APPLET Use the simple random sample applet.

The Simple Random Sample applet can illustrate the idea of a sampling distribution. Form a population labeled 1 to 100. We will choose an SRS of 10 of these numbers. That is, in this exercise, the numbers themselves are the population, not just labels for 100 individuals. The mean of the whole numbers 1 to 100 is 50.5. This is the parameter, the mean of the population.

(a) Use the applet to choose an SRS of size 10.

Which 10 numbers were chosen? What is their mean? This is a statistic, the sample mean x.

(b) Although the population and its mean 50.5 remain fixed, the sample mean changes as we take more samples. Take another SRS of size 10. (Use the

“Reset” button to return to the original population before taking the second sample.) What are the 10 numbers in your sample? What is their mean? This is another value of x.

(c) Take 8 more SRSs from this same population and record their means. You now have 10 values of the sample mean x from 10 SRSs of the same size from the same population. Make a histogram of the 10 values and mark the population mean