Chapter 15.1, Problem 12P

A group studying violence wants to determine the attitudes toward violence of all the fifth-graders in a county. The group plans to conduct a survey, but the group does not have the time or resources to survey every fifth-grader. The group can afford to survey 120 fifth-graders. For each of the methods in (a) through (c) of choosing 120 fifth-graders to survey, discuss advantages and disadvantages of that method. Based on your answer, which of the three methods will be best for determining the attitudes toward violence of all the fifth-graders in the county? (There are 6 elementary schools in the county, and each school has 4 fifth grade classes.)
a. Have each elementary school principal in the county select 20 fifth-graders.
b. Have each fifth-grade teacher in the county select 5 fifth graders.
c. Obtain a list of all fifth-graders in the county. Obtain a listof 120 random numbers from 1 to the number of fifthgraders in the county. Use the list of random numbers toselect 120 random fifth-graders in the county.