A simulation repeatedly samples from the same strongly right-skewed population, whose mean is about \(10\). Each panel shows a histogram of \(200\) simulated sample means. The three sample sizes used are \(n=1\), \(n=4\), and \(n=25\), but the panels are not shown in that order.
a) Match each panel, 1, 2, and 3, with its sample size.
b) Describe two changes in the sampling distribution as \(n\) increases.
c) Which feature of the panels illustrates the central limit theorem?

Hints
- Compare both shape and spread across the three panels.
- Larger samples make sample means less variable.
- The central limit theorem concerns the shape of the sampling distribution of the sample mean, not the shape of the original population.
Solution
1. Panel 2 is the widest and most strongly right-skewed, so it corresponds to \(n=1\).
2. Panel 3 is less spread out and more symmetric, so it corresponds to \(n=4\).
3. Panel 1 is the narrowest and most nearly symmetric, so it corresponds to \(n=25\).
4. As \(n\) increases, the sampling distribution becomes less spread out and more nearly normal while staying centered near the same population mean.
5. The increasing symmetry and bell-shaped appearance of the sample-mean distribution as \(n\) grows illustrates the central limit theorem.
Answer
a) Panel 1: \(n=25\); Panel 2: \(n=1\); Panel 3: \(n=4\).
b) The spread decreases, and the shape becomes more nearly normal while the center stays near \(10\).
c) The progression toward a more nearly normal shape as \(n\) increases illustrates the central limit theorem.