Which of the following best describes the relationship between a sample and a population in the context of the sampling distribution of the sample proportion?

• A. A sample is always larger than the population.
• B. A sample and a population are always the same group.
• C. A sample includes every member of the population.
• D. A sample is a subset of the population used to estimate characteristics of the entire population.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the definitions: A population is the entire group of individuals or items that you want to study, while a sample is a smaller group selected from the population.
2. Recognize that the sample is used to make inferences about the population because it is often impractical or impossible to study the whole population.
3. Note that the sample must be representative of the population to provide accurate estimates of population parameters.
4. In the context of the sampling distribution of the sample proportion, the sample proportion is a statistic calculated from the sample that estimates the true population proportion.
5. Therefore, the relationship is that the sample is a subset of the population used to estimate characteristics (like proportions) of the entire population.