Horowitz (1974) Simulation

Demonstrating the Central Limit Theorem. 1000 pieces of scores, roughly normally distributed $N(50, 15.8)$. Students draw 10 random pieces with replacement to find the mean.

Population (1000 pieces)

$\mu = 50, \sigma = 15.8$
Visual representation of 1000 scores ranging from 0 to 100.
0 (Low) 50 100 (High)

Current Sample ($n=10$)

Waiting for drawing...
Mean ($\bar{x}$)
--
SD ($s$)
--
Est. SE
--

Sampling Distribution

0 / 96 Students
Mean of Means
--
Empirical SE (SD of Means)
--
Avg. Estimated SE (using $s$)
--
Theoretical ($\sigma/\sqrt{n}$): ~5.00

The Central Limit Theorem in Action

Notice how the sampling distribution of the means builds up. According to theory, the mean of these sample means should be close to the population mean ($\mu \approx 50$), and the standard deviation of these sample means (the true Standard Error) is calculated using the population standard deviation: $\sigma / \sqrt{n} = 15.8 / \sqrt{10} \approx 5.00$.

However, in reality, we rarely know the population standard deviation ($\sigma$). Instead, we estimate the Standard Error using the sample standard deviation ($s$). This simulation calculates the estimated standard error for each individual sample ($s / \sqrt{n}$) to show how its average approaches the theoretical standard error and matches the empirical standard deviation of the means.

Reference: Horowitz, L. M. (1974). Elements of statistics for psychology and education. New York: McGraw-Hill. (pp. 179-182)