Statistics: What It Is and How It Works · Lesson 1 · 3 minutes
The Whole Group
Define population in statistics.
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Elena at Work
Elena checks light bulbs. Today the factory made 5,000 bulbs. She wants to know about all of them.
The Whole Group
In statistics, the population is the entire group you study. It includes every single member.
What is the population in Elena's study today?
- All 5,000 bulbs made today
- Only 10 broken bulbs
- A test tray of 20 bulbs
Answer: All 5,000 bulbs made today
A population means every member you want to study, not just some.
Elena tests 50 bulbs from the boxes. Is this test group the population?
- No, it is only a small part of the group.
- Yes, tested items become the population.
Answer: No, it is only a small part of the group.
The population is always the entire group of interest.
Complete the rule for statistics.
A population is the ___ group you want to ___.
Answer: A population is the entire group you want to study.
The population must cover every member you study.
Build the definition of Elena's population.
Answer: all 5,000 factory bulbs made today
The population describes the whole group Elena cares about.
Put the steps in order to find a population.
Answer: Pick what question you want to answer. → Identify who or what you need to study. → Include every single member of that group as the population.
First choose who you want to know about, then define that whole group as the population.
What to remember
- In statistics, the population is the entire group you study.
- A small test group is not the population.
- Every member in the group counts as part of the population.
Next in this course: Set Clear Limits. It carries on in the Breni app.