E-Cigarette Survey In a survey of 36,000 adults, 3.7% said that they regularly use E-cigarettes (based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics)

b. Is the value of 3.7% a statistic or parameter?

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Understand the difference between a statistic and a parameter: A statistic is a numerical measurement describing some characteristic of a sample, while a parameter is a numerical measurement describing some characteristic of a population.

Identify the group being referred to in the problem: The problem mentions a survey of 36,000 adults, which is a sample of the larger population of all adults.

Determine what the 3.7% represents: The 3.7% is the proportion of the sample (36,000 adults) who said they regularly use E-cigarettes.

Since the 3.7% is derived from a sample (36,000 adults) and not the entire population of all adults, it is a statistic.

Conclude that the value of 3.7% is a statistic because it describes a characteristic of a sample, not the entire population.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Statistic vs. Parameter

A statistic is a numerical value that describes a characteristic of a sample, while a parameter is a numerical value that describes a characteristic of a population. In this context, the 3.7% figure represents the proportion of E-cigarette users among the surveyed adults, making it a statistic since it is derived from a sample of the larger population.

Sample Size

Sample size refers to the number of observations or data points collected in a survey or study. A larger sample size, like the 36,000 adults in this survey, generally leads to more reliable and valid results, reducing the margin of error and increasing the confidence in the findings about the population.

Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics are methods for summarizing and organizing data to provide a clear overview of its main features. The 3.7% figure is an example of descriptive statistics, as it summarizes the proportion of E-cigarette users in the sample, allowing for easy interpretation of the data without making inferences about the entire population.

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