International University IU

STATISTICS FOR BUSINESS [IUBA]

CHAPTER 05

SAMPLING AND SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION

The sampling distribution of a statistic is the probability distribution of all possible values the
statistic may take when computed from random samples of the sample size, drawn from a
specified population.

Sample Population Sampling Distribution

Mean ̅
Variance
Standard Deviation
Proportion ̂

Statistics for Business | Chapter 05: Sampling and Sampling Disitribution

PART I

SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE MEAN

The sampling distribution of is the probability distribution of all possible values the random
variable may take when a sample of size is taken from a specified population.

The expected value of the sample mean is equal to the population mean and the standard
deviation of is equal to the population standard deviation divided by the square root of the
sample size.

The expected value of the sample mean is

( )=

The standard deviation of the sample mean is

( )= = /√

When sampling is done from a normal distribution with mean and standard
deviation , the sample mean has a normal sampling distribution:

~ ( , / )

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Case 1: If the following two conditions are fulfilled:

 The population is normally distributed.
 The population standard deviation is known (where that the
sample size either small, < 30, or large, ≥ 30).

then we use:

 (standard normal distribution)

 population mean
 standard deviation /√

To find the probability with given values, we can use the following the formula:

−
=

Statistics for Business | Chapter 05: Sampling and Sampling Disitribution

/√

To fine the values with given the probability, we can use the following the formula:

= ±
√

Case 2: If the following two conditions are fulfilled:

 The population is normally distributed.
 The population standard deviation is unknown.
 The sample size either small, < 30.

then we use: (student distribution)

(The t distribution and its uses will be discussed in detail in Chapter 06. In addition, it
would be impossible to use the calculator in order to find the probability of t
distribution with given values. For these reasons, this kind of problems would not be
mentioned in this chapter).

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Case 3: If the following two conditions are fulfilled:

 The population is normally distributed.
 The population standard deviation is unknown.
 The sample size is large, ≥ 30.

then we use:

 (standard normal distribution)

 population mean
 standard deviation /√ where is sample standard deviation

To find the probability with given values, we can use the following the formula

−
=

Statistics for Business | Chapter 05: Sampling and Sampling Disitribution

/√

To fine the values with given the probability, we can use the following the formula

= ±
√

Example 1.1: (Case 1)

The population is normally distributed.
The population standard deviation is known.

PROBLEM: Japan’s birthrate is believed to be 1.57 per woman. Assume that the population
standard deviation is 0.4. If a random sample of 200 women is selected, what is the
probability that the sample mean will fall between 1.52 and 1.62?

SOLUTION: Assuming that the population is normally distributed.

= 1.57
= 0.4
= 200
1.52 − − 1.62 −
(1.52 ≤ ≤ 1.62) = ≤ ≤
√ √ √

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1.52 − 1.57 1.62 − 1.57 5√2 5√2
= ≤ ≤ = − ≤ ≤ ≈ 0.9229
0.4/√200 0.4/√200 4 4

Example 1.2: (Case 3)

The population is normally distributed.
The population standard deviation is known.
The sample size is large, ≥ .

PROBLEM: A random sample with size 36 is taken from a normal population having mean µ = 25,
standard deviation is unknown. Sample standard deviation is s = 4.35. Find the
probability that sample mean is at least 19.5.

SOLUTION: Assuming that the population is normally distributed.

= 25
= 4.35
= 36

Statistics for Business | Chapter 05: Sampling and Sampling Disitribution

− 19.5 − 19.5 − 25
( ≥ 19.5) = ≥ = ≥ = ( ≥ −7.5862)
4.35/√36
√ √
≈1

PART II

SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION OF THE SAMPLE PROPORTION

The sampling distribution of the sample proportion is based on the binomial distribution with
parameters and , where is the sample size and is population proportion.

Condition: > 5 and ( − ) > 5

As the sample size increases, the sampling distribution of approaches a

normal distribution with mean and standard deviation (1 − )⁄

For all instances, we use (standard normal distribution)

population proportion

standard deviation (1 − )⁄

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To find the probability with given values, we can use the following the formula

−
=
( − )

To fine the values with given the probability, we can use the following the formula

( − )
= ±

Example 2

PROBLEM: When sampling is done for the proportion of defective items in a large shipment,
where the population proportion is 0.18 and the sample size is 200, what is the
probability that the sample proportion will be at least 0.20?

Statistics for Business | Chapter 05: Sampling and Sampling Disitribution

SOLUTION = 0.18 = 200 × 0.18 = 36 > 5
= 200 (1 − ) = 200(1 − 0.18) = 164 > 5

− 0.20 − 0.18
≥ 0.20 = ⎛ ≥ ⎞ = ( ≥ 0.7362) = 0.2308
(1 − ) 0.18(1 − 0.18)
⎝ 200 ⎠

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