7.54 Unbiased and Biased Estimators. A statistic is said to be an unbiased estimator of a parameter if the mean of all its possible values equals the parameter. otherwise, it is said to be a biased estimator. An unbiased estimator yields, on average, the correct value of the parameter, whereas a biased estimator does not.
a. Is the sample mean an unbiased estimator of the population mean? Explain your answer.
b. Is the sample median an unbiased estimator of the population median? (Hint: Refer to Example 7.2 on pages 292-293. Consider samples of size 2.)

Short Answer

Expert verified

(a) Yes, the sample mean is an unbiased estimator of population mean.
Because the population mean is equal to the mean of all possible sample means for a specific sample size.

(b) No, the sample median is not an unbiased estimator of the population median.

Step by step solution

01

Part (a) Step 1: Given information

To determine the sample mean is an unbiased estimator of the population mean.

02

Part (b) Step 2: Explanation

Yes, sample mean is a reliable predictor of population mean.
Because the population mean is equal to the mean of all possible sample means for a specific sample size.

03

Part (b) Step 3: Given information

To explain the sample median is an unbiased estimator of the population median.

04

Part (b) Step 4: Explanation

Assume the population consists of five players,A,B,C,D,and E, and the variable in question is the players' height in inches.
The heights of the players are listed in the table below:
Player as ABCDE
Height (in inches) 7678798186
The total number of population observations in this case isN=5, which is odd.
The observations are listed in ascending order of importance.
Then, the population median=N+12-th observation

=5+12-thobservation

=3-rd observation
=79
Hence, the population median is 79inches.
05

Part (b) Step 5: Explanation

Consider the population's sample size number 3.

The number of size 3samples that can be taken from a population of size 5is 10.

Sample
Observations (Height in inches)
Sample median=n+12th obsn
=3+12th obsn=2ndobsn
A,B,C
76,78,79
78
A,B,D
76,78.81
78
A,B,E
76,78,86
78
A,C,D
76,79,81
79
A,C,E
76,79,86
79
A,D,E
76,81,86
81
B,C,D
78,79,81
79
B,C,E
78,79,86
79
B,D,E
76,81,86
81
C,D,E
79,81,86
81


As a result, for samples of size3, the mean of all possible sample medians
78+78+78+79+79+81+79+79+81+8110
=79310
=79.3
As a result, the average of all possible sample medians for size 3samples does not equal the population median of 79 inches.
As a result, the sample median is a biased estimator of the population median.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

America's Riches. Each year, Forbes magazine publishes a list of the richest people in the United States. As of September l6, 2013, the six richest Americans and their wealth (to the neatest billion dollars) are as shown in the following table. Consider these six people a population of interest.

(a) For sample size of 6construct a table similar to table 7.2 on page293 what is the relationship between the only possible sample here and the population?

(b) For a random sample of size 6determine the probability that themean wealth of the two people obtained will be within 3(i.e,3 billion) of the population mean. interpret your result in terms of percentages.

A variable of a population has a mean of μ=35and a standard deviation of σ=42.

a. If the variable is normally distributed, identify the sampling distribution of the sample mean for samples of size 9.

b. Can you answer part (a) if the distribution of the variable under consideration is unknown? Explain your answer.

c. Can you answer part (a) if the distribution of the variable under consideration is unknown but the sample size is 36instead of 9?

Why or why not?

Officer Salaries. Refer to Problem 5.

a. Use the answer you obtained in Problem 5(b)and Definition 3.11on page 140 to find the mean of the variable x^Interpret your answer.

b. Can you obtain the mean of the variable ix without doing the calculation in part (a)? Explain your answer.

Consider simple random samples of size n without replacement from a population of size N.

Part (a): Show that if n0.05N,then0.97N-nN-11,

Part (b): Use part (a) to explain why there is little difference in the values provided by Equations (7.1)and (7.2)when the sample size is small relative to the population size- that is, when the size of the sample does not exceed 5% of the size of the population.

Part (c): Explain why the finite population correction factor can be ignored and the simpler formula, Equation (7.2), can be used when the sample size is small relative to the population size.

Part (d): The term N-n/N-1is known as the finite population correction factor. Can you explain why?

New York City 10-kmRun. As reported by Rumле's World magazine, the times of the finishers in the New York City 10-km run are normally distributed with a mean of 61 minutes and a standard deviation of 9minutes. Do the following for the variable "finishing time61min of finishers in the New York City 10-kmrun.

a. Find the sampling distribution of the sample mean for samples of size 4

b. Repeat part (a) for samples of size 9

C. Construct graphs similar to those shown in Fig.7.4on-page 304

d. Obtain the percentage of all samples of four finishers that have mean finishing times within 5minutes of the population mean finishing time of 61 minutes. Interpret your answer in terms of sampling error.

e. Repeat part (d) for samples of size 9

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