Final answer:
A random sample is a subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.
Step-by-step explanation:
If we select n elements from a population in such a way that every set of n elements in the population has the same chance of being selected, then the n elements we select are said to be a random sample.
A random sample is a subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Random samples are preferred because if the sample is large enough we can be reasonably sure that the participating individuals are representative of the larger population.
For example, suppose we have a population of students and we want to select 10 students to participate in a survey. If we assign each student a number and randomly select 10 numbers, the students corresponding to those numbers will form a random sample from the population.