Question: The per capita consumption of bottled water in the United States amounted to 27.6 gallons in 2009. Bottled water is drinking water (carbonated or still) sold in plastic or glass water bottles. Per capita consumption of bottled water in the United States has continued to steadily increase. In 2012, it amounted to 30.8 gallons. In 2015, the per capita consumption was 36.5 gallons.†
The per capita consumption of bottled water in the United States is which of the following?
(a).biased statistic
(b). categorical variable
(c). numerical variable
(d). parameter
The answer is (d). Please can someone explain why the answer is parameter? I don't feel like I truly understand the meaning of parameter in context of statistics. I just think of a parameter like a variable or a placeholder for something else. But this seems to be different in statistics.
Statistics is a data coming from a sample.
Parameter is a data where the whole population is involved.
In your specific example they are talking about the whole population of the United States not just a sample.
Thus parameter is the correct answer.