Question

A researcher asks customers at a meat market if they are vegetarian. All 50 people surveyed said they were not. Explain why the following statement is misleading: "0% of people are vegetarians."

answer options:
A)The results are reported incorrectly, because 0 out of 50 people is not equivalent to 0%.
B)The sample size is too small.
C)The sample is biased, because people who buy meat also sometimes buy vegetables.
D)The sample is biased, because people who buy meat are less likely to be vegetarian.

Answer 1

The statement is misleading because the results are reported incorrectly and should be represented as 0 out of 50 people surveyed, not 0% of the population.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement “0% of people are vegetarians” is misleading because the results are reported incorrectly. The correct representation should state that 0 out of 50 people surveyed are vegetarians, which is equivalent to 0 out of 100% of the surveyed population, not 0% of the entire population.

The sample size in this case is not the issue, as 50 is a valid sample size for a survey.

The sample is not biased because people who buy meat also sometimes buy vegetables, as the question asked if they are vegetarian and not if they eat only meat. Similarly, the sample is not biased because people who buy meat are less likely to be vegetarian, as the survey results were not skewed due to any specific characteristics of the meat market customers.