Your teacher will have some students draw straws from a bag.

1. As each straw is taken out and measured, record its length (in inches) in the table.

   	straw 1	straw 2	straw 3	straw 4	straw 5
   sample 1
   sample 2

2. Estimate the mean length of all the straws in the bag based on:

   1. the mean of the first sample.

   2. the mean of the second sample.

3. Were your two estimates the same? Did the mean length of all the straws in the bag change in between selecting the two samples? Explain your reasoning.
4. The actual mean length of all of the straws in the bag is about 2.37 inches. How do your estimates compare to this mean length?
5. If you repeated the same process again but you selected a larger sample (such as 10 or 20 straws, instead of just 5), would your estimate be more accurate? Explain your reasoning.

There are a total of 35 straws in the bag. Suppose we put the straws in order from shortest to longest and assign each straw a number from 1 to 35. For each of these methods, decide whether it would be a fair way to select a sample of 5 straws. Explain your reasoning.

1. Select the straws numbered 1 through 5.

2. Write the numbers 1 through 35 on pieces of paper that are all the same size. Put the papers into a bag. Without looking, select five papers from the bag. Use the straws with those numbers for your sample.

3. Using the same bag as the previous question, select one paper from the bag. Use the number on that paper to select the first straw for your sample. Then use the next 4 numbers in order to complete your sample. For example, if you select number 17, then you also use straws 18, 19, 20, and 21 for your sample.

4. Create a spinner with 35 sections that are all the same size, and number them 1 through 35. Spin the spinner 5 times, and use the straws with those numbers for your sample.