QUESTION 5
Ch7 Terms 4:
The "standard error of the sample mean" is another name for
a. The population standard deviation
b. The sample standard deviation
c. The standard deviation of the $x$-bar curve
d. Human error in the sampling process

Step 1 ：The question is asking for the definition of the term 'standard error of the sample mean'. This term is a statistical concept that refers to the standard deviation of the distribution of sample means. It is a measure of how much the sample mean is expected to vary from the true population mean.

Step 2 ：The options given are: a. The population standard deviation, b. The sample standard deviation, c. The standard deviation of the $x$-bar curve, d. Human error in the sampling process.

Step 3 ：The standard error of the sample mean is not the same as the population standard deviation or the sample standard deviation, so options a and b are incorrect. It also does not refer to human error in the sampling process, so option d is incorrect.

Step 4 ：The standard deviation of the $x$-bar curve, however, is a correct definition of the standard error of the sample mean. The $x$-bar curve is a distribution of sample means, and its standard deviation is the standard error of the sample mean.

Step 5 ：Final Answer: \(\boxed{\text{c. The standard deviation of the } x\text{-bar curve}}\)