Weight of a rock: In a geology course, students are learning to use a balance scale to accurately weigh rocks. One student plans to weigh a rock 20 times and then calculate the average of the 20 measurements to estimate her rock's true weight. A second student plans to weigh a rock 5 times and calculate the average of the 5 measurements to estimate his rock's true weight. Which student is more likely to come the closest to the true weight of the rock he or she is weighing?  The student who weighed the rock 20 times.  The student who weighed the rock 5 times.  Both averages would be equally close to the true weight.

Holt Mcdougal Larson Pre-algebra: Student Edition 2012
1st Edition
ISBN:9780547587776
Author:HOLT MCDOUGAL
Publisher:HOLT MCDOUGAL
Chapter2: Solving Equations
Section2.5: Solving Equations Using Addition Or Subtraction
Problem 29E
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Weight of a rock: In a geology course, students are learning to use a balance scale to accurately weigh rocks. One student plans to weigh a rock 20 times and then calculate the average of the 20 measurements to estimate her rock's true weight. A second student plans to weigh a rock 5 times and calculate the average of the 5 measurements to estimate his rock's true weight.

Which student is more likely to come the closest to the true weight of the rock he or she is weighing?

  1.  The student who weighed the rock 20 times.
  2.  The student who weighed the rock 5 times.
  3.  Both averages would be equally close to the true weight.
 
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