What term describes a descriptive measure computed from a population?

What term describes a descriptive measure computed from a population?

• A. Number of observations in a population
• B. Mean of a population
• C. Sum of all observations
• D. Number of observations in a sample

Answer: (A)

Descriptive measures that come from an entire population are parameters describing the population itself. The term that fits this description is the population size—the number of observations in the population. This single count shows how big the population is and serves as a basic descriptor of its scope. While the mean or sum also summarize population data, they describe the values within the population, not just how many items it contains. The idea of a sample count describes a subset, not the full population. So, the term that best fits a descriptive measure computed from the population is the number of observations in the population.

Descriptive measures that come from an entire population are parameters describing the population itself. The term that fits this description is the population size—the number of observations in the population. This single count shows how big the population is and serves as a basic descriptor of its scope. While the mean or sum also summarize population data, they describe the values within the population, not just how many items it contains. The idea of a sample count describes a subset, not the full population. So, the term that best fits a descriptive measure computed from the population is the number of observations in the population.