5.1: Terminology

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Before we consider different types of distributions, let's define some key terms. You may wish, as well, to review the discussion of different types of data in Chapter 2.

Populations and Samples

A population includes every possible measurement we could make on a system, while a sample is the subset of a population on which we actually make measurements. These definitions are fluid. A single bag of M&Ms is a population if we are interested only in that specific bag, but it is but one sample from a box that contains a gross (144) of individual bags. That box, itself, can be a population, or it can be one sample from a much larger production lot. And so on.

Discrete Distributions and Continuous Distributions

In a discrete distribution the possible results take on a limited set of specific values that are independent of how we make our measurements. When we determine the number of yellow M&Ms in a bag, the results are limited to integer values. We may find 13 yellow M&Ms or 24 yellow M&Ms, but we cannot obtain a result of 15.43 yellow M&Ms.

For a continuous distribution the result of a measurement can take on any possible value between a lower limit and an upper limit, even though our measuring device has a limited precision; thus, when we weigh a bag of M&Ms on a three-digit balance and obtain a result of 49.287 g we know that its true mass is greater than 49.2865... g and less than 49.2875... g.