Question 1182322: An officer in charge of a large fleet of trucks is trying to calculate her expenditure for the next year's operations. A major cost of her fuel purchases. To estimate fuel purchases, the officer needs to know the overall distance the trucks will travel next year, the cost of a gallon of fuel, and the fuel mileage of the trucks.The officer has been given the first two figures (distance estimate and cost of a gallon of fuel). However, because of the increase in cost of a gasoline, the officer has recently converted the trucks to operate on propane. She has measured and recorded the propane mileage (in miles per gallon) for the trucks.
1. What will be the population of interest?
2. What parameter does the officer need?
3. What is the Sample?
4. Determine the statistics?
5. Describe in brevity, how the statistics will produce the kind of information the officer want.
Answer by CPhill(1987)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Let's break down this problem:
1. **Population of Interest:** All the trucks in the fleet.
2. **Parameter the Officer Needs:** The *average* propane mileage (in miles per gallon) for *all* the trucks in the fleet. This is a population parameter because it describes a characteristic of the entire group of trucks.
3. **Sample:** The trucks for which the officer measured and recorded the propane mileage. This is a subset of the entire fleet.
4. **Statistic:** The *average* propane mileage (in miles per gallon) calculated from the sample of trucks. This is a sample statistic because it's calculated from the sample data.
5. **How the Statistic Will Produce the Needed Information:**
The officer will use the sample statistic (the average propane mileage of the sampled trucks) as an *estimate* of the population parameter (the average propane mileage of *all* the trucks). It's a reasonable assumption that the sample is representative of the whole fleet. The larger the sample, the more confident the officer can be that the sample average is a good estimate of the population average. She can then use this estimated average propane mileage, along with the estimated total distance and fuel cost per gallon, to calculate her projected fuel expenditure:
Projected Fuel Expenditure = (Estimated Total Distance / Estimated Average Propane Mileage) * Fuel Cost per Gallon
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