A beekeeper selected 40 hives at random from the 600 hives on... | SAT Inference from sample statistics and margin of error Question, Answer Explained

Question bank / Inference from sample statistics and margin of error

Math · Problem-Solving and Data AnalysisEasy

A beekeeper selected $40$ hives at random from the $600$ hives on her farm and measured how much honey each selected hive produced in one season. For which of the following groups can she most appropriately use the sample to estimate the mean amount of honey produced per hive?

Only the $40$ hives she measured

All $600$ hives on her farm

All beehives in her state

All beehives in the world

Show answer and explanation

Answer: B

The sample was selected at random from the $600$ hives on her farm, so it represents those $600$ hives. Hives elsewhere had no chance of being selected and may have different conditions, so the results shouldn't be extended to them.

Choice A is too narrow, because the purpose of a random sample is to estimate a value for the whole population it was drawn from.

Why the other choices are wrong

A. A random sample is meant to estimate a value for the whole population it was drawn from, here all 600 hives.
C. Hives elsewhere in the state had no chance of being selected.
D. Hives around the world had no chance of being selected and may face very different conditions.

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