Back to Understand that statistics can be used to gain information about a population by examining a sample — Problem 2 · Task Set 33

7.SP.A.1 Tutor Intake -- Understanding Statistics and Sampling

This short check helps your tutor see where to start. Work on your own,
without a calculator. If you're unsure, give your best try — the goal is
to find what to work on together, not to grade you.

Grade 7·9 problems·~12 min·Common Core Math - Grade 7·standard·7-sp-a-1

Work through problems with immediate feedback

Procedures

A researcher wants to learn about the reading habits of all adults
in a city. She stands outside a bookstore and surveys the first 50
people who walk out. Is this sampling method likely to produce a
biased or a representative sample?

Biased — bookstore customers are more likely to be frequent readers than adults in general

Representative — 50 people is a large enough sample to be accurate

Representative — everyone walking by had a chance to be surveyed

Biased — the survey should have used an online form instead