Question

question 1 ch 16 what is statistical inference? drawing conclusions about a sample based on the measurements in that sample. drawing conclusions about a population based on information in a sample. drawing conclusions about a sample based on information contained in a population. selecting a set of data from a large population. question 2 ch 16 why is it sensible to use $\bar{x}$ as a guess for the population mean, $mu$? the sampling distribution of $\bar{x}$ tells how close $\bar{x}$ is likely to be to $mu$. $\bar{x}$ is always equal to $mu$. $\bar{x}$ is the same from sample to sample. $\bar{x}$ is the easiest statistic to calculate.

Explanation:

• For Question 1: Statistical inference is about using sample - level data to make statements about the population. It's not about just drawing conclusions about the sample itself or using population info to draw conclusions about a sample, and it's not just about sampling.
• For Question 2: The sampling distribution of the sample mean $\bar{x}$ gives us an idea of how close $\bar{x}$ is likely to be to the population mean $\mu$. $\bar{x}$ is not always equal to $\mu$, it varies from sample to sample, and while it may be easy to calculate, that's not the main reason for using it as an estimator.

Answer:

Question 1: B. Drawing conclusions about a population based on information in a sample.
Question 2: A. The sampling distribution of $\bar{x}$ tells how close $\bar{x}$ is likely to be to $\mu$.