Big Ideas Math Algebra 2, 2014
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Big Ideas Math Algebra 2, 2014 View details
5. Making Inferences from Sample Surveys
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Exercise 16 Page 631

The margin of error gives a limit on how much the responses of a sample would differ from the responses of the population.

about ± 3.7 %

Practice makes perfect
A margin of error gives a limit on how much the responses of a sample would differ from the responses of the population. If we let n be the size of a random sample taken from a large population, we can write an expression for the margin of error.

Margin of Error: ± 1/sqrt(n) We are told that a survey has a sample size n equal to 750. Let's find the margin of error by substituting this value in the above expression. Margin of Error: ± 1/sqrt(750) ≈ ± 0.037 The margin of error for the survey is about ± 0.037, which can be also written as ± 3.7 %.