Lesson 16: Methods For Selecting A Random Sample: Student Outcomes

NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM Lesson 16 7•5
Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample
Student Outcomes
 Students select a random sample from a population.
 Given a description of a population, students design a plan for selecting a random sample from that
population.
Lesson Notes
In this lesson, students use random numbers to select a random sample. Unlike the previous lessons where students
selected at random from a physical population, in this lesson the random selection is based on using random numbers to
identify the specific individuals in the population that should be included in the sample. Students also design a plan for
selecting a random sample to answer a statistical question about a population.
A variety of methods can be used to generate random numbers. The TI graphing calculators have a random number
generator that can be used if calculators are available. For this lesson, students generate random integers. Random
number generators can also be found on a number of websites. (A specific website is referenced later in this lesson that
could be used to create a list of random numbers. Directions needed to use the random number generator are provided
on the website.) If calculators or access to websites are not possible, simply create a random number bag. Write the
numbers from 1 to 150 on small slips of paper. Students select slips of paper from the bag to form their lists of random
numbers. Having access to technology makes it easier for students to concentrate on the concepts rather than counting
and sorting numbers. If using technology is not possible, each student or pair of students should do only one or two
examples, and the class data should be collected and displayed.
Classwork
Students read the paragraph silently.
In this lesson, you will obtain random numbers to select a random sample. You will also design a plan for selecting a
random sample to answer a statistical question about a population.
Example 1 (2 minutes): Sampling Children’s Books

Introduce the data in the table, and examine the histogram.
Example 1: Sampling Children’s Books
What is the longest book you have ever read? The Hobbit has 95,022 words, and The Cat in the Hat has 830 words.
Popular books vary in the number of words they have—not just the number of different words but the total number of
words. The table on the following page shows the total number of words in some of those books. The histogram displays
the total number of words in 150 best-selling children’s books with fewer than 100,000 words.

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Book Words Book Words Book Words

Charlie and the
Black Beauty 59,635 Chocolate Factory 30,644 The Hobbit 95,022
Judy Moody Was in a
The Catcher in the Rye 73,404 Old Yeller 35,968 Mood 11,049
The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer 69,066 The Cat in the Hat 830 Treasure Island 66,950
Magic Tree House
The Secret Garden 80,398 Green Eggs and Ham 702 Lions at Lunchtime 5,313
The Mouse and the Harry Potter and the
Motorcycle 22,416 Little Bear 1,630 Sorcerer’s Stone 77,325
The Wind in the The Red Badge of Harry Potter and the
Willows 58,424 Courage 47,180 Chamber of Secrets 84,799
Anne Frank: The Junie B. Jones and the
My Father’s Dragon 7,682 Diary of a Young Girl 82,762 Stupid Smelly Bus 6,570
Frog and Toad All Midnight for Charlie
Year 1,727 Bone 65,006 White Mountains 44,763
The Lion, The Witch,
Book of Three 46,926 and the Wardrobe 36,363 Double Fudge 38,860
 In which interval is Black Beauty? The Cat in the Hat?

 Black Beauty is in the interval 55,000 to 60,000 words, while The Cat in the Hat is in the first interval
of 0 to 5,000 words.
 What is the meaning of the first bar in the histogram?
 The first bar indicates the number of books with total number of words between 0 and 4,999 .

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Exercises 1–2 (3 minutes)

Students work independently on Exercises 1 and 2. Have students compare their dot plots with a neighbor.
Exercises 1–2
1. From the table, choose two books with which you are familiar, and describe their locations in the data distribution shown in the
histogram.
Answers will vary. Sample response: I read The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and that has 22,416 words. It is
below the median number of words and may be below the lower quartile. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
has 84,799 words. It is one of the books with lots of words but may not be in the top quarter for the total
number of words.
2. Put dots on the number line below that you think would represent a random sample of size 10 from the number of words
distribution on
the previous
page.

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Answers will vary. The sample distribution might have more values near the maximum and minimum than in the
center.
Example 2 (4 minutes): Using Random Numbers to Select a Sample

Students read and answer the question posed in the Example 2.
Example 2: Using Random Numbers to Select a Sample
The histogram indicates the differences in the number of words in the collection of 150 books. How many words are
typical for a best-selling children’s book? Answering this question would involve collecting data, and there would be
variability in those data. This makes the question a statistical question. Think about the 150 books used to create the
histogram on the previous page as a population. How would you go about collecting data to determine the typical
number of words for the books in this population?
Sample response: I would add up all of the words in the 150 books and divide by 150. This would be the mean
number of words for the 150 books. As the data distribution is not symmetrical, I could also find the median of the 150
books, as it would be a good description of the typical number of words. (Note: Discuss with students that using data for
all 150books is very tedious. As a result, students may indicate that selecting a random sample of the150 books might
be a good way to learn about the number of words in these children’s books.)
Discuss students’ suggestions for choosing a random sample. Be sure to bring out the following points: To choose a
random sample, number all of the books, put the numbers in a bag, and then draw the sample from the bag. Another
way is to use a random number generator, where instead of pulling numbers out of a bag, the generator selects the
MP. numbers to use in the sample. (In this discussion, observe how students make sense of random selection and generating
1 a random sample.)
How would you choose a random sample from the collection of 150 books discussed in this lesson?
Sample response: I would make 150 slips of paper that contained the names of the books. I would then put the slips of
paper in a bag and select 10 or 15 books. The number of pages of the books selected would be my sample.
The data for the number of words in the 150 best-selling children’s books are listed below. Select a random sample of
the number of words for 10 books.
If necessary, explain how to use ten numbers selected from a bag that contains the numbers from 1 to 150 to select the
books for the sample.
If students need more direction in finding a random sample, develop the following example: Consider the following
random numbers obtained by drawing slips from a bag that contained the numbers 1 to 150:

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{ 114 ,65 ,77 , 38 , 86 , 105 ,50 , 1 ,56 , 85 } . These numbers represent the randomly selected books. To find the
number of words in those books, order the random numbers { 1 ,38 , 50 , 56 ,75 ,77 , 85 , 86 , 105 ,114 } . Count from
left to right across the first row of the list of the number of words, then down to the second row, and so on. The sample
consists of the 1st element in the list, the 38th, the 50th, and so on.
Use the above example of random numbers to help students connect the random numbers to the books selected and to
the number of words in those books.
 What number of words corresponds to the book identified by the random number 1?
 59,635; the 1st children’s book listed has 59,635 words.
 What number of words corresponds to the book identified by the random number 38?
 3,252; the 38th children’s book listed has 3,252 words.
Books 1–10 59,635 82,762 92,410 75,340 8,234 59,705 92,409 75,338 8,230 82,768
Books 11–20 73,404 65,006 88,250 2,100 81,450 72,404 88,252 2,099 81,451 65,011
Books 21–30 69,066 36,363 75,000 3,000 80,798 69,165 75,012 3,010 80,790 36,361
Books 31–40 80,398 95,022 71,200 3,250 81,450 80,402 71,198 3,252 81,455 95,032
Books 41–50 22,416 11,049 81,400 3,100 83,475 22,476 81,388 3,101 83,472 11,047
Books 51–60 58,424 66,950 92,400 2,750 9,000 58,481 92,405 2,748 9,002 66,954
Books 61–70 7,682 5,313 83,000 87,000 89,170 7,675 83,021 87,008 89,167 5,311
Books 71–80 1,727 77,325 89,010 862 88,365 1,702 89,015 860 88,368 77,328
Books 81–90 46,926 84,799 88,045 927 89,790 46,986 88,042 926 89,766 84,796
Books 91–100 30,644 6,570 90,000 8,410 91,010 30,692 90,009 8,408 91,015 6,574
Books 101–110 35,968 44,763 89,210 510 9,247 35,940 89,213 512 9,249 44,766
Books 111–120 830 8,700 92,040 7,891 83,150 838 92,037 7,889 83,149 8,705
Books 121–130 702 92,410 94,505 38,860 81,110 712 94,503 87,797 81,111 92,412
Books 131–140 1,630 88,250 97,000 7,549 8,245 1,632 97,002 7,547 8,243 88,254
Books 141–150 47,180 75,000 89,241 81,234 8,735 47,192 89,239 81,238 8,739 75,010

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Exercises 3–6 (10 minutes)

In this set of exercises, students select a random sample by using a random number generator or slips of paper in a bag.
To generate a set of random numbers, consider directing students to a website, such as
www.rossmanchance.com/applets/RandomGen/GenRandom01.htm, or to a random number generator on a graphing
calculator. Be sure that the numbers generated are unique, or without replacement, so that no number is used twice.
If students’ access to technology is problematic, demonstrate a random number generator for them, and have them
copy down the numbers generated. If using a graphing calculator similar to the TI-84, be sure to seed the calculator by
completing the command: RandSeed #, where # is any number unique to the student, such as the last four digits of a
phone number. If this is not done, all of the “random” numbers may begin at the same place, and the samples will all be
the same. However, once they have seeded their random number generators one time, they do not have to do this
again unless the teacher wants the whole class to use the same seed so that the entire class produces the same set of
numbers.
Students work in pairs with one student counting and the other recording the sample values.
Exercises 3–6
3. Follow your teacher’s instructions to generate a set of 10 random numbers. Find the total number of words corresponding to
each book identified by your random numbers.
Answers will vary. Sample response: I generated random numbers

123 , 25 ,117 ,119 , 93 ,135 , 147 , 69 , 48 , 46 , which produces the sample
94505 , 80798 , 92037 , 83149 ,90000 , 8245 , 89239 , 89167 ,3101 , 22476.
4. Choose two more different random samples of size 10 from the data, and make a dot plot of each of the three samples.
Answers will vary. One possible response is displayed below.
5. If your teacher randomly chooses 10 books from your summer vacation reading list, would you be likely to get many books with
a lot of words? Explain your thinking using statistical terms.
Answers will vary. Sample response: From my samples, it looks like I probably would get at least one book that had
over 90,000 words because the maximum in each of the samples approached or exceeded 90,000 words. The
three samples vary a lot, probably because the sample size is only 10. The median numbers of words for the three
samples were about 86,000 , 35,000, and 70,000, respectively, so it seems like at least half of the books

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would contain about 50,000 or more words.
6. If you were to compare your samples with your classmates’ samples, do you think your answer to Exercise 5 would change? Why
or why not?
Answers will vary. Sample response: The sample size is pretty small, so different samples might be different. I still
think that I would have to read some books with a lot of words because of the shape of the population distribution.
Exercises 7–9 (19 minutes): A Statistical Study of Balance and Grade

The following exercises ask students to develop a plan to investigate a statistical question regarding balance. Actually
carrying out the activity is optional given the challenges summarized in this explanation. The goal of the activity is for
students to collect real data from a random sample to help them learn about a population.
This activity may take different forms in different schools, depending on the size of the school. It is important to select a
population that is large enough that taking a random sample would be a reasonable way to investigate the population.
The statistical question is framed to investigate whether seventh graders have better balance than sixth graders.
A sample of 10 sixth graders and a sample of 10 seventh graders would work, which would mean starting with
populations of at least approximately 100 sixth graders and 100 seventh graders ideally. This may not be possible in
some schools. In very small schools, teachers might find another school with which to partner for the activity. If pooling
together students is not possible and the number of sixth and seventh graders is too small, use different populations, but
be explicit as to which populations students are using. Clearly state that the populations of interest are all of the sixth
and seventh graders in the school, and use a reasonable sample size for the selection of the random samples. Also,
consider modifying the statistical question so that the groups compared represent a larger number of students in the
school (e.g., students in Grades 7 and 8 compared to students in Grades 5 and 6, or whether students in Grades 7 and 8
spend more time on homework than students in Grades 5 and 6). Students can complete the exercises that involve
planning this activity, even if it is not possible to actually carry out the data collection.
In completing the exercises, students have to think about how to use random numbers to select a random sample.
The need for a random sample is based on the premise that it would take too much time and it would be too difficult to
carry out a study using all students in the two populations. If possible, consider having students actually carry out the
data collection, but that takes some time, probably two days to plan, collect, and analyze the data. If there is time to do
this, it is time well spent, as the activity engages students in important aspects of the entire statistical process:
beginning with a statistical question, designing a study, collecting data, analyzing the data, and using the results to
answer the question.
Cell phones or stopwatches can be used for timing balance. (Some science departments have stopwatches they might
lend to students.)
MP. Students put their complete plans for Exercise 9 on chart paper or some other public display, and each group shares
3 their thinking. The other students might anonymously write on a 3 ×5 notecard one thing they like about the plan
being presented and one thing that concerns them. If the class actually carries out the activity, Exercise 9 could be done
as a whole class, or the class could vote to determine which of the groups’ plans they would like to use.
Exercises 7–9: A Statistical Study of Balance and Grade
7. Is the following question a statistical question: Do sixth graders or seventh graders tend to have better balance?
Yes, this is a statistical question because the data collected would vary between sixth and seventh graders.

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8. Berthio’s class decided to measure balance by finding out how long people can stand on one foot.
a. How would you rephrase the question from Exercise 7 to create a statistical question using this definition of balance?
Explain your reasoning.
Answers will vary. Sample response: What is the typical length of time that a seventh grader can balance on
one foot? The data collected to answer this question will have some variability—1 min ., 2 min .,
2 min . 10 sec ., and so on. So, it is also a statistical question.
b. What should the class think about to be consistent in how they collect the data if they actually have people stand on one
foot and measure the time?
Sample response: Would it make a difference if students stood on their right feet or on their left? How high
do they have to hold their feet off the ground? Can they do it barefoot or with shoes on? Would tennis shoes
be better than shoes with higher heels? What can we use to measure the time?
9. Work with your class to devise a plan to select a random sample of sixth graders and a random sample of seventh graders to
measure their balance using Berthio’s method. Then, write a paragraph describing how you will collect data to determine
whether there is a difference in how long sixth graders and seventh graders can stand on one foot. Your plan should answer the
following questions:
a. What is the population? How will samples be selected from the population? Why is it important that they be random
samples?
Sample response: The populations will be all of the sixth graders and all of the seventh graders in our school.
To get a random sample, we will find the number of sixth graders, say 62, and generate a list of 15 random
numbers from the set 1 to 62 , that is, {4,17 , 19,25 ,… }. Then, we will go into one classroom and
count off the students beginning with 1 and use student 4 , 17 , and 19. Then we will go into the next
classroom and count off the students beginning where we left off in the first room and so on. We will do the
same for the seventh graders. This will give random samples because it offers every sixth and seventh grader
the same chance of being selected (if using this plan with both grades).
b. How would you conduct the activity?
Sample response: Students will stand for as long as they can using whichever foot they choose in their
stocking or bare feet with their eyes open. We will time them to the nearest second using stopwatches from
our science class. We will have students do the activity one at a time out in the hall so they cannot see each
other.
c. What sample statistics will you calculate, and how will you display and analyze the data?
Sample response: The sample statistics will be the mean time (in seconds) standing on one foot for the sixth
graders and seventh graders. We will make a dot plot of the times for the sixth graders and for the seventh
graders using parallel number lines with the same scale.
d. What would you accept as evidence that there actually is a difference in how long sixth graders can stand on one foot
compared to seventh graders?
We will compare the shape, center, and spread of the sample distributions of times for the sixth graders and
do the same for the seventh graders. If the mean times are fairly close together and the spreads not that
different, there is not really evidence to say one group of students has better balance.

187
Closing (3 minutes)
Consider posing the following questions. Allow a few student responses for each:
 Sallee argued that the set {20 , 24 ,27 , 32 ,35 , 40 , 45 ,50 , 120 , 500} could not possibly be a random
sample of ten numbers from 1 to 500 because the set had too many small numbers. Do you agree or disagree
with Sallee? Explain your thinking.
 Every possible set of ten numbers from 1 to 500 would be a possible random sample, so Sallee is not
correct.
 Why is it important to choose a random sample when you are collecting data?
 If you do not have a random sample, your sample may not reflect the population and, therefore, would
not offer accurate information about the population.
Exit Ticket (4 minutes)

188
Name Date
Exit Ticket
1. Name two things to consider when you are planning how to select a random sample.
2. Consider a population consisting of the 200 seventh graders at a particular middle school. Describe how you might
select a random sample of 20 students from a list of the students in this population.

189
Exit Ticket Sample Solutions
1. Name two things to consider when you are planning how to select a random sample.
Answers will vary.
 What it means to be a random sample—that everyone in the population has the same chance to be selected.
 Is there a way to use a random number generator to make it easier to select the sample?
10. Consider a population consisting of the 200 seventh graders at a particular middle school. Describe how you might select a
random sample of 20 students from a list of the students in this population.
Answers will vary. Number the students on the list from 001 to 200. Using a random number generator, get 20
different random numbers between 001 and 200 , and then select the students corresponding to those numbers
on the list. It would also be correct for a student to say that she would write the 200 names on slips of paper, put
them in a bag, mix them well, and then select 20 names from the bag.
Problem Set Sample Solutions

Students should do Problems 1 and 3 to be sure they understand the concepts in the lesson. Problem 2(b) can be used
to engage students in generating and analyzing random samples using technology. Consider having students work in
pairs to generate and record the numbers in the random samples to see whether the teacher’s method of collecting
homework turns out to be relatively “fair” for students.
1. The suggestions below for how to choose a random sample of students at your school were made and vetoed. Explain why you
think each was vetoed.
a. Use every fifth person you see in the hallway before class starts.
Students who are not in the hallway because they have a class in another part of the building would not have
a chance to be selected, so the sample would not be a random sample.
b. Use all of the students taking math the same time that your class meets.
The students not taking math at that time would not have a chance of being selected, so the sample would
not be a random sample.
c. Have students who come to school early do the activity before school starts.
The sample would be not be a random sample because some students would not be able to get to school
early, so they could not be selected.
d. Have everyone in the class find two friends to be in the sample.
Choosing people that members of the class know would not be a random sample because people that
members of the class do not know have no chance to be chosen.

190
11. A teacher decided to collect homework from a random sample of her students rather than grading every paper every day.
a. Describe how she might choose a random sample of five students from her class of 35 students.
Sample response: You could assign each student a number from 1 to 35 , generate five random numbers
from 1 to 35 , and choose the corresponding students.
b. Suppose every day for 75 days throughout an entire semester she chooses a random sample of five students. Do you
think some students will never get selected? Why or why not?
Sample response: Over that many days, it should almost even out. If you think about 375 numbers
generated all together with each number from 1 to 35 having an equal chance of showing up each time,
then each number should be in the overall set about 10 or 11 times. I generated 75 random samples of
numbers from 1 to 35 and looked at how the numbers showed up. Every number from 1 to 35 showed up
at least three times, and most of the numbers showed up about 10 or 11 times.
12. Think back to earlier lessons in which you chose a random sample. Describe how you could have used a random number
generator to select a random sample in each case.
a. A random sample of the words in the poem “Casey at the Bat”
Sample response: You could have generated the random numbers from 1 to 26 for the block of words and
the random numbers 1 to 20 to choose a word in the block. Or you could number all of the words from 1 to
520 and then generate random numbers between 1 and 520 to choose the words.
b. A random sample of the grocery prices on a weekly flyer
Sample response: Instead of cutting out all of the prices and putting them in a bag, you could just number
them on the flyer and use the random number generator to select numbers to identify the items in the sample
and use the price of those items.
13. Sofia decided to use a different plan for selecting a random sample of books from the population of 150top-selling children’s
books from Example 2. She generated ten random numbers between 1 and 100,000 to stand for the possible number of
pages in any of the books. Then, she found the books that had the number of pages specified in the sample. What would you say
to Sofia?
Sample response: She would have to reject the numbers in the sample that referred to pages that were not in her
list of 150 books. For example, if she gets the random numbers 4 or 720, she would have to generate new
numbers because no books on the list had either 4 or 720 pages. She would have to throw out a lot of random
numbers that did not match the number of pages in the books in the list. It would take her a long time. But if there
were no two books that had the same total number of words in the population, it would be a random sample if she
wanted to do it that way. However, because there are quite a few books that have the same number of words as
other books in the population, this method would not work for selecting a random sample of the books.
14. Find an example from a newspaper, a magazine, or another source that used a sample. Describe the population, the sample, the
sample statistic, how you think the sample might have been chosen, and whether or not you think the sample was random.
Responses will vary depending on the articles students find. For example, “an estimated 60 % of the eligible
children in Wisconsin did not attend preschool in 2009.” The population would be all of the children in Wisconsin
eligible for preschool in 2009, and the sample would be the ones selected by the study. The sample statistic would
be 60 % . The article did not tell how the sample was chosen but said the source was from the Census Bureau, so it
was probably a random sample.

191

Lesson 16: Methods For Selecting A Random Sample: Student Outcomes

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NYS COMMON CORE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM Lesson 16 7•5

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Example 1 (2 minutes): Sampling Children’s Books

Example 1: Sampling Children’s Books

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Book Words Book Words Book Words

 In which interval is Black Beauty? The Cat in the Hat?

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Exercises 1–2 (3 minutes)

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Example 2 (4 minutes): Using Random Numbers to Select a Sample

Example 2: Using Random Numbers to Select a Sample

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Exercises 3–6 (10 minutes)

Answers will vary. Sample response: I generated random numbers

Answers will vary. One possible response is displayed below.

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

would contain about 50,000 or more words.

Exercises 7–9 (19 minutes): A Statistical Study of Balance and Grade

Exercises 7–9: A Statistical Study of Balance and Grade

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

b. How would you conduct the activity?

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Exit Ticket (4 minutes)

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

Exit Ticket Sample Solutions

Answers will vary.

Problem Set Sample Solutions

d. Have everyone in the class find two friends to be in the sample.

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

b. A random sample of the grocery prices on a weekly flyer

Lesson 16: Methods for Selecting a Random Sample

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