What can we notice by plotting a sample distribution vs the population distribution?

Question

What are some takeaways we should have by playing around with the sampling applet in the workspace here?

Answer

By entering a number n into the box for “Number of Samples”, we notice that the graph labeled “Sample” shows exactly n small boxes. These boxes are the result of taking a sample and then plotting its mean.

Our key takeaways from playing around with this applet are that

  1. The larger the value of n that we choose, the more the “Sample” distribution will look like a normal distribution.
  2. Observing the mean of the “Sample” distribution, unsurprisingly n has an effect on the mean, but more surprising is that the “Sample” mean is about the same as the “Population” mean for all values of n after a certain point.
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