Question

(b) choose whether each number described below is a parameter or a statistic for lenas poll.

number	parameter	statistic
the average of 5.7 sick days per year taken among all the full - time nurses at the hospital	○	•
the 8 randomly chosen nurses who are married	•	○

Explanation:

• A parameter is a characteristic of a population. The \(61\%\) of all full - time nurses (population) who prefer a four - day work schedule is a parameter as it describes the entire population of full - time nurses at the hospital.
• A statistic is a characteristic of a sample. The average of \(5.7\) sick days per year is calculated from a sample (all the full - time nurses, but when we take an average from a subset - here it's not clear if it's a sample, but in the context of the problem, if we assume the \(5.7\) is from a sample of nurses). The \(8\) randomly chosen nurses (a sample) who are married is also a statistic as it describes a sample of nurses.

Answer:

• Parameter: The \(61\%\) of all the full - time nurses at the hospital who prefer a four - day work schedule.
• Statistic: The average of \(5.7\) sick days per year taken among all the full - time nurses at the hospital (assuming it's from a sample) and the \(8\) randomly chosen nurses who are married.