Math Lesson 8
Population Samples

Instruction 8-5

Compare Samples | Sample Selection Procedures | Data Display Analysis | Sampling Errors | Claims | Summary

CLAIMS  
CA GR6 SDAP 2.5

When a company says that their product is better than any other product, they are making a claim that their product will perform better than the rest. At one time, Duracell stated that its batteries last longer than other batteries. Recently, Energizer stated that its batteries last the longest. Both can’t be correct. Duracell did have the longest lasting batteries, but then Energizer improved their batteries and can now claim that they have the longest lasting batteries.

When you state your outcome from your survey, you are making a claim about how the population will respond. If you are able to question the entire population, you would have an accurate claim about how the population responded. Since most surveys use a small portion of the population, the claim about how the population would respond may be inaccurate, invalid or misleading.

For example: Six Flags wanted to know if they should build another roller coaster or another water slide. They asked people visiting their amusement park if they preferred a roller coaster or a water slide. They collected the following information.

The claims that most teenagers like water slides and most adults like roller coasters would be valid. It would be invalid or misleading to claim that most people prefer a roller coaster over a water slide because older people swim less than teenagers.

Did you notice another claim that was made? Is it true that older people swim less than teenagers? How do you know?

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