SAT OwlQuestion bank / Inference from sample statistics and margin of error
A school administrator wants to estimate the average number of hours per week that the school's students spend on homework. Which of the following sampling methods is most likely to produce a sample that represents all students at the school?
Randomly selecting students from a list of all students at the school
Surveying the first students who arrive at the library
Surveying all students in the honors program
Asking for volunteers through the school newsletter
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
A sample represents a population best when every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Randomly selecting from a complete list of students does this. The other methods favor groups, such as library users or honors students, who may study more than typical students.
Choice D gives a sample of the right size, but volunteers choose themselves and may differ from typical students.
Got it wrong? On SAT Owl, Owl looks at the answer you chose and explains the exact mistake, then gives you similar questions until it sticks. Get your predicted SAT score free.