Math  /  Data & Statistics

QuestionEat your cereal: Boxes of cereal are labeled as containing 14 ounces. Following are the weights, in ounces, of a sample of 12 boxes. It is reasonable to assume that the population is approximately normal. \begin{tabular}{llllll} \hline 13.01 & 14.96 & 13.10 & 13.11 & 13.09 & 13.01 \\ 13.14 & 14.96 & 13.04 & 13.03 & 13.10 & 13.11 \\ \hline \end{tabular} Send data to Excel
Part: 0/20 / 2
Part 1 of 2 (a) Construct a 90%90 \% confidence interval for the mean weight. Round the answers to at least three decimal places.
A 90%90 \% confidence interval for the mean weight is 12.818<μ<13.45812.818^{\otimes}<\mu<13.458{ }^{\otimes}.

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? We need to find a range where we're 90% sure the *true* average weight of a cereal box lies, based on weighing 12 boxes. Watch out! Don't mix up the different formulas for confidence intervals – we need the one for the *mean* weight, and make sure to use the correct t-score since our sample size is small!

STEP 2

1. Calculate the sample mean.
2. Calculate the sample standard deviation.
3. Find the critical t-value.
4. Calculate the margin of error.
5. Construct the confidence interval.

STEP 3

Let's **add up** all the weights and **divide** by the number of boxes to get the **sample mean**, often written as xˉ\bar{x}.
This tells us the average weight of the boxes in our sample.

STEP 4

xˉ=13.01+14.96+13.10+13.11+13.09+13.01+13.14+14.96+13.04+13.03+13.10+13.1112 \bar{x} = \frac{13.01 + 14.96 + 13.10 + 13.11 + 13.09 + 13.01 + 13.14 + 14.96 + 13.04 + 13.03 + 13.10 + 13.11}{12}

STEP 5

xˉ=156.661213.055 \bar{x} = \frac{156.66}{12} \approx 13.055 So, our **sample mean** is approximately 13.05513.055 ounces!

STEP 6

Now, let's see how spread out our weights are.
We'll use the **sample standard deviation**, usually shown as ss, to measure this spread.

STEP 7

First, we find the **variance**, s2s^2, by calculating the average of the squared differences between each weight and the sample mean: s2=i=112(xixˉ)2121 s^2 = \frac{\sum_{i=1}^{12}(x_i - \bar{x})^2}{12-1}

STEP 8

Plugging in our values, we get: s2=(13.0113.055)2+(14.9613.055)2++(13.1113.055)2110.602 s^2 = \frac{(13.01-13.055)^2 + (14.96-13.055)^2 + \dots + (13.11-13.055)^2}{11} \approx 0.602

STEP 9

The **sample standard deviation**, ss, is the square root of the variance: s=s2=0.6020.776 s = \sqrt{s^2} = \sqrt{0.602} \approx 0.776 So, our **sample standard deviation** is about 0.7760.776 ounces.

STEP 10

Since our sample size is small (12 boxes), we'll use a t-distribution.
We want a 90% confidence interval, so we need to find the **critical t-value**, tα/2t_{\alpha/2}, that leaves 5% in each tail of the distribution (since 100%90%=10%100\% - 90\% = 10\%, and 10%/2=5%10\% / 2 = 5\%).

STEP 11

We have 121=1112 - 1 = 11 degrees of freedom.
Looking up the t-value for a 90% confidence interval with 11 degrees of freedom in a t-table (or using a calculator), we find tα/21.796t_{\alpha/2} \approx 1.796.

STEP 12

The **margin of error**, EE, tells us how much our sample mean might differ from the true population mean.
It's calculated as: E=tα/2sn E = t_{\alpha/2} \cdot \frac{s}{\sqrt{n}} where ss is the sample standard deviation and nn is the sample size.

STEP 13

Plugging in our values, we get: E=1.7960.776120.403 E = 1.796 \cdot \frac{0.776}{\sqrt{12}} \approx 0.403 Our **margin of error** is approximately 0.4030.403 ounces.

STEP 14

Finally, we can build our **confidence interval**!
It's centered around our sample mean and extends out by the margin of error on either side.

STEP 15

The formula is: xˉE<μ<xˉ+E \bar{x} - E < \mu < \bar{x} + E

STEP 16

Plugging in our values: 13.0550.403<μ<13.055+0.403 13.055 - 0.403 < \mu < 13.055 + 0.403 12.652<μ<13.458 12.652 < \mu < 13.458

STEP 17

We are 90% confident that the true mean weight of the cereal boxes lies between 12.652\bf{12.652} ounces and 13.458\bf{13.458} ounces.

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