Question

Veata wants to know what percent of students at her school are left-hand dominant. Veata recalls that when students were randomly assigned to groups she was the only student in the group of 8 that was left-hand dominant. She also notices that 7 of the 28 students in her art class are left-hand dominant. Which sample should be used to determine the best estimate for the percent of students at the school who are left-hand dominant? Circle one of the following.

randomly assigned group

the entire art class

Explain your reasoning and any concerns about the choices above.

Answer 1

randomly assigned group. the art class isn't random and only consists of a select type of people--it is not a representative sample; maybe more left handed people enjoy art than do right handed people! therefore, even though the randomly assigned group is smaller, it is the better estimate.