Final answer:
Inferential statistics involves estimating population characteristics based on sample data. The correct answer to the question is B, where inferential statistics are used to estimate the characteristics of a population from a sample.
Step-by-step explanation:
Inferential statistics is a branch of statistics focused on drawing conclusions about a population based on a sample drawn from it. The correct answer to the question is B. Estimate the statistics of a population based on a sample. Through inferential statistics, we use methods like confidence intervals and hypothesis testing to make generalizations and predictions about a population. For instance, if a sample provides a certain statistic, like an average or proportion, inferential statistics would be used to estimate the corresponding parameter in the population, acknowledging there is a degree of uncertainty.
One of the main concepts in inferential statistics is the confidence interval, which provides a range of values within which the true population parameter is believed to lie with a certain probability. Another key procedure is hypothesis testing, which assesses the evidence provided by the sample data in support of or against a certain claim about the population.
The role of the sample statistic is to be a point estimate for the population parameter, such as using the sample mean to estimate the population mean. But we must consider that any such estimate has an associated confidence level and a margin of error, reflecting the variability inherent in sampling.