Sampling:

1. Five inspectors are employed to check the quality of components produced on an

assembly line. For each inspector, the number of components that can be checked in a
shift can be represented by a random variable with mean 120 and standard deviation
16. Let X represent the number of components checked by an inspector in a shift. Then
the total number checked is 5X, which has mean 600 and standard deviation 80. What is
wrong with this argument? Assuming that inspectors' performances are independent of
one another, find the mean and standard deviation of the total number of components
checked in a shift.
The calculation for the mean is OK, but the calculation of the standard deviation is not.
Remember that a standard deviation is a square root, and that:
ab b a =
We need to do our algebra on the variance, not the standard deviation. Therefore:
inspectors 5
o
2
inspector 1
5o =
( )
2
16 5 =
1280 =
78 35. =
2. A process is known to produce bricks whose weights are normally distributed with
standard deviation 0.12 pounds. A random sample of sixteen bricks from today's output
had a mean weight of 4.07 pounds.
(a) Find a 99% confidence interval for the mean weight of all bricks produced today.
A confidence interval consists of three elements: a measure of central tendency, a
number of standard errors, and some measure of dispersion (e.g. a standard error). In
this case the center is 4.07 (our sample mean, which is the best estimate we have of
central tendency). The number of standard deviations is 2.58 (found by looking in the z
table where the probability is 0.495 - you might just as reasonably use 2.57 or 2.575).
In this case we have a sample from a normal distribution with a known standard
deviation, so we can use Formula #1 (see the Confidence Interval Formulae sheet). The
standard error is the basic standard error of the mean ( n o ):
n
z X
o
o 2

16
12 . 0
58 . 2 07 . 4 =
0773 . 0 07 . 4 =

( ) 4.147 3.993, =
(b) Without doing the calculations, state whether a 95% confidence interval for the
population mean would be wider than, narrower than, or the same width as that
found in (a).
Narrower, because a larger alpha is associated with a narrower interval.
(c) It is decided that tomorrow a sample of twenty bricks will be taken. Without doing
the calculations, state whether a correctly calculated 99% confidence interval for the
mean weight of tomorrow's output will be wider than, narrower than, or the same
width as that found in (a).
Narrower, because a larger n makes the standard error smaller.
(d) In fact, the population standard deviation from today's output is 0.15 pounds.
Without doing the calculations, state whether a correctly calculated 99% confidence
interval for the mean weight of today's output will be wider than, narrower than, or
the same width as that found in (a).
Wider, because our estimated standard error was based on a standard deviation of 0.12.
A larger standard error is associated with a wider interval.

3. In October 1992, ownership of the San Francisco Giants baseball team considered a
sale of the franchise that would lead to a move to Florida. A random sample of 610 San
Francisco Bay Area taxpayers, carried out by the San Francisco Examiner, contained
50.7% who would be disappointed by this move. Find a 99% confidence interval for the
population proportion of Bay Area taxpayers with this feeling.
This is a proportion problem with a large sample; we will use Formula #3:
( )
n
p p
z p

1

o

( )
610
493 0 507 0
58 2 507 0
. .
. . =
0522 0 507 0 . . =
( ) 5592 0 4548 0 . , . =
4. For a random sample of 40 accounting students in a class using group learning
techniques, the mean examination score was 322.12, and the sample standard deviation
was 54.53. For an independent random sample of 61 students in the same course but in
a class not using group learning techniques, the sample mean and standard deviation of
the scores were 304.61 and 62.61, respectively. Find a 95% confidence interval for the
difference between the two population mean scores.
We are studying the difference between two sample means, which means we will use
either Formula #4, or #5. We can't use the matched pairs formula because the two
samples are different sizes, so we use #5:
( )
Y
Y
X
X
n
s
n
s
z Y X
2 2
2 /
+
o

( )
( ) ( )
61
61 . 62
40
53 . 54
96 . 1 61 . 304 12 . 322
2 2
+ =

262 64 338 74 96 1 51 17 . . . . + =
07 23 51 17 . . =
Or (-5.56, 40.58)

5. Supermarket shoppers were observed, and questioned immediately after putting an
item in their cart. Of a random sample of 570 choosing a product at the regular price,
308 claimed to check price at the point of choice. Of an independent random sample of
232 choosing a product at a special price, 157 made this claim. Find a 90% confidence
interval for the difference between the two population proportions.
( )
( ) ( )
Y
Y Y
X
X X
/ Y X
n
p p
n
p p
z p p

+

1 1
2 o

232
232
157
1
232
157
570
570
308
1
570
308
645 1
232
157
570
308
|
.
|

\
|

+
|
.
|

\
|

= .


( ) ( )
232
323 0 677 0
570
46 0 54 0
645 1 677 0 54 0
. . . .
. . . + =

000943 0 000436 0 645 1 137 0 . . . . + =
061 0 137 0 . . =
Or (-0.198, -0.076)
6. Referring back to Problem 3 above, find the sample size needed so that a 90%
confidence interval for the population mean weight of bricks extends an amount 0.01 on
each side of the sample mean.
n
2
2 2
e
z o
o
=

2
2 2
01 0
12 0 645 1
.
. .
=
67 389. =
Therefore the sample must be 390 >