Final answer:
The 33% figure of the respondents with health insurance from a survey of households is a statistic, as it comes from a sample. A parameter refers to a value derived from the entire population, unlike a statistic, which is obtained from a sample.
Step-by-step explanation:
A parameter is a value that describes a characteristic of an entire population, whereas a statistic is a measure that describes a characteristic of a sample taken from the population. For example, if an insurance company wanted to find out the proportion of all doctors involved in malpractice lawsuits and surveyed every single doctor, the result would be a parameter. However, if they took a sample, say 500 doctors, and derived their conclusion from that sample, it would be considered a statistic.
In academic and applied research contexts, when we can assess every single unit in the population, we calculate parameters. For instance, if the U.S. federal government could survey all high school seniors about their future plans and found that 50% are planning to attend a four-year college, that figure would be considered a parameter. However, if only a sample of all seniors is surveyed, as is more common, the result is a statistic.
Therefore, in the question of what 50 percent represents in a survey of high school seniors planning to attend a four-year college, when the information comes from a survey (a subset), it is a statistic (Option B). When the information is gathered from the entire population, it is a parameter (Option A).