Sample vs True Mean

[overst33r]

I can't find the difference in my stats book, can anyone offer a definition of the two? I know that the sample mean is your regular average, xbar, etc. while the True mean, Mu, depends on each distribution as far as I know...

What is the difference between the two?

 

[Aluvus]

Sample mean is the mean of the specific sample you have taken. Population mean is the mean of the entire population. Sample mean is an approximation of population mean.

 

[Unmoosical]

Also, most of the time you will never actually know the true mean because that would mean that you collected data on every single unit of what you are studying.