A researcher wants to know what the average variation is in altimeters of small, privately owned airplanes.The task of determining this is expensive and time-consuming, if even possible, given the large number of such airplanes.The researcher decides to use government records to randomly locate the owners of ten such planes and then get permission to test the altimeters.When the researcher is done, the data gathered from the group of ten will be used to reach conclusions about all small, privately owned airplanes.The average variation computed using the data gathered on the group of ten airplanes is best described as a ___.
A)measurement
B)data
C)statistic
D)parameter
E)census

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The average variation computed using the data gathered from the group of ten airplanes is a statistic. A statistic is a numerical summary of a sample, in this case, the sample of ten small, privately owned airplanes. A parameter, on the other hand, is a numerical summary of a population, which in this case would be all small, privately owned airplanes. Since the researcher is using data from a sample to draw conclusions about a population, the best description of the average variation is a statistic.

A Researcher Wants to Know What the Average Variation Is