Question

Student archaeologists An archaeological dig turns up large numbers of pottery shards, broken stone tools, and other artifacts. Students working on the project classify each artifact and assign it a number. The counts in different categories are important for understanding the site, so the project director chooses $2\%$ of the artifacts at random and checks the students’ work. Identify the population and the sample.

Short answer

A sample survey picks a group of people from a larger group of people about whom we want to learn more. The data from the sample is used to draw inferences about the population. It's critical to be specific about the demographic you're interested in and the characteristics you'll track.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

Many ceramic shards, broken stone tools, and other artefacts were discovered, and students working on the project classified and numbered each one.

Concept

Random sampling uses chance to select a sample

Explanation

Population: The population refers to the entire group of people for whom information is required. A large number of pottery shards, broken stone implements, and other artifacts identify the site's population.

Sample: A sample is a tiny portion of a population for which data is being collected. The artifacts are defined by the sample, which is chosen at random from the site.