Question

a poll is being taken on wednesday to predict which movie will be the most popular at the citys movie theaters the next weekend: an animated movie, an action movie, or a romantic comedy. which group would best represent a sample population?
every fifth person coming out of the high school.
every fifth person in the malls food court at lunchtime.
every fifth person coming out of the downtown grocery store at different times throughout the day.
every fifth person walking down the street in several different locations throughout town at different times of day.

Explanation:

To represent the population (people who might go to theaters on the next weekend), the sample should be as diverse as possible. Sampling every fifth person walking down the street in several different locations throughout town at different times of day (option 1) covers a wider range of people (different ages, occupations, etc.) compared to the other options which target more specific groups (e.g., high - school students in option 4, people in a mall's food court in option 3 which is more limited in age and purpose of visit, people coming out of a grocery store in option 2 which also has a limited context).

Answer:

Every fifth person walking down the street in several different locations throughout town at different times of day.