Confidence Intervals and Sample Size

A sample size of n = 64 is drawn from a population whose standard deviation is σ = 5.6.

Find the margin of error for a 99% confidence interval for µ.

• 1.799

• 1.798

• 1.803

The lifetime of a certain type of batter is known to be normally distributed with a standard deviation of 20 hours. A sample of 50 batteries had a mean lifetime of 120.1 hours. It is desired to construct a 99% confidence interval for the mean lifetime of this type of battery. What is the Confidence Interval to one decimal place?

• (114.5, 125.6)

• (112.8, 127.4)

• (112.82, 127.38)

• (114.56, 125.64)

A population has a standard deviation of σ = 17.3. How large of a sample must be drawn so that a 95% confidence interval for µ will have a Margin of Error equal to 1.4?

• 586.6

• 587

• 586

• 585

A large sample has mean of 7.1 and Standard Error of 2.3.

Construct a 90% Confidence Interval for the population mean µ (to two decimal places).

• (3.32, 10.88)

• (3.8, 7.1)

• (3.3, 10.9)

• (3.3165, 10.8835)

A preliminary study suggests that 17% of people agree on an issue. How large must your sample size be so you could be within ± 5% with 95% confidence?

• 217

• 30

• 385

• 152

A quality control inspector will measure the salt content (in milligrams) in a random sample of bags of potato chips from an hour of production. Which of the following would result in the smallest margin of error in estimating the mean salt content μ?

• 90% confidence; n = 25

• 90% confidence; n = 50

• 95% confidence; n = 25

• 95% confidence; n = 50

• n=100 at any confidence level

To decrease the margin of error in a confidence interval, you should:

• Increase the confidence level

• Decrease the sample size

• Increase the sample size

• Decrease the confidence level

Which of the following would result in a smaller minimum sample size?

• Increasing the confidence level

• Not having a preliminary estimate for p-hat

• Decreasing the confidence level

• Decreasing the margin of error

A research group wishes to estimate the mean amount of time (in hours) that members of a fitness center spend exercising each week. They want to estimate the mean within a margin of error of 0.5 hours with a 95% level of confidence. Previous data suggests that the standard deviation of the population is 2.2. Which of the following is the smallest sample size they could use?

• 60

• 75

• 90

• 180

What happens to the margin of error if the sample size is quadrupled, all else being equal?

• It is halved.

• It is doubled.

• It remains the same.

• It is quadrupled.