chapter 1 statistics vocab

probability

mathematical tool used to study randomness

population

collection of persons, things, or objects under study

sampling

select a portion of the larger population and study that portion to gain info about the population

statistic

number that represents a property of the sample

parameter

numerical characteristic of the whole population that can be estimated by a statistic

representatice sample

contain the characteristics of the population

variable

notated by x and y, is a characteristic or measurement that can be determined for each member of a population (can be numerical or categorical)

numerical variable

take on values with equal units such as weight in pounds and time in hours

categorical variables

place the person or thing into a category

data

actual values of the variable, may be numbers or words

datum

a single value