Final answer:
The population in this context refers to all students at OSU Lima, whereas the sample is the 314 students who were surveyed. The aim of sampling is to use a representative subset to draw conclusions about the entire population.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking about the population that is implied in the scenario where a simple random sample of OSU Lima students was taken to find out what proportion thinks that final exams should be canceled. The population refers to the entire group that is being studied, which in this case, would be all the students at OSU Lima, not just the 314 students who were part of the sample.
In sampling, a representative sample is important because we want conclusions we draw from the sample to reflect the broader population without bias. If we are seeking to generalize findings from a sample to a larger population, the sample must approximate the overall composition of the population. For example, if you wanted to estimate the political awareness of college students or determine the proportion of students against new legislation, a random and representative sample provides credible insights into the whole population's opinions.