The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is every fifth person who leaves the museum one afternoon.
This option provides the best method for gathering reliable information about the popularity of museum exhibits. The goal of a survey is to collect data from a sample group that accurately represents the larger population being studied. In this case, the population is all visitors to the science museum.
The chosen method, surveying every fifth person who leaves the museum, is a form of systematic sampling. This technique is effective because it reduces bias. By selecting individuals at a regular interval, the surveyor is less likely to subconsciously choose people who look a certain way or belong to a specific demographic. Furthermore, it targets the correct group of people: visitors who have just finished their tour of the museum. These individuals have fresh and informed opinions about the exhibits they have seen, which is crucial for determining popularity. While surveying on just one afternoon might introduce some limitations, it is still the most scientifically sound approach among the choices.
The other options are flawed for several reasons. Surveying “every person buying a ticket” is ineffective because these people have not yet seen the exhibits and therefore cannot have a favorite. Their responses would be based on expectation, not experience. Surveying “a group of classmates” would result in a heavily biased sample. This small, homogenous group would not reflect the diverse ages, backgrounds, and interests of the general museum-going public. Their preferences would not be representative of the whole. Finally, asking “the museum staff who set up all of the current exhibits” would also yield poor data. While the staff is knowledgeable, their perspective is that of a creator, not a visitor. Their opinions on which exhibit is “best” might be influenced by factors like the technical difficulty of the installation, rather than the entertainment or educational value experienced by the public. Therefore, to determine visitor popularity, one must survey the visitors themselves using an unbiased method.
