[Palkie84]

What is the difference between a sample mean and the population mean called?
A. Standard error of the mean
B. Sampling error
C. Interval estimate
D. Point estimate

[galactus]

The sample mean is what it says, the mean of the samples. The population mean is the

average of the entire population the samples are taken from. As you take more samples the

sample mean approaches the population mean.

Here is an easy example to illustrate:

Suppose we have the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.

Now, we take several samples and find their means.

Let's take 2,4,5; 6,9,10; 1,2,4

Find their means. They are (2+4+5)/3=11/3=3.667; (6+9+10)/3=8.333

(1+2+4)/3=2.333

The mean of the population is 55/10=5.5

The mean of the sample means is 4.77

The more samples we take the closer they becomes to the pop. Mean.

Therefore, the mean of the sample means is equal to the population mean.