Galala University

Faculty of Science
Department of Mathematics
Math 131 - Statistics

Sheet week 11 (with answers)

Confidence interval measuring
Part I: tutorial
1- The following data represent a sample of the assets (in millions of
dollars) of 30 credit unions in southwestern Pennsylvania. Find the 90%
confidence interval of the mean. Assume standard deviation of population
=14.405
2- A random sample of the number of farms (in thousands) in various states
follows. Estimate the mean number of farms per state with 90% confidence.
Assume  = 31

3- A survey of 35 individuals who passed the seven exams and obtained the rank of
Fellow in the actuarial field finds the average salary to be $150,000. If the standard
deviation for the population is $15,000, construct a 95% confidence interval for all
Fellows.
Solution:
145,030 < < 154,970

4- A sociologist found that in a sample of 50 retired men, the average number of

jobs they had during their lifetimes was 7.2. The population standard
deviation is 2.1.
a. Find the best point estimate of the mean.
b. Find the 95% confidence interval of the mean number of jobs
c. Find the 99% confidence interval of the mean number of jobs.
Solutions:
a) 7.2 jobs
b) 6.6<< 7.78
c) 6.4 <<8.0

5- A recent study showed that the modern working person experiences an

average of 2.1 hours per day of distractions (phone calls, e-mails, impromptu
visits, etc.). A random sample of 50 workers for a large corporation found
that these workers were distracted an average of 1.8 hours per day and the
population standard deviation was 20 minutes. Estimate the true mean
population distraction time with 90% confidence, and compare your answer
to the results of the study.
Solution:
1.72 <<1.88
 6- Noise levels at various area urban hospitals were measured in decibels. The
mean of the noise levels in 84 corridors was 61.2 decibels, and the standard
deviation of the population was 7.9. Find the 95% confidence interval of the
true mean.
Solution:
59.5 << 62.9

c) 7)
Part II assignments and problem set
1)The growing seasons for a random sample of 35 U.S. cities were recorded,
yielding a sample mean of 190.7 days and the population standard deviation
of 54.2 days. Estimate the true mean population of the growing season with
95% confidence

2)A random sample of shoppers at a convenience store is selected to see how

much they spent on that visit. The standard deviation of the population is
$6.43. How large a sample must be selected if the researcher wants to be
99% confident of finding whether the true mean differs from the sample
mean by $1.50?

3) The following data represents the age of students in kindergarten. Find the
true mean of the age of all kindergarten students at 95% confidence interval
2.4, 4.1, 3.3, 2.6, 5.6, 2.7, 1.9, 3.9, 1.11, 5.9, 3.9, 4.5, 5.4, 3.2, 4, 5.5, 2.7, 1.17