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GCSE Mathematics · key term
A smaller group selected from a population and studied to obtain information about the population.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Specification S1, S5 · Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3
Revise: Population InferenceTesting may even destroy the items involved—for example, testing the lifetime of every light bulb would leave none to sell. Instead, a researcher studies a smaller sample and uses its results to make an inference about the population.
A smaller part of a population from which data are collected.
Specification S1, S5 · Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3
A smaller group selected from a population and used to obtain information about that population.
Revise: Populations and SamplesA sample is the smaller part of the population from which data are collected. A census collects data from every member of the population.
A smaller group selected from a population to provide information about it.
Specification 12.01a, 12.03a · Paper 1 (Foundation), Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 3 (Foundation), Paper 4 (Higher), Paper 5 (Higher), Paper 6 (Higher)
A smaller group selected from a population and studied to obtain information about that population.
Revise: Populations and SamplesA sample is the smaller group that is actually investigated. It must be drawn from the relevant population: surveying pupils at a different school would not provide a sample of the population in the head teacher’s question.
A subset of a population from which data are collected.
When estimating a number in a population, use the sample proportion: .
Describe the answer as an estimate, not an exact value, and state that it assumes the sample is representative of the population.
Do not claim that a large sample must be reliable. A large biased sample can still give a misleading conclusion.
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