SQQS2013 Applied Statistics Individual Assignment 1 Due Date: 7 October 2013 (Monday), before 5pm.

Late assignment will not be entertained. 1. A sample of 22 students who were taking online courses were asked to describe their overall impression of online learning on a scale of 1 7, with 7 representing the most favorable impression. The estimated average score was 5.53, and the estimated standard deviation was 0.92. a. Compute a 98% confidence interval for the mean score. Interpret the interval. (5 marks) b. What would you recommend to a researcher who wants to increase the accuracy of the interval, but does not have to reduce the confidence level? (1 mark) Solution: a. ( = (5.0362, 6.0238) The 98% confidence interval for the mean score is between 5.0362 and 6.0238. b. Increase the sample size )

2.

An internet service provider sampled 540 customers, and finds that 75 of them experienced an interruption in high-speed service during the previous month. a. Calculate a point estimate for the population proportion of all customers who experienced an interruption. (2 marks) b. Construct a 90% confidence interval for the proportion of all customers who experienced an interruption. (4 marks) c. The companys quality control manager claims that 10% of its customers experienced an interruption during the previous month. Does the confidence interval contradict this claim? Justify your answer. (2 marks) Solution: a. b.

c.

The confidence interval does contradict this claim since 0.10 is outside the interval.

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SQQS2013 Applied Statistics

3.

A pollster wants to construct a 95% confidence interval for the proportion of adults who believe that economic conditions are getting better. A survey taken in July 2013 estimates this proportion to be 0.33. Using this estimate, how many sample size is needed so that the confidence interval will have a margin of error of 0.03? (3 marks) Solution:

4.

A survey of college students reported in a sample of 36 male college students, the average number of energy drinks consumed per month was 2.49 and in a sample of 29 female students, the average was 1.22. From the past study, the standard deviation of male students is assumed to be 4.87, while the standard deviation of female students is 3.24. a. Obtain the point estimate for the difference between men and women in the mean number of energy drinks consumed. (2 marks) b. Construct a 96% confidence interval for the difference between men and women in the mean number of energy drinks consumed. Interpret the interval. (5 marks) Solution: a. b.

The 96% confidence interval for the difference between men and women in the mean number of energy drinks consumed is between 0.8049 and 3.3449.

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SQQS2013 Applied Statistics 5. A study was done to compare the effectiveness of distance learning with traditional classroom instruction. Twelve students took a business administration course online, while fourteen students took it in a classroom. The final exam scores were as follows. It is reasonable to assume that the samples come from populations that are approximately normal with same variance. Classroom 64 81 75 64 99 85 Online 85 64 72 69

80 81

83 91

80 74

86 77

66 74

75 91

88 77

77 83

a. Compute a point estimate of population mean for traditional classroom instruction. (2 marks) b. Compute a point estimate of population variance for traditional classroom instruction. (2 marks) c. Construct a 95% confidence interval for the difference between the mean scores for the two types of instruction. (10 marks) d. An educator claims that both methods of instruction are equally effective. Does the confidence interval contradict this claim? Justify your answer. (2 marks) Solution: a. b. c.

= (4.0579, 10.5579) d. The confidence interval does not contradict this claim. Since 0 is inside the interval.

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