AtlasFoundations · start here
Samples and populations
- What is data?
- Averages and spread, by eye
- Samples and populations
Fig. 1
Alginate microbeads from a batch of 5,000: the mean diameter of each scoop (µm)
Fig. 1. Bead diameter of scoops of 20 beads from a population with true average 400 µm. No scoops yet: press Play or +1.
- Scoops so far
- 0
- Latest average
- — (no scoops yet: press Play or +1)
- True average
- 400 µm
- Scooping from
- this vial
Sampling Simulator · First look
Level 1 · First look · Foundations (ext)
Say what a population and a sample are, and why one sample won't match the whole exactly.
Explain how a sample stands in for a population, why sample averages differ by chance, and why a biased sample can't be rescued by size.
ext A Foundations primer: written for beginners, not from the slides.
Taste test (the step you are on)
One spoonful of a stirred soup tells you about the pot; the spoonful is the sample.
One spoonful of stirred soup tells you about the pot; one scoop of 20 beads tells you about the vial. This scoop averaged — (no scoops yet: press Play or +1) µm.