STAT 4202 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics II

Homework 4
Please submit the homework at the beginning of your recitation class on 2/5 or 2/6.

Note:
• Please submit a hard copy of your homework on time. If there is an emer-
gency, please keep your instructor and TA informed. If you know you may
miss a recitation, you can get it submitted by your friends. No late homework
is accepted.

• Homework will be returned in our recitation. If you miss the recitation, you
can only collect your graded homework from the instructor at the end of the
semester.

• In case there is any issue regarding homework grading, please contact your
TA within two weeks from the day the homework is returned.

• Problems 11.42, 11.50, 11.52, 11.54, 11.57 will not be graded but could be
in the Midterm.

[11.3] Making use of the method in Section 8.7, it can be shown that for a random sample of
size n = 2 from the population of Exercise 11.2, the distribution of the sample range is given
by 
 2 (θ − R), 0 < R < ∞
f (R) = θ2
0, otherwise
Use the result to find c so that
R < θ < cR
is a (1 − α)100% confidence interval for θ.

[11.9] Show that Sp2 is an unbiased estimator of σ 2 and find its variance under the conditions
of Theorem 11.5.

[11.22] A medical research worker intends to use the mean of a random sample of size n = 120
to estimate the mean blood pressure of women in their fifties. If, based on experience, he knows
that σ = 10.5 mm of mercury, what can he assert with probability 0.99 about the maximum
error?

[11.23] With reference to Exercise 11.22, suppose that the research worker takes his sample
and gets x̄ = 141.8 mm of mercury. Construct a 98% confidence interval for the mean blood
pressure of women in their fifties.

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STAT 4202 Homework 4

[11.28] An efficiency expert wants to determine the average amount of time it takes a pit crew
to change a set of four tires on a race car. Use the formula for n in Exercise 11.6 to determine
the sample size that is needed so that the efficiency expert can assert with probability 0.95
that the sample mean will differ from µ, the quantity to be estimated, by less then 2.5 seconds.
It is known from previous studies that σ = 12.2 seconds.

[11.29] In a study of television viewing habits, it is desired to estimate the average number
of hours that teenagers spend watching per week. If it is reasonable to assume that σ = 3.2
hours, how large a sample is needed so that it will be possible to assert with 95% confidence
that the sample mean is off by less than 20 minutes? (Hint: Refer to Exercise 11.6. )

[11.30] The length of the skulls of 10 fossil skeletons of an extinct species of birds has a
mean of 5.68 cm and a standard deviation of 0.29 cm. Assuming that such measurements are
normally distributed, find a 95% confidence interval for the mean length of the skulls of this
species of bird.

[11.32] A food inspector, examining 12 jars of a certain brand of peanut butter, obtained the
following percentages of impurities:

2.3, 1.9, 2.1, 2.8, 2.3, 3.6, 1.4, 1.8, 2.1, 3.2, 2.0, 1.9.

Based on the modification of Theorem 11.1 of Exercise 11.7, what can she assert with 95%
confidence about the maximum error if she uses the mean of this sample as an estimate of the
average percentage of impurities in this brand of peanut butter?

[11.34] A study of two kinds of photocopying equipment shows that 61 failures of the first
kind of equipment took on the average 80.7 minutes to repair with a standard deviation of
19.4 minutes, whereas 61 failures of the second kind of equipment took on the average 88.1
minutes to repair with a standard deviation of 18.8 minutes. Find a 99% confidence interval
for the differences between the true average amounts of time it takes to repair failures of the
two kinds of photocopying equipment.

[11.36] The following are the heat-producing capacities of coal from two mines (in millions
of calories per ton):

• Mine A: 8500, 8330, 8480, 7960, 8030

• Mine B: 7710, 7890, 7920, 8270, 7860

Assuming that the data constitute independent random samples from normal populations
with equal variances, construct a 99% confidence interval for the difference between the true
average heat-producing capacities of coal from the two mines.

[11.42] Among 100 fish caught in a certain lake, 18 were inedible as a result of chemical
pollution. Construct a 99% confidence interval for the corresponding true proportion.

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STAT 4202 Homework 4

[11.50] Among 500 marriage license applications chosen at random in a given year, there were
48 in which the woman was at least one year older than the man, and among 400 marriage
license applications chosen at random six years later, there were 68 in which the woman was
at least one year older than the man. Construct a 99% confidence interval for the difference
between the corresponding true proportions of marriage license applications in which the
woman was at least one year older than the man.

[11.52] Suppose that we want to determine the difference between the proportions of the
customers of a donut chain in North Carolina and Vermont who prefer the chain’s donuts to
those of all its competitors. Use the formula of Exercise 11.16 to determine the size of the
samples that are needed to be at least 95% confident that the difference between the two
sample proportions is off by less than 0.05.

[11.54] With reference to Exercise 11.32, construct a 90% confidence interval for the standard
deviation of the population sampled, that is, for the percentage of impurities in the given brand
of peanut butter.

[11.57] With reference to Exercise 11.34, construct a 98% confidence interval for the ratio of
the variances of the two populations sampled.