Final answer:
The 100 students surveyed at Meridian Community College are considered a sample; they represent part of the entire student population, which is impractical to survey in full.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 100 students surveyed at Meridian Community College would constitute a sample. A sample is a subset of the population that is used to represent the larger group. In this case, the population would be all 4,000 students at the college. When researchers conduct surveys or studies, they often use a sample because it is impractical or impossible to survey the entire population. The sample should be as representative as possible to ensure the results can be generalized back to the overall population.
For example, a random survey of enrollment at various community colleges or a survey on political awareness among college students would use a sample to make inferences about the larger population. In statistics, other concepts such as experimental units, explanatory variables, and response variables may also be present depending on the context and design of a study.