A News Program Is Doing a Report on a Controversial

question 24

Essay

A news program is doing a report on a controversial court case.Daniel VanHowen is being prosecuted for killing a woman in the park,but all the evidence is circumstantial.Right before sentencing,the TV program decides to poll the TV-viewing audience.They wish to estimate the proportion of all people who think Mr.VanHowen is guilty.They decide to post a question on their Web site and ask the TV-viewing audience to answer it.The TV program decides to announce during the program that these opinions only reflect the TV-viewing,computer-using audience.They close the poll after 10 minutes.They had 2371 responses,of which 1542 think that Mr.VanHowen is guilty.What could the news programs have done to reduce the margin of error of the sample percentage of viewers who think that Mr.VanHowen is guilty?

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Definitions:

Net Income

Total earnings of a business, arrived at by subtracting all expenses and taxes from its overall income.

Dividends

Payments made to shareholders out of a corporation's profits, reflecting the company's earnings and financial health.

Common Stock

A type of equity security that represents ownership in a company, with rights to vote and share in dividends.

Statement of Financial Position

Another term for the balance sheet, detailing a company's financial status including assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time.