Illustrative Mathematics: S Ic Why Randomize?

The exercise demonstrates that judgment (non-random) samples tend to be biased in the sense that they produce samples that are not balanced with respect to the population characteristics of interest. Students will estimate the mean (average) area of the population of 100 rectangles using the average area of a sample of 5 rectangles. They will use two methods and try to decide which method is better. Explanations and solutions are provided.