A light bulb manufacturer wants to advertise the average life of its light bulbs so it tests a subset of light bulbs. This is an example of inferential statistics.

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Consider the scenario: a manufacturer tests a subset (sample) of its light bulbs to infer something about the entire production run (population).
Option analysis begins with the idea that using a sample to estimate an average life is a hallmark of inferential statistics, because it moves beyond the data at hand and makes generalizations with an associated uncertainty.
If we focus on the wrong choice, say that it is purely descriptive statistics, we would be describing the sample data itself (the average life of the tested bulbs) without making claims about the broader population or quantifying the uncertainty—this would not capture the act of generalizing from sample to population.
The core concept here is using information gathered from a subset to make inferences about a larger group, which is precisely what inferential statistics entails. It leverages sampling variability, confidence intervals, and hypothesis tests to draw conclusions beyond the observed data.
To further distinguish, descriptive statistics would simply summarize the tested bulbs' lifespans (mean, median, range) without asserting how these results reflect the entire production batch. In contrast, inferential statistics explicitly aims to estimate population parameters (like the true average life) from the sample data and quantify the reliability of that estimate.
Therefore, the practice described—testing a subset to advertise the average life—is aligned with inferential statistics, since it generalizes from sample results to make a statement about the population of bulbs.
In sum, the key distinction is whether the goal is to describe the sample or to infer population characteristics from the sample; this scenario clearly centers on inference rather than mere description.

OSC 2030-009 Fall 2025 SUBMIT: Graded Homework Module 1 (Chap 1&2)

A light bulb manufacturer wants to advertise the average life of its light bulbs so it tests a subset of light bulbs. This is an example of inferential statistics.

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