GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES

Senior High School Department

Lesson
6 Sampling Distributions
Introduction
At the end of this lesson the student will be able to:

 Find the mean and variance of the sampling distribution of the sample
mean.
 Defines the sampling distribution of the same mean for normal
population when the variance is (a) known; (b) unknown

NT

There are many different possible samples of the same size that can be drawn from a given
population. A statistic such as a mean can be computed for each of the samples drawn.

To find the mean μ x ̅ of the sampling distribution of means, use the following formula:

μx̅ =∑
x̅
n

Where
x ̅ = sample mean
n = total number of observations

Alternative formula for μ x ̅ :

μx̅ = ∑ x ̅ ( Px̅ )
Where
x ̅ = sample mean
Px ̅ = probability of each sample mean

Definition: The probability distribution that describes the probability for each mean of all the samples
with the same sample size n is called sampling distribution.

Example 1.

Consider the population consisting of the values 2, 3, and 5. List all the possible samples of size
2 that can be drawn from the population with replacement. Then, compute the mean x ̅ for each
sample. Lastly, find the mean of sampling distribution of means and the mean of the population.

Solution:

SHS Learning Module

GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES
Senior High School Department

All the possible samples of size 2 with replacements are listed in the second column. The
corresponding means of all these samples are shown in the third column. For instance, the first sample
consists of (2, 2) and the corresponding mean is (2 + 2) ÷ 2 = 2.0. The second sample consists of (2, 3)
and the corresponding mean is (2 + 3) ÷ 2 = 2.5. The third sample consists of (2, 5) and the
corresponding mean is (2 + 5) ÷ 2 = 3.5.

Means of Samples Drawn with Replacement from the Population (2, 3, 5)

Observation Sample x̅
1 (2, 2) 2.0
2 (2, 3) 2.5
3 (2, 5) 3.5
4 (3, 2) 2.5
5 (3, 3) 3.0
6 (3, 5) 4.0
7 (5, 2) 3.5
8 (5, 3) 4.0
9 (5, 5) 5.0

A total of 9 samples with 9 sample means can be drawn from the population (2, 3, 5). The
1
probability of occurrence of each mean is .
9

Sampling Distribution of x ̅ ith Replacement (n = 2)

x̅ Probability ( Px ̅ ¿ x ̅ Px ̅
2.0 1 2
9 9
2.5 1 5
9 18
3.5 1 7
9 18
2.5 1 5
9 18
3.0 1 1
9 3
4.0 1 4
9 9
3.5 1 7
9 18
4.0 1 4
9 9
5.0 1 5
9 9
∑ x̅ = 30.0 ∑ x ̅ P x ̅ = 3.33

a. Mean of the Population (2, 3, 5) b. μ x ̅ =¿

∑x̅
n
μ=
∑ x̅ ¿
30
N 9
2+ 3+5
¿ ¿ 3.33
3
10
¿
3
¿ 3.33

Using the alternative formula

SHS Learning Module
GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES
Senior High School Department

μ x ̅ =∑ x ̅ ( Px ̅ ¿
2 5 7 5 1 4 7 4 5
¿ + + + + + + + + = 3.33
9 18 18 18 3 9 18 9 9
Notice that the population mean is equal to the mean μ x ̅ of the sampling distribution of the means. That
is, μ=μ x ̅ .

TRY THIS!

Example 2.

Consider the population consisting of the values (1, 3, 8)

a. List all the possible samples of size 2 with replacement.

b. Compute the mean of each sample.
c. Identify the probability of each sample.
d. Compute the mean of the sampling distribution of the means.
e. Compute the population mean.
f. Compare the population mean with the mean of the sampling distribution of means.

With Replacement
Variance and Standard Deviation of the Sampling Distribution of Means

Example 3

Consider a population with values (2, 5, 7, 8)

a. Find the population mean.

b. Find the population variance.
c. Find the population standard deviation.
d. Find all the possible samples of size 2 which can be drawn with replacement from this population.
e. Find the mean of the sampling distribution of the means.
f. Find the variance of the sampling distribution of the means.
g. Find the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the means.

Solution:

The computation are shown after the table.

Observation x x−μ ( x−μ )2

1 2 -3.5 12.25
2 5 -0.5 0.25
3 7 1.5 2.25
4 8 2.5 6.25
∑ =22
x ∑ ( x−μ )2=21.00
a. To find the population mean, just find the sum of all the four values 2,5,7, and 8 then divide the sum
by the population size 4.

μ=
∑ x̅
N

22
¿
4
¿ 5.5
b. To find the population variance, find the sum of the squared deviatons of each value from the
population mean 5.5. Then divide the sum of the squared deviations by the population size 4.
SHS Learning Module
GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES
Senior High School Department

2
σ =
∑ ( x −μ )2
N
21
¿
4
¿ 5.25
21
c. To find the population standard deviation, extract the square root of the population variance .
4

σ=
√ ∑ ( x−μ )2
N
¿
4√
21

¿ 2.29

d. All possible samples of size 2 which can be drawn with replacement from the given population are
listed in the second column of the table below.

Observation Sample x̅ μ−μ x ̅ (μ−μ ¿¿ x ̅ )2 ¿

1 (2,2) 2.0 -3.5 12.25
2 (2,5) 3.5 -2.0 4.00
3 (2,7) 4.5 -1.0 1.00
4 (2,8) 5.0 -0.5 0.25
5 (5,2) 3.5 -2.0 4.00
6 (5,5) 5.0 -0.5 0.25
7 (5,7) 6.0 -0.5 0.25
8 (5,8) 6.5 1.0 1.00
9 (7,2) 4.5 -1.0 1.00
10 (7,5) 6.0 0.5 0.25
11 (7,7) 7.0 1.5 2.25
12 (7,8) 7.5 2.0 4.00
13 (8,2) 5.0 -0.5 0.25
14 (8,5) 6.5 1.0 1.00
15 (8,7) 7.5 2.0 4.00
16 (8,8) 8.0 2.5 6.25
∑ x ̅ =88 ∑ (μ−μ¿ ¿ x ̅ )2=42.00 ¿
e. The mean of the sampling distribution of means is computed as follows:

μx̅ = ∑x̅
n
88
=
16
= 5.5

f. The variance of the sampling distribution of means is:

2
σ x ̅ =¿ ∑ (μ−μ¿¿ x ̅ )2
¿
n
42
=
16
= 2.625

g. The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of means is computed as follows:

√
σ x ̅ = ∑ ( μ−μ ¿¿ x ̅ ) ¿
2

n
=
42
16 √
SHS Learning Module
GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES
Senior High School Department

= 1.62
2
σ 5.25
Notice that σ 2x ̅ =¿ = = 2.625.
n 2

The variance of the sampling distribution of means is equal to the population variance divided
by the size n of the samples. That is,
2
2 σ
σ x̅ =
n

TRY THIS!

Example 4

Consider a population of four values (3, 4, 8, 9) with replacement.

Example 5

If the sample size is n = 2 and the population variance of σ 2 = 7.75, what is the variance of the
sampling distribution of means equal to?

σ2
Solution: σ 2x ̅ =¿
n
7.75
=
2
= 3.875

The square root of the variance of the sampling distribution of means is called the standard error
of the mean or simply, the standard error.

σ
σ x̅ =
√n
TRY THIS!

Example 6

If the sample size is n = 3 and the population variance of σ 2 = 8.5, what is the standard error of
the mean?

Without Replacement
Mean, Variance and Standard Deviation of the Sampling Distribution of Means

Example 7

A population consists of three numbers (2, 4, 6). Consider all possible samples of size 2 which
can be drawn without replacement from the population.

Find the following:

a. Population Mean
b. Population Variance
c. Population Standard Deviation
d. Mean of each sample and mean of the sampling distribution of means
e. Variance of the sampling distributions of means
f. Standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the means

SHS Learning Module

GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES
Senior High School Department

Alternative method to find σ 2x ̅ if all possible random samples of size n are chosen from a finite
population without replacement, use:

( )
2
2 σ N −n
σ x̅ =
n N−1

Where
2
σ = population variance
N = population size
n = sample size

To find σ x ̅ use the following formula:

√ ( )
2
σ x ̅ = σ N −n
n N −1

Solution:

a. μ=
∑x̅
n
88
=
16
= 5.5
b. σ 2 = ∑
( x−μ )2
N
8
=
3
= 2.67

c. σ x ̅ =
√ ∑ ( x−μ)2
n
=
√ 8
3
= 1.62

Observation Sample Mean x ̅ μ−μ x ̅ 2

(μ−μ ¿¿ x ̅ ) ¿
1 (2,4) 3 -1 1
2 (2,6) 4 0 0
3 (4,2) 3 -1 1
4 (4,6) 5 1 1
5 (6,2) 4 0 0
6 (6,4) 5 1 1
∑ x ̅ =24 ∑ (μ−μ¿ ¿ x ̅ )2=4 ¿
Observation x x−μ ( x−μ ) 2

d. 1 2 -2 4
2 4 0 0
3 6 2 4
∑ x =12 ∑ ( x−μ )2=8
μ=
∑ x̅
N

24
¿
6
¿4

SHS Learning Module

GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES
Senior High School Department

e. σ 2
x̅ =¿
∑ (μ−μ¿¿ x ̅ )2
¿
n
4 2
= =
6 3
= 0.67

f. σ x ̅ =
√ ∑ ( μ−μ ¿¿ x ̅ )2 ¿
n
4
6
=
√
= 0.816 or 0.82
Another method for computing σ 2x ̅ and σ x ̅ .

(
σ 2 N −n
) √ ( )
2
σ
2
x̅ = σ x ̅ = σ N −n
n N−1 n N −1

= ( )
2.67 3−2
2 3−1
=
√ ( )
2.67 3−2
2 3−1

=
2 2()
2.67 1
= 0.82

= 0.67
TRY THIS!
Example 8
A population consists of three numbers (2,5,8). Consider all possible samples of size 2 which
can be drawn without replacement from the population. Find the following.
a. Population Mean
b. Population Variance
c. Population Standard Deviation
d. Mean of each sample and mean of the sampling distribution of means
e. Variance of the sampling distributions of means
f. Standard deviation of the sampling distribution of the means

Engagement

Solve the following.

1. A population consists of the values (1,3,4). List down all the possible samples of size 2 that can be
drawn from this population with replacement.
2. A population consists of the values (5,6,9). List down all the possible samples without replacement.
3. What is the population mean of (5, 8, 9, 12)?

Assessment

Do as indicated.
1. Gilbert got a new job in a shoe store at a mall in San Fernando, Pampanga. The numbers of pair of
shoes he was able to sell for three days are: 2, 4, 5. Assume that samples of size 2 are randomly selected
with replacement from this population of three values.

a. List all the 9 differet possible samples.

b. Find the mean of each sample.
c. Find the mean of the sampling distribution of means.
d. Identify the probability of each sample.
e. Find the population mean.

SHS Learning Module

GOLDEN GATE COLLEGES
Senior High School Department

f. Compare the population mean with the mean of the sampling distribution of means.

2. All population consists of four numbers (2, 3, 6, 9). Consider all possible samples of size 2 that can
be drawn with replacement from this population. Find the following:
a. The mean of the population
b. The standard deviation of the population
c. The mean of the sampling distribution of means
d. The standard deviation of the sampling distribution of means

SHS Learning Module