Final answer:
Statistical questions inquire about variations and distributions within a dataset. Examples A, B, and E are statistical questions as they ask about the variability in weights of farm animals, ages of school teachers, and the count of students eating in the cafeteria, respectively. These questions imply natural or sampling variability, which is central to statistical analysis.
Step-by-step explanation:
The answer to a statistical question involves describing variations in the data, which may include discussing the distribution, spread, and range of the data values. For instance, when considering the weight of animals on a farm or the ages of teachers at a school, we can expect that there will be a variety of different weights and ages. The examples you provided can be analyzed to address statistical questions as follows:
A) How much do the animals on the farm weigh? - This question seeks to identify variability and distribution in the weights of various animals, which is a statistical question given the natural variability in animal weights.
B) How old are all the teachers at the school? - This queries the range of ages among teachers, expecting statistical variability due to different teachers having different ages.
E) How many students ate lunch in the cafeteria today? - This question involves counting the number of students, which can vary from day to day, representing a form of measurement variability or sampling variability depending on how the data is collected.
In these examples, the population could refer to all farm animals, all teachers, or all students, accordingly. The sample would be a subset that we might actually measure or survey. A parameter is a summary statistic that describes the entire population, whereas a statistic is a summary metric obtained from a sample. The questions that don't represent statistical questions (C and D) ask for a specific, singular data point rather than a distribution or variability across a group.