Question Bank / Math / Inference from Sample Statistics
Inference from sample statistics and margin of error SAT question
Math · Problem-Solving and Data Analysis · Easy · Answer it here, explanation included.
A city has 50 city council members. A reporter polled a random sample of 20 city council members and found that 6 of those polled supported a specific bill. Based on the sample, which of the following is the best estimate of the number of city council members in the city who support the bill?
ExplanationShow
Choice C is correct. Because a random sample of the city council was polled, the proportion of the sample who supported the bill is expected to be approximately equal to the proportion of the total city council who supports the bill. Since 6 of the 20 polled, or 30%, supported the bill, it can be estimated that 
, or 15, city council members support the bill.
Choice A is incorrect. This is the number of city council members in the sample who supported the bill. Choice B is incorrect and may result from a computational error. Choice D is incorrect. This is the number of city council members in the sample of city council members who were not polled.
Drill this skill on Aceit
Adaptive practice, a daily plan, and score tracking take a free account so we can save your work.
More Inference from sample statistics and margin of error questions
- In a study of cell phone use, 799 randomly selected US teens were asked how often they talked on a cell phone and about their texting behavior. The data are summarized in the table
- There are 55 students in Spanish club. A sample of the Spanish club students was selected at random and asked whether they intend to enroll in a new study program. Of those survey
- A researcher interviewed 411 randomly selected US residents and asked about their views on the use of nuclear energy. The table above summarizes the responses of the interviewees.
- A study was done on the weights of different types of fish in a pond. A random sample of fish were caught and marked in order to ensure that none were weighed more than once. The s
- A park ranger asked a random sample of visitors how far they hiked during their visit. Based on the responses, the estimated mean was found to be 4.5 miles, with an associated marg
- A sample consisting of 720 adults who own televisions was selected at random for a study. Based on the sample, it is estimated that 32 % of all adults who own televisions use thei