Select the correct answer.

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline Year & Number of Dropouts \\
\hline 1 & 7 \\
\hline 2 & 8 \\
\hline 3 & 6 \\
\hline 4 & 6 \\
\hline 5 & 6 \\
\hline 6 & 4 \\
\hline 7 & 4 \\
\hline 8 & 1 \\
\hline 9 & 2 \\
\hline 10 & 7 \\
\hline 11 & 6 \\
\hline 12 & 1 \\
\hline 13 & 1 \\
\hline 14 & 1 \\
\hline 15 & 3 \\
\hline 16 & 3 \\
\hline 17 & 5 \\
\hline 18 & 4 \\
\hline 19 & 5 \\
\hline 20 & 7 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

The table gives 20 years of data on the number of students in a particular school who dropped out in the ninth grade. A sample is taken to include only the last 3 years of this data. With this information, calculate both the population mean and the sample mean for ninth-grade dropouts per year.

A. The population mean is 4.35. The sample mean is 5.30.
B. The population mean is 4.21. The sample mean is 5.39.
C. The population mean is 5.30. The sample mean is 3.75.
D. The population mean is 5.33. The sample mean is 4.21.



Answer :

To solve the question, we need to calculate the population mean and the sample mean of ninth-grade dropouts per year using the given data.

### Step 1: Calculate the Population Mean
The population mean is calculated by summing up all the values in the dataset and dividing by the number of values.

Given data of dropouts over 20 years:
[tex]\[ 7, 8, 6, 6, 6, 4, 4, 1, 2, 7, 6, 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 5, 4, 5, 7 \][/tex]

Sum of all the dropouts:
[tex]\[ 7 + 8 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 4 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 7 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 7 = 87 \][/tex]

Number of years (N):
[tex]\[ 20 \][/tex]

Population mean:
[tex]\[ \frac{87}{20} = 4.35 \][/tex]

### Step 2: Calculate the Sample Mean
The sample includes only the last 3 years of data:
[tex]\[ 5, 5, 7 \][/tex]

Sum of the sample dropouts:
[tex]\[ 5 + 5 + 7 = 17 \][/tex]

Number of years in the sample (n):
[tex]\[ 3 \][/tex]

Sample mean:
[tex]\[ \frac{17}{3} \approx 5.33 \][/tex]

### Comparisons with Given Options
- Option A: The population mean is 4.35 and the sample mean is 5.30
- Option B: The population mean is 4.21 and the sample mean is 5.39
- Option C: The population mean is 5.30 and the sample mean is 3.75
- Option D: The population mean is 5.33 and the sample mean is 4.21

Given our calculated values:
- Population mean = 4.35
- Sample mean = 5.33

None of the given options exactly match our calculated values.

Therefore, the correct answer is:
```
None of the above
```