Module 6: SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION

At the end of the module the students should be able to:

1. define and explain sampling distribution;

2. compute the mean and standard error of a sampling distribution;
3. compute for the mean and variance of a sampling distribution of sample means;
4. find the variance of the sample mean for a normal distribution;
5. explain and find the sample mean using the central limit theorem, and
6. solve real-life problems involving sampling distributions of sample mean.

Sampling Distribution

A sampling distribution is a probability distribution of a statistic obtained from a

larger number of samples drawn from a specific population. The sampling distribution of
a given population is the distribution of frequencies of a range of different outcomes that
could possibly occur for a statistic of a population.

Example 1. Random samples with size 3 are drawn from the population containing the
values 9, 12, 18 21, and 27.

a. Construct a sampling distribution of the sample means.

b. Find the mean of the sample means.
c. Compute the standard error of the sample means.

Solution: There are 5C3 = 10 samples with size 3 that can be taken from the population
with size 6.
Sample Mean
9, 12, 18 13
9, 12, 21 14
9, 12, 27 16
9, 18, 21 16
9, 18, 27 18
9, 21, 27 19
12, 18, 21 17
12, 18, 27 19
12, 21, 27 20
18, 21, 27 22
 a. Distribution of the Sample Means

𝑥̅ 13 14 16 18 19 17 19 20 22 N
f 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 10

b. Mean of the Sample Means

∑ 𝑥̅ 174
𝜇𝑥̅ = = ≈ 𝟏𝟕. 𝟒𝟎
𝑁 10

c. Standard Error of the Sample Means

̅
𝒙 f 𝝁𝒙̅ ̅ − 𝝁𝒙̅
𝒙 ̅ − 𝝁𝒙̅ )𝟐
(𝒙 ̅ − 𝝁𝒙̅ )𝟐
𝒇 (𝒙
13 1 17.40 -4.4 19.36 19.36
14 1 17.40 -3.4 11.56 11.56
16 2 17.40 -1.4 1.96 3.92
18 1 17.40 0.6 0.36 0.36
19 1 17.40 1.6 2.56 2.56
17 1 17.40 -0.4 0.16 0.16
19 1 17.40 1.6 2.56 2.56
20 1 17.40 2.6 6.76 6.76
22 1 17.40 4.6 21.16 21.16
∑ 𝑓(𝑥̅ − 𝜇𝑥̅ )2 68.40

∑ 𝑓(𝑥̅ − 𝜇𝑥̅ )2
𝜎𝑥̅ = √
𝑁

68.40
𝜎𝑥̅ = √ ≈ 𝟔. 𝟖𝟒
10

Example 2. Random samples with size 2 are drawn from the population containing values
10, 15, 20, and 25.
a. Construct a sampling distribution of the sample means.
b. Find the mean of the sample means.
c. Compute the standard error of the sample means.
Solution: There are 4C2 = 6 samples with size 2 that can be taken from the population
with size 4.

Sample Mean
10, 15 12.5
10, 20 15.0
10, 25 17.5
15, 20 17.5
15, 25 20.0
20, 25 22.5

a. Distribution of the Sample Means

𝑥̅ 12.5 15.0 17.5 20.0 22.5 N
f 1 1 2 1 1 6

b. Mean of the Sample Means

∑ 𝑥̅ 12.5 + 15.0 + (2 ∗ 17.5) + 20.0 + 22.5 105

𝜇𝑥̅ = = = ≈ 𝟏𝟕. 𝟓𝟎
𝑁 6 6

c. Standard Error of the Sample Means

̅
𝒙 f 𝝁𝒙̅ ̅ − 𝝁𝒙̅
𝒙 ̅ − 𝝁𝒙̅ )𝟐
(𝒙 ̅ − 𝝁𝒙̅ )𝟐
𝒇 (𝒙
12.5 1 17.50 -5.00 25.0 25.00
15.0 1 17.50 -2.50 6.25 6.25
17.5 2 17.50 0.00 0.00 0.00
20.0 1 17.50 2.50 6.25 6.25
22.5 1 17.50 5.00 25.00 25.00
∑ 𝑓(𝑥̅ − 𝜇𝑥̅ )2 62.50

∑ 𝑓(𝑥̅ − 𝜇𝑥̅ )2
𝜎𝑥̅ = √
𝑁

62.50
𝜎𝑥̅ = √ ≈ 𝟑. 𝟐𝟑
6
Module 6
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 1
Sampling Distribution

1. The following are the monthly income of 7 workers working in a different companies:
15 000, 18 000, 19 000, 21 000, 22 500, 24 000, and 28 000 (in pesos). A sample with
size 5 is chosen to determine the average monthly income of the workers.

a. Construct a sampling distribution of the sample means.

b. Find the mean of the sample means.

c. Compute the standard error of the sample means.

The Sampling Distribution of the Sample Means
If repeated random samples of a given size n are taken from a population of values
for a quantitative variable, where the population mean is μ (mu) and the population
standard deviation is σ (sigma) then the mean of all sample means (x-bars) is population
mean μ (mu).
Mean and Standard Error of the Sampling Distribution of Sample Means
The mean and standard error of the distribution of sample means taken from a
population with mean µ and standard deviation σ can be determined using
𝝈
𝝁𝒙̅ = 𝝁 and 𝝈𝒙̅ =
√𝒏

Example 1. Random samples with size 5 are drawn from the population with values 15,
17, 25, 28, 31, and 43. Find the mean and the standard error for the given sample means.
Solution: Mean
15 + 17 + 25 + 28 + 31 + 43 159
𝝁𝒙̅ = 𝝁 = = ≈ 𝟐𝟔. 𝟓
6 6
Standard Error
Compute first the population standard deviation

∑(𝑥 − 𝜇 )2
𝜎=√
𝑁

(15 − 26.5)2 + (17 − 26.5)2 + (25 − 26.5)2 + (28 − 26.5)2 + (31 − 26.5)2 + (43 − 26.5)2
𝜎=√
6

519.5
𝝈=√ ≈ 𝟗. 𝟑𝟏
6
𝝈 9.31
𝝈𝒙̅ = = = 𝟒. 𝟏𝟔
√ 𝒏 √5

Example 2. Suppose that we randomly select a sample of 64 measurements from a

population having a mean equal to 20 and a standard deviation equal to 4. Find the mean
and the standard error for the given sample means.
Solution: Mean
𝝁𝒙̅ = 𝝁 = 𝟐𝟎
Standard Error
𝝈 4 4
𝝈𝒙̅ = = = = 𝟎. 𝟓𝟎
√𝒏 √64 8
Module 6
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 2
Sampling Distribution of the Sample Means

I. Compute for the mean and standard error of the sampling distribution of the
sample means.
1. 𝑛 = 16, 𝜇 = 26, 𝜎 = 3.5

2. 𝑛 = 9, 𝜇 = 36, 𝜎 = 7

3. 𝑛 = 25, 𝜇 = 64, 𝜎 = 9

4. 𝑛 = 15, 𝜇 = 4.55, 𝜎 = 0.59

5. 𝑛 = 27, 𝜇 = 12.45, 𝜎 = 9.5

6. An automobile insurer has found that repair claims have a mean of ₱29 200 and a
standard deviation of 570. Suppose that the next 100 claims can be regarded as a random
sample from the long-run claims process.

7. The average monthly income of teachers working in a public school is ₱24 000 with
standard deviation of ₱750. If a random sample of 18 teachers is selected, what is the
mean and standard error of the corresponding distribution of the sample means?
The Central Limit Theorem (CLT)

It is a statistical theory stating that given a sufficiently large sample size from a
population with a finite level of variance, the mean of all samples from the same
population will be approximately equal to the mean of the population.
According to the central limit theorem, the mean of a sample data will be closer to
the mean of the overall population in question, as the sample size increases,
notwithstanding the actual distribution of the data. In other words, the data is accurate
whether the distribution is normal or unusual.

As a general rule, sample sizes equal to or greater than 30 are deemed

sufficient for the CLT to hold, meaning that the distribution of the sample means is
fairly normally distributed. Therefore, the more samples one takes, the more the
graphed results take the shape of a normal distribution.

Example 1. The average age of teachers in Makati is 35 with a standard deviation of 9.

If the principal of Makati High School employs 121 teachers, what is the probability that
the average age of these teachers is less than 36?

Solution: The distribution is normally distributed based on the Central Limit Theorem
since n>30. Using the distribution of the sample mean of a normal variable:
̅−𝝁
𝒙
𝒛= 𝝈
√𝒏
Given: ̅ = 𝟑𝟔
𝒙
𝝁 = 𝟑𝟓
𝝈=𝟗
𝒏 = 121

̅−𝝁
𝒙 36 − 35 1 11
𝒛= 𝝈 = = = ≈ 𝟏. 𝟐𝟐
9 9 9
√𝒏 √121 11

P(X<36) = P(Z<1.22)
P(X<36) = 0.5 + 0.3888
P(X<36) = 0.8888

*The probability that the average age of the teachers that will be hired is less than
36 is 88.88%.
Example 2. Suppose the grades in a finite mathematics class are Normally distributed
with a mean of 75 and a standard deviation of 5.

a. What is the probability that a randomly selected 4 students had a grade of at

least 83?
Given: ̅ = 𝟖𝟑
𝒙
𝝁 = 𝟕𝟓
𝝈=𝟓
𝒏=𝟒

𝟖𝟑 − 𝟕𝟓 𝟖
𝒛= = ≈ 𝟑. 𝟐𝟎
𝟓 𝟓
√𝟒 𝟐

P(X ≥ 83) = P(Z ≥ 3.20)

P(X ≥ 83) = 0.5 - 0.4993
P(X ≥ 83) = 0.0007
The probability that the grades of students is at least 83 is 0.07%.

b. What is the probability that the average grade for 5 randomly selected students
was at least 78?
Given: ̅ = 𝟕𝟖
𝒙
𝝁 = 𝟕𝟓
𝝈=𝟓
𝒏=5

𝟕𝟖 − 𝟕𝟓 𝟑
𝒛= = ≈ 𝟏. 𝟑𝟒
𝟓 𝟓
√𝟓 𝟐. 𝟐𝟒

P(X ≥ 78) = P(Z ≥ 1.34)

P(X ≥ 78) = 0.5 - 0.4099
P(X ≥ 83) = 0.0901
The probability that the grades of students is at least 78 is 9.01%.
Module 6
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 3
Central Limit Theorem

I. Read and answer the following problem sets and show all necessary solution.
1. A random sample with size 16 is selected from a normally distributed population with
a mean of 16 and a standard deviation of 3.2. Determine the probability that the mean
sample falls between 14 and 16?

2. The height of the students in a certain high school are normally distributed with an
average height of 180 cm and a standard deviation of 25 cm. If a random sample of 50
students is chosen, determine the probability that their height fall between 170 cm and
190 cm.

3. A random sample of 100 people is chosen from a large population with an average
weight of 60 kilos and standard deviation of 10 kilos. What is the probability that the mean
weight of the sample is at least 65 kilos considering the given population follows a normal
distribution?

4. Suppose the age a student graduates from University of Makati is Normally distributed.
If the mean age is 23 years and the standard deviation is 4.5 years, what is the probability
that 6 randomly selected students had a mean age at graduation that is greater than 25?
References

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✓ https://bolt.mph.ufl.edu/6050-6052/module-9/sampling-distribution-of-x-
bar/#:~:text=asserting%20the%20following%3A-
,The%20Sampling%20Distribution%20of%20the%20Sample%20Mean,populatio
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✓ https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/central_limit_theorem.asp