What is the probability
that a randomly selected
student in our class would
support cloning?
# who support
total # of students
Based on the results of our survey, if there are
_____ students in the 7th grade, how many 7th
graders would support cloning? Is this a valid
prediction? Why or why not?
Based on the results of our survey, if there are _____ students in
the entire middle school, how many students would support
cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
Based on our survey, if there are 287,085 people in Howard County (as of
2010), how many people would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction?
Why or why not?
Based on our survey, if there are about 5,828,300 people in Maryland (as of 2011),
how many people would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
Keep going!
Based on our survey, if there are 7 billion people in the world, how many people would support
cloning. (Fun fact: Did you know that our world population reached the 7 billion mark in 2011?)
Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
Would our survey sample be a valid representation of the following populations? Explain.
a. 4th graders at (local elementary school)
b. 7th graders in the United States
c. High school students at (local high school)
d. College students with a science major
e. Scientists at the National Institute of Health (NIH)
What makes a sample a valid representation of a larger population? Explain.
Names:
1. What is the probability that a randomly selected student in our class would support
cloning?
2. Based on the results of our survey, if there are _____ students in the 7th grade, how many
7th graders would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
3. Based on the results of our survey, if there are _____ students in the entire middle school,
how many students would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
4. Based on our survey, if there are 287,085 people in Howard County, how many people
would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
5. Based on our survey, if there are 5,828,300 people in the Maryland, how many people
would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
6. Based on our survey, if there are 7 billion people in the world, how many people would
support cloning. (Fun fact: Did you know that our world population reached the 7 billion
mark in 2011?) Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
7. Would our survey sample be a valid representation of the following populations?
Explain.
a. 4th graders at (local elementary school)
b. 7th graders in the United States
c. High school students at (local high school)
d. College students with a science major
e. Scientists at the National Institute of Health (NIH)
8. What makes a sample a valid representation of a larger population? Explain.
Potential Answers:
1. What is the probability that a randomly selected student in our class would support
cloning? (Answers will vary)
2. Based on the results of our survey, if there are _____ students in the 7th grade, how many
7th graders would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not? (Yes,
because we our survey sample consists of 7th grade students)
3. Based on the results of our survey, if there are _____ students in the entire school, how
many students would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not?
(Answers may vary. Yes because our survey sample consists of middle school students.
No because 6th graders have not learned about cloning in science classes and do not have
much prior knowledge on the topic.)
4. Based on our survey, if there are 287,085 people in Howard County, how many people
would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not? (Yes because our
survey consisted of people who live in Howard County. More likely no because we only
surveyed 7th graders, and our sample is not representative of the entire Howard County
population. Different ages, different prior knowledge on cloning topic, different races
and genders, different religions, etc.)
5. Based on our survey, if there are 5,828,300 people in the Maryland, how many people
would support cloning? Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not? (No because our
survey of 7th graders is not representative of the entire population in the United States)
6. Based on our survey, if there are 7 billion people in the world, how many people would
support cloning. (Fun fact: Did you know that our world population reached the 7 billion
mark in 2011?) Is this a valid prediction? Why or why not? (No because our survey of
7th graders is not representative of the world population)
7. Would our survey sample be a valid representation of the following populations?
Explain.
a. 4th graders at (local elementary school) – no because we surveyed 7th graders not
4th graders, and 4th graders may not have a lot of knowledge on the topic
b. 7th graders in the United States – yes because our class sample consists of a
diverse group of 7th graders
c. High school students at (local high school) – yes because we surveyed a diverse
group of teens, no because high school students know more about cloning than 7th
graders and may have different opinions
d. College students with a science major – no because they have more knowledge on
the topic which might influence their opinion
e. Scientists at the National Institute of Health (NIH) – no because they are the ones
doing research on cloning and so they probably all support cloning
8. What makes a sample a valid representation of a larger population? Explain. (The
sample must consist of the same type of people in the larger population. Similar ages,
genders, races, education, etc.)