TMERENANING Which of the following conditions must be met in order to make a statistical inference about a population based on a sample if the sample does not come from a normally distributed population? \( \mu \geq 30 \) \( \bar{x} \geq 30 \) \( n \geq 30 \) \( N \geq 30 \)

To make a valid statistical inference when the sample does not come from a normally distributed population, the commonly accepted guideline is that the sample size, denoted as \( n \), must be at least 30. This is rooted in the Central Limit Theorem, which suggests that as sample sizes increase, the sampling distribution of the mean will approximate a normal distribution, regardless of the shape of the population distribution. Remember, while having a sample size of 30 is a useful rule of thumb, it doesn't guarantee normalcy. If your sample is skewed or has outliers, even large samples can lead to misleading conclusions. Always keep a close eye on your data's characteristics and consider transformations or other statistical methods if needed!