IJC Prelim trxam 2007 P2 Q5)
A kindcrgarten has nine Year One classes and six Ycar Two classes with differcnt class sizos. The
Principal of the kindergarlen wishcs to take a sample of 30 children to moet up with a ministry
official for a short conversation. She chooses 2 children at random from each of the l5 classes. State,
with a reason, whether this gives a random sample of30 children from tho kindergaden.

Solution

C2B 2
The Sampling Frame
The sampling Jrame is a complete list (to be idcal), in some form, of qtz thc members in the
population, from which a sample can bc selectcd.

For cxamplc, in a sr.rvey of employees of a company commissioned by its managemcnt, it is

rcasonable to cxpect to be able to oblain I comprellensive, up_l(, date and accuraic
list of all
enrployees, with sufticient classifi catory infomation.

other cxanrples include population registers or electorar registers of countries, registeis of schoois
and records ofscrial numbers in mallufactured goods-

Howcver, in many situations, it rnay bc diflicult to maintirin a complcte and up-to_date

list of the
polulation- Even if such a list cxists, duo to the gencral trend towaris greater formal protection
for
privacy ofthe individual, irfomtation may be withheld.

I samplingframe is neetled ifi any sampling ethod that is ran.lonl

Due to difficulties in obtairing a varid sampring frane, thcre is a noed rbr

us to study .onprobabilistic
sampling metlrods su(h n, quote \i nllrnS.

(l) Sirnple Rarrdom Sampling

ln simple random sampling, cach ildividual ir thc saniplc is chosen frorn the population purely
by chance. Each nenlbcr of thc population has an cqual chalce of bcing sclectecl_
To obtain a random sample ofsize r? from a population ofsizc
{ we
I ) obtain a sampling liame of the population,

2) number the lrembers ofthe populatioq say frorn 1 to ly',

3) make a rcndon selection ofr? ofthcse numbers, alrd
4) idcntily the mcmbers ofthc population .cpresentcd by thc numbcrs sclcclcd.

Note that random selection of the numbers can bc <Ionc mechalically through writing
each
nulnber that represents a membcr ol the population ot a slip ofpup"r, .i* themrcally
well in a
cortainer atrd drawing the required number of slips out. alicmaiivcly, wlr can usc
compurers to
generate the random numbers selectcd.

Advantaqes
(i) Analysis ofdata is rclativety easy.
(ii)The data collecred is not biased.

Disadvantages
(D tt is difncult or impossible to identii/ every member of the population, to be issued
a
number(difficulty in obraining the sanpling frame).
(i0 Ever if we can idcntify every nlemb€I of thc population, wi: may not be ablc to get
access to some mcmbers who have bcen chosen lor thc sample_

(2) StratiliedSampling

ln ceftain invostigations, variables such as age and gender in the population have
an influeirce on
the results- For example, lt1 a study on thc taste ;f music, rge oi the individuals
studied will
c28 3-
 influence the responses signilicantly. In such a case, it will be usetirl to ensu.e that the sample
rcprcsents the proportions ofmutually exclusive subgroups (ty age), in the population.

Stratifi od Sampling involves

1) dividing the population into mutually exclusive subgroups/strata, and
2) randohilv selectins(using the sampling frame) a sanple from each stratum, with
sample size proportional to the relative size of the stratum.

Suppose that in a company thl: proportions ofstaffin different age-groups are as follows:

Aged undcr 40 Aged between 40 and 60 Aged over 60

38v" 40yo 22vo

To obtain a sample of 200 staff, we draw random samples from the age-groups with sample size
in thc same proportion as the sizc ofeach age-group-

Age-group tlnder 40 Between 40 and 60 Over 60

Sample size 38% o1200 4O"/o of 200 22o/o of 2OO

(=76) (:80) (=44)

Advantaqes
(t It is more likely to give a good represeotative sample ofthe population.
(i0 The data obtai ed liom cach stmtum can be anall,zed separately, and this usually gives
more accurate estimatcs of the population pammcters, compared to simple random
sampling.

Disadvantages
(i) lt nlay be hard to obtaio the sampling lizune needed
(i0 More diflicult to conduct as compared with (simple) random sampling. l-here may not
be sufficient inlbrmation about the population to delineate the subgroups.
(iii) The strata may not bl- clcarly dehned.
(iv) ll is rclativelr morc rinre consurning.

(3) SystematicSampling

Systematic sampling is done through the tbllowing steps:

)I Obtain a sampling fiamc of the population.
2) Number the mlrmbcrs of the population, say ftom I to /y'.
3) To draw a samplc ofsize n liom a population ofsize-l/,let tr:Nr,.
4) Randomly selecr an intrgcr bclwccn I ro l.
5) Then take e\,(ry 1" inrcgrr afier that.
6) Identify the mcmbcrs ofthe populalion rqrresented by the numbers s€lected.
For cxample, to draw a sanple (]1250 tickcts front a population of 5300 tickets, we may take I 20
5100
( - ::j--1. In this casc, rl e selcct c!cr) 20rl' ticket cornmencing with, say the 8tl' ticket, (The numbcr
25(,
8 is randomly detennined.) In other words, we select the 8d', 28'l', 48'1', 68n', -.....

c28- 4 ,
 Advantages
It is easier to conduct as compared with othcr t)?es ofsampling
1ii
(iD lt is more cvenly spr-ead over the population. The use ofwide-spacing ofk individuals guards
against the list consistir4 ofclustcrs ofsiinilar individuals.
Disadvantages
(D It is not always possible 1o oblain a valid sampling ftame of thc popuiation and to numbc.
each individual.

(iD The sample obtaincd can be biased when thc members of the population have a periodic
or
cyclic pattem of occurrence in the sampling framc. As an ei:rmple, if a sampiirrg frarn"
consists of a list of married couples in the order of husband, wife,
husband, rviie, h'usband,
wife..-.etc, then if every tcnth pcrson is selected alier choosing thc first of the
husbands, then
the sarnple will likely to consist only ofmales!

(4) Quota Sampling

Quota sampling is similar to stratified satnpliog. [n quota sanpring, the populatior is also divicied
into
mufually exclusive subgroups, but the sample is non random.

For example, in a market survey, an interviewer is given an assignmelt

to interview 20 people in the
street based upon quotas thrt specify or define the sample to be <liawn,
e.g.

'l'he choice of the

samplc is subjective. 'fhe intcrviewcr chooses pot€ntial iespondents to neet
the
required quota. A possible outcomc ofthc profile ofthe respondents
is as follows:

Social class

Hi Midrllc Low
Age/Sex M F M F M F

I I
30-44
3
4)-64 1 2 3

I 2

Advantirqcs
(D Cost is lower bccalrsc the sarnplc size can bc smaller to rDecl the objcctive.
(ii) The infonnation car bc collected quickly.
(iii)The sampling docs not require a sampling liame.
c28 5-
Disadvantaqcs

(i) lt is not a good representative ofthe population as compared with other types ofsampling .
(ii) It is non-random
(iii) It is biased as the inteNiewer may simply select those who are easiest to intewiew

NB: Quota sampling is vc.y uselll and convenient though it is non-random in nature. Info.mation
gathered Aom this twe of sample should be treated with caution.

Example 1.3
A sample of 5 is to be selected liom a class of 15 boys and l0 girls, Desclibe how you would choose
thc conlmittee using
(i) random sampling
(ii) stratifi ed sampling
(iii)quota sampling
(iv)systematic sampling

Solution
(i) To fonn a sampling frame, assign a number to each sfudent in the class. Write the numbers I
to 25 on strips of papers, put thcm in a contaiDer, mix them up well and draw 5 numbers out-
Select the 5 students assigned to thesc 5 selected numberc-

(ii) Since the proportions ofboys and girls in the class rre l5/25 and I U/25 respectively, u,e need
to randonly select (i5l25)x5:3 6ot. urtd,l0/25)rS = 29.1". We assign the nurnbels I to 15
to the boys and randomly select (as in part (i)) 3 numbers. Wc sclcct the 3 boys that are
i
assigned these 3 numbcrs. Similarly, we assign thc numbers to 10 to the grls cnd rardom
selcct 2 numbers bcfore selccting the corresponding girls.

(iiD We decide on the propodions ofboys and girls ifl the sanple of 5. They need mrt be l5/25and
10/25. Supposc we decided kr selcct 3 girls and 2 boys, we can selecl any 3 girls, fnrm l0 in
the class, and any 2 boys, liom l5i[ tho class, that arc most cool]erative ot convenient to us-
They are not randoinly selected within their subgroups (unlikc stratified sampling).

(iu) Number the students in the class fiom 1 to 25 (forming the sampling framc). Since sample
size is 5 and population siz,e is 25, k : 25/5: 5. Select any number from lto tr (:5), say we
select 3. Then the students to bc selected are those numbered 3,3+k,3+2k, .....i.e. those
numbered 3,5,13, 18, and 23.

Examplc 1.4
An employnent agoncy wants to estimate the number of unemployed people in a HDB new town,
and so decide to obtain infomation Aom a sample ofits adult who is ofworking age. Give onc
reason why it would not be appropriate to obtain the sample by stopping adults at the town centre's
superrnarket during onc working day.

Solution
It misses out peoplc who do not shof at that supennarket (biascd sample).

c28 6
Example 1.5
In a city, the following infonnation is availabie from the registry officc-

Race Number of residents

!!11',":s 144
Malay g3
lnoran 65
C)thers 2a
Total 930

A sample of40 residents is to bc chosen for an intervicw. Discuss the following sainpling methods:
(i) Stratilied Sampling
(ii) Quota Sampling
State the advantages and disadvantages ofcach mcthod.

Solution
(i) In stratified sampling, wc rrec(l to rdndomh) selecl ('7441930\\40 Chinese, (93/930)r{0
Malays, (65/910)x40 Indians and (28/930)x40 Others, -fiius, we randomlv select 32
Chinesc
from 744 Chinesc, 4 Malays from 93 Malays, 3 Ildians liom 65 lndi:rns and 1 person
liom 28
people ofother raccs.

Advantages:
(1) The sample rcpresents the population betfer than samples obtained through
other sampiing
methods.
(2) TLe data lronr each race group ca be analyzed sepantcly to
llivc more detcils and thc results
can bc more represcntalivc ofthc popuiation.

Disadvantages:
(l) It is more diflicultto conduct. The sampling frame may not bc availablc and thus it may bc
impossible to have random sclection within each racc
ltroup.
(2) It is morc time consuoliLig.

(ii) In quota sampling, the proportioN ofthc diflirent raccs ur the salnple need not be thc
same as
those in the population. Supposc we docide to select 10 people from
each subgroup. The 10
pcople in each subgroup nced not be rundomly selcctett. wc can sclcct thosc
that are most
availablc.

Advantages:
(1) Data can be collected iastcr .
(2) Sampling liame is nor required.

Disadvantagcs:
(1)1'he sample obtained does rrot represcot fhe population as well as
samples obtained through
other methods
(2) l hc sarnlle is nnt randoml) selcct(,1.

c28 7-
Calculalion o{unbiased estimates ofthe populdtion mean a dvariance from a sdnple-

I ESTIMATION OF POPULATION PARAMETERS

A paramctcr is any numerical value describing a characteristic of a populafion. For cxamples,
population mean p arird population variance o2,

A sanple statistic is any numerical value describirg a characte.istic ofa samplc. It is calculated f'rom

the obscrvations in the sample. For cxamplc, sample mean

Wrcn population parameters ate u known, sample statistics are used to estimate thcse paftlmeters-
Such a statistic is called at estirnator-

Sample Statistics Ulknown Population

o Sample mean estimates Parameters
X Population mean p
. Sample estimates
variance
r Population variance
o)

What are sample mcan and sample variance?

Supposc we have a sample, ofsizc 5, with the following 5 values: ,tl: 2, 12: I, tq = .1, r.1= 3. 15= 5.
The sanple mean isjust thc average ofthese values. Thus, the samplc mean

2{ l+4+31 5

valuc ot sampl€ vifiJncc =

rt.;\'
: !

(-., ;)'.(", -;)'.(,,, ;)'.(,. -;)' .(,, ;)'

5
(2 3)'+0-3)'?+(a 3)'+(3-3)'"r(5 3)'
5

T'NBIASED [,STIMATE
Consider a populatior with an uDknown paramefer 0. If I is a statistic derived fiom a randorn sample
of the population, thcn T is at unbiased estitnator of 0 if E(1) = 0 .

Ilorv do we cstimate p and o2 ?

c28- 8 ,
Unbiased Estimators of the Population Mean u and Variance o2

From a population with unloown mean p and unknown variance 62, take a random sarnple ofsize
n
and let the sample mean bc

- a _ I +
Y=
x,' I r,I +............-r._ ,-

n n?' -\

:6nn;I
and the sarnple variance be

r(",)' /
---\'{/
\,

Then the unfriased estimator of F, written u" i"V

it , ,

I c 1, =X .

lleeI
To show F is an unbiased cstimator lbr F.

-,., r.fr. +l.

Flxl -/ :
+-.......
-r I) I
,'
- r.(y,rrF{y
) r...........Fr,\,)-l

l.
--lnpl-
n
p
Note:
Since each ,l is drawn from the distribution of-y.
Therclbre -Y is an unbiascd cstinator ldr /. E(.X)=Eol= lr

The unbiascd esrimator of o2, written as s4 i" variance)

;!(samlle

i." t :fi(samplevariance)

,rI
=,_1l I (x
)'
-F)'l ;

=*[r'''' (I(";))'l
, rin Mrr)r. .....( r'
]
c28 9-
Altematively,

- I n-l
(", il'
(in MFI 5)............. ..................(2)

Note:
If thc sample data given is in the form I("-") -a | (" - c)t , *lrere c is a constant, then

11 -
I(-' .) lc and
n

EG_dI
(3)

Nole lhcr (J) and (l) arc srmrlar in lbrm.

Example 2.1
Obtain the unbiased estimates of thc populetron mern and varianc€ lrorn each of the lollowiig
samples drawn:
(D 19.30, r9.61, 18.27, 18.90, 19.t4,19.90,18.76, 19.10;
(iD n=50, Ir:1150, [r'?=28990
{iii) n 12. r = 2.1.5. l(r .)' aa.z:
(i")
Number, x 17 1g 22 25 3l 33
Frequency. / 3l 13 I 4 3 8

1v1
n = 200,
)(x-:oo)=20t2, l(r 3oo)'z =525262
1n4
n = 50, f r = 1s00, l(r - zo)' :52520

c28- 10 -
 Soln:
i) Using GC, enter lhe valucs as a list undcr I_r.
L1 31 l-Var Stat-s
IE x= 19. 122s
19.61 Ex=152- 98
lE.at
1E.9 Exr=292?. 1422
1g-tq 5x=.5845719544
19.S
18"76 sx=.4719938451
Lrfil=1 t.3
Ncxt, u-sing
<STAT>,<CALC>, <l: l-Var Stat* <Lr><ENIER>

Wc,)htrin r = I 9. l. 5, = 0.50457 (unbiased estimate ofstandard dev;ation.)

Using <VARS>,<5 :Statistics>,<3 :Sx>,<r.2>,<ENTER>,

we ottain S,2 = 0.255

(unbiased estimate of variance)
Ex=15?.98
Ex z =2927. 1422
5x=.5845719544
sx=- 4719S38451
in=8
.2s459?S57r

(iD a--50, I-r: I150. Ir'?-.28990

- F" r5o
ir 50

.'. Unbiased estimator of p, it=i =23

r,=n , tl,.lt.
I .- .)
tr.) \

]
, )

s0 I
-'-fronon-(.1-l!91
4eL I
sr.8

(iii)

tJobiascd estilnator ofthc population nre:n ," ) : t = Zl.S

, )tr-rt2 4B,j)
Unbiascd estimator ofthe populatior varirnls 15 J'=L - ";;' =4.43

cr28 ll -
(iv)
Using GC, entcl values ofr under Lr and their corresponding frequcncies under L2

17 3t
Ls 13
2Z 1
2S rt
l1 3

L2(1i =
USC<STAT>, <CALC>, <l:1-Var Stats> <Ll>,<,>,<L2>
1-Uar Stats
Jt-LEr. oo,.1,J,.1,J,J,J
-4J( L --CD/Jl
5x=5.914988421
sx=5.865411798
.11=68
I
x-20.9, S"'? = 34.986 r:35.0 (3s.f.)

s'1 n-200, !{"-roo)= 2012, 1Q-300)2 =525262.

){"-:oo) *3oo -2012 *300-310

200
, [r,x
52- n-tl' ct2 (f{*-cl)2
n 1

- leel
' lrrrro, 2ol2']l
200 I
=ffi<zszs.to64) = 2531 .le x 2s38

c28- 12 -
(vi) n-50, l.r = 1s00, )(x-zo)'=s2s2o
x I" =
50
1500
50
=10

s'=A[tt"-zor'- (|(.',r-zo))' -x-a'I("-zot' +)O

onl"' 50 50

t lrrrrn too'l 30- t(x 20)

- 4el 50 50
+20
I

:969.796 l(:r-zo): soo

Examplc 2.2 (Do it yourselg

Obtain the uobiased cstimates of thc population mean and variance from each of the lbllowing
samples drawn:
(i) 30.40, 29.61,28.21 . 31_90, 32.t4,29.90,28.76,29.1O

n - 70, lt : 2244, > tr : 728rj9

1ii1n=15, i-zs.s, I(" i)'-so.ro

Numbcr of umbrellas sold ). 3 4 5 6 10

Number of days 25 30 20 8 7 10

r,, iz = 100, l(r-zOo)=+ozz, l(;r-zo0)' - 165590

(vi) r-100, l.;r-1200, l(r-ro)'=rzlo

c28, 13 -
L Distribulion ofsample means from a normal population.
2. Use of the Central Ltmit meoretu to treat sampL rned6 as having rormel distributioa
when the sample .r{ze is sufrcientl! large.

3 SAMPLE MEA}I AS A RANDOM VARIABLE

If X, Xz, ..., X,is a random sample ofsize n taken from any infinite population (for finite population
usc satrpling with replacernent) with mean p and variance d, then the sample mcan 7 is a random
variable with
_o
E(x ): p and =
Var(x)
-n

X, +)(^ +...-....-...X \
n1X;=rl
,)
: !1E8,\ + E(x, ) +...........z(x, )l
n

-tn (,ri- o
u-tFl:u*[ xl + X, +.........--.X,
,)
)

1-
=n',lVar( X,l+Var( X,l+.............Var( X,lf
Ir .
: n , lo'" + cr' + .......... ..o'^r I

r '\
: 1rVo')
n
o2
n
Example 3.1
A population consists ofall numbers liom 0 to 99- Samples of5 numbers are selected as follorvs:
l'! sample 5l ,'/7 , 2'7 , 46, 40
r sample :42.33,12,90,44
J Sarnrrle 46,62,16,28,98
4th sarnple 93,58,20,41,86
5'h sample 19, 64, 8, 70, 56
Calculate the m()ms ofthese sanlples and thc in€an and standard deviation ofthcsc sample means.

c28 14
 Soln:
_rr + 12 +............-r,
Using , tho rcspcctive sample means arc 48.2, 44.2,50.0, 59.6 and
n
43.4

Using GC, the mear (ofall these sarnple rneans) is 49-0g and the sfandard deviation is 5.g0.
(Nnte: we use
Oi-l tnstead of S because in GC, 6 is the variance oftho data entered into the GC,
which is requircd here)
Can lou see the led of a distribution of sample means here?

3.1 DISTRIBUTION Ot- THE SAMpt,E MEAN

(l) From^a normaUy dislributrd population

Ilix - N(p. o'1andx. , x1 , . . ., x, is a rardom sarnpre of z independent obscrvations of ,t then thc
sarnple mean X
has a nonnal distributlon such that

I ^ N(u. )
-n
X, r X, r............X,, N(n1r.no')

t? From a non normally distributed population

If \. X2. ..., )1, is a randonr sample of sizi r taken Aorn a not nomally distributed population
(discrete or continuous) with mean p and variance o2 then, lbr large', (,
, > 50), by rhe Central
Limit 'I'hcorem, the distribution of the total srm X, I X ) -............X,,and the s.lrnplc mran
,4 cte rr,proximatclv normal such thst

0)Xt+X2+..-.........X,-N(np,no'),opproximatelybycentralLimit.l.trcorem.
6'
(2) X - N(p, ), approximarety by Ccotral Limir.I.hcorem.
-

Note:
. The approximatior gets better as ,? gets larger_
o
is known as thc slazzlard error ofthe sample mean_
G

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Solving problems involving the sampling distributio

4 APPLICATION OT TIIE SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION

Example 4.1
Thc heights of a particular species of plant fbllow a normal distribution with mear 2l cm and
variancc 90 cm. A random sample of 10 plants is taken and the mean height calculatcd.
Find the probability that this sdmple mean lies between l8 crn and 27 cm.
Soln:
Let r.v. -tr denotes the hcight ofa plant in cm.
Then-Y- N(21, 90)

Nown 10. So X N{ 2l .q)c\actly noFFi-3lcdf ( 14" 27,

P(ts < x < 27) ?1,3)
. a1a59467S4
:0.818s I
:0.819 (3 sis. lis.)

Example 4-2 (Do it yoursel0

The masscs of guavas are lormzrlly distributed with mean 3809 and standard deviation tog- Thc
guavas are packcd into boxes of l2 each. What is thc probability that the mean mass ofthe guavas in
a box is more tha0 383g ?

Example 4.3
A large number ofrandom samples ofsize z are taken from the distribution ofxwhcrc
I- N(74, 36) and thc sample meais are calculatcd.
IfP( X >'12) = 0.854, find, expressed to thc nearest integeE the value ofr.

a2R t6-
Soln:
Mcthod I
-)r- N(7,1, 36).

- - N1z+,i9;y
n

Using CC : Y,. normalcdltlZ. tgSJq,*l

^lx
we car real lrom llre tdble drrt lor t\i lZ1, g g54,
nxl0

t4
-lqt]\
.s5q0E
11 .8655q
1Z -a75Sq
1l .ES5t9
1t{ .893Ell
15 .5{lE5

Method 2
t6
x-N(74,-:)
n
11F'22.y:6.s5a
r)
rl . - 72
,70 i=o,ss+
l6l
I J;'
i.e. whcre Z-N(0,1)

/ r'
plz<-tnl=r-o'rto
l. 3J
=0.146

_____
_J; t r.t53144303
Usrng c('. we obrain ' "
3
/? ! l0

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l,xample 4.4(Do it yourself)
A raodom sample of 16 observatioos is to be drawn from a Nomal distribution having mean l l and

staodard deviation 3- L"t X denote the sample mean, Find, corcct to three decimal places, thr:
value ofc for which P

Examplc 4.5
If a random sample of size 50 is taken from each of the following distributions, find, for each case,
the probability that the sample ntean exceeds 5.
(a) x-'Po(4,5),
(b) n.- B(9, 0.5),

Soln:
(a) f '' Po(4,5).
E(-l) = 4.5, Var(X) :4.5

Since sample size is large, by Central Limit Theo.em,

7- Nrq.s. '5 )

rlorFlsIr.df (5' E99'

50

ie. 7"' N1a.s, o.oo; 4.5,4.3)

approxirnatoly .8477983384
Using cC, P(.> 5):0.0478
(b)x.' B(e, 0_s)
E(E : (eX0.5) :4.5
va(rl : (9X0.5X0.5) : 2-2s

Since a is large, by Central Limit Theorun,

) )< noFftalcdf(5, E99,
X-Nr+.s. ) 4.5,.r(A. S45)
50 .8692118461
i.e. -
F-N1a.s,o-o+slupproximately.

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Using GC, P( X > 5) : 0.00921

Note: Clontinuitv correctiou is NOT needed as \,vc arc dealing witb sample rnean (whiclr is cotltinuous
raldom va ablc)-

Ngllg: For questions involving sample mean results, look for thc phrase .,ptqlillliqll3!|lll9_qqlpb
mean / arithmetic mean / average valuc".

Example 4-6(Do it yoursclo

A random sample ofsize 60 is taken Aom each of the lbllowing distributioN:
(a) x-B(10,0.a)
(t) X- Po(a.3).

Dxamplc .1.7
'fhc discretc random variable Xis such that
E(-\,) : 4.5 and Var(, : 0.75_ Sixty obscrvations of Xare
laken and 7 is the totai sunt ofthe observations, I.ind tho snallest value ofl such that p(f < /) > 0.95

Soln:
T - Xt+ Xr+ X.+.........X0u
Since n = 60 is large, by CLT, f - N(60x4.5,60x0.75)
z - N(270,45)
P(Z< r) > 0.95

From GC, P(z < 281.034) = 0.95

'fherefore,

t >281.O34

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 Use GC table to cherk answer

Use Y= normalc df (- Eqg,X,27O,.,{qSll

And set table start value to 281..034(since we

already have found it earlier)
TF B
T b t 5l.s rL=281 .9...
T b 1=9 .861
In d F nl: ffsk
P e nd! ffi* Hsk

Example 4.8(l)o it yourself)

'l'he mcan time spent by childrel ofagc twclve or watching telcvision programmcs in
onc day is 3.5
hours with a standard deviation of 0,7 hours. What will be the probability that the total timc spcrt by
the 100 children on watching television programmes on a Sunday excccds 365 hours?

Refcrcnces:
i. Introducins Statistics(2"'r Edition) by Craham(Jpton/Ian Cook.
2. Advanced Modular Mafhematics. Statistics 2 . for A and AS level 6), Gerltld Westot'er

3. Statistics For Real Lilb Srunple Surveys by Scrgey Dorofeev / Peter Grant

4. H2 Mathematics. A ComDrehensivo Guide for'A' Level by f'ederick IIo, David Khor, Yui-
P'ng Lam, B.S. Ong.

5. South Dast Public llcalth ObscNatory !]!>lIb-Sq4!LIqqiL!L b|, Sf.PHOi [nJbrmarion hy

Design,
URl,: lltp: //wvn',.ItJcs ty

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