Confidence Intervals and

Sample Size

*Property of STI

Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known

Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size
Unknown

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Properties of a Good Estimator

1. Unbiased estimator a population parameter is an

estimator whose expected value is equal to that
parameter
2. Consistent estimator if the difference between the
estimator and the parameter grows smaller as the
sample size grows larger
3. Relatively efficient estimator if there are two
unbiased estimators of a parameter, the one whose
variance is smaller

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Interval estimate of a parameter an interval or a
range of values used to estimate the parameter
Confidence level the confidence associated with an
interval estimate
Confidence coefficient the confidence level expressed
as a decimal value
Confidence interval another name for an interval
estimate

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
The formula for the confidence interval of the mean for
the specific is


X z 2

X z 2
n
n

X z 2
is called the lower confidence limit (LCL)
n

is called the upper confidence limit (UCL)
X z 2
n

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known

Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known

Three Commonly Used Confidence Levels at z/2

1

/2

z/2

0.90

0.10

0.05

z0.05 = 1.645

0.95

0.05

0.025

z0.025 = 1.960

0.99

0.01

0.005

z0.005 = 2.567

90% Confidence Interval

*Property of STI

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*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Example 1 A survey of 30 households found that the
mean age of a flat TV is 4 years. Assuming the standard
deviation of the population is 0.75 year; find the best
point estimate of the population mean and the 99%
confidence interval of the population mean.

J0018

Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Example 2 An independent researcher wishes to
estimate the average amount of money a young
professional spends in clothing each month. A sample
of 40 young professionals who spend in clothing found
the mean to be 500 and the standard deviation to be
80. Find the best point estimate of the population
mean and 95% confidence interval of the population
mean.

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*Property of STI

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*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Example 3 Find the 90% confidence interval of the
population mean for the incomes of executive
secretaries in Makati City. A random sample of 30
executive secretaries is shown. The data are in
thousands of pesos.
17.0
23.0
13.0
14.0
17.4
17.0
*Property of STI

20.0
19.0
25.0
18.2
16.0
15.9

14.5
13.0
14.0
15.0
16.0
22.7

25.3
30.2
18.3
20.1
19.0
17.0

21.9
16.3
15.8
22.6
14.6
18.2

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Sample Size Determination
The formula for the sample size is derived from the
maximum error of estimate formula

E z 2
n
where n = sample size
= population standard deviation
E = maximum error of estimate

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Example A college dean wishes to estimate the average
number of hours students spend doing homework per
week. The standard deviation from a previous study is
4.5 hours. How large a sample must be selected if he
wants to be 95% confident of finding whether the true
mean differs from the sample mean by 2.1 hours?

J0018

Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Exercises
1. The number of motorcycle sold annually by
salespeople is normally distributed with a standard
deviation of 12. From a random sample of 300
salespeople taken, the mean number of
motorcycles sold annually was found to be 75. Find
the 99% confidence interval estimate of the
population mean.

http://metc.com/images/istock_000008543406small-frustrated-student-u15036.png

*Property of STI

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*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the

Mean and Sample Size Known
Exercises
2. Suppose that the amount of time spent by working
students weekly is normally distributed with the
standard deviation of 25 minutes. A random sample
0f 120 observations is drawn and the sample mean
is computed as 150 minutes. Determine the 95%
confidence interval estimate of the population
mean.

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the Mean

and Sample Size Unknown
t Distribution a family of probability distributions
that can be used to develop an interval estimate of a
population mean whenever the population standard
deviation is unknown and is estimated by the
standard deviation s

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the Mean

and Sample Size Unknown
The formula for determining a confidence interval about
the mean by using the t distribution is given below

s
s
X t 2

X t 2
n
n
the degree of freedom is n 1

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the Mean

and Sample Size Unknown
Example 1 A recent study of 19 students of STI showed
that the mean of the distance they traveled to go to
school was 10.2 km. The standard deviation of the
sample was 2.3 km. Find the 99% confidence interval of
the true mean.
Example 2 A random sample of families in a particular
street has the following family sizes: 5, 6, 7, 4, 3, 8, 2,
and 9. Find the 95% confidence interval of the mean.

*Property of STI

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Confidence Intervals for the Mean

and Sample Size Unknown
Exercises
1. A recent study of 22 motorists showed that they
spent an average of 750 per week. The standard
deviation of the sample was 90. Find the 99%
confidence interval of the true mean.
2. A sample of 15 STI basketball players had an average
height of 6 feet with a sample standard deviation of
0.80 foot. Find the 90% confidence interval of the
true mean height of all the players.

*Property of STI

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