College

The high temperatures (in degrees Fahrenheit) of a random sample of 9 small towns are:

\[
\begin{tabular}{|r|}
\hline
98.1 \\
\hline
96.7 \\
\hline
99.2 \\
\hline
99 \\
\hline
99.3 \\
\hline
99.8 \\
\hline
99.7 \\
\hline
97 \\
\hline
98.5 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\]

Assume high temperatures are normally distributed. Based on this data, find the [tex]$90 \%$[/tex] confidence interval of the mean high temperature of towns. Enter your answer as an open interval (i.e., parentheses) accurate to two decimal places (because the sample data are reported accurate to one decimal place).

[tex]$90 \%$[/tex] C.I. [tex]$=$[/tex] [tex]$\square$[/tex]

The answer should be obtained without any preliminary rounding. However, the critical value may be rounded to 3 decimal places.

Answer :

Sure, let's go through the calculation step-by-step to find the 90% confidence interval for the mean high temperature.

1. Collect the data and find the sample mean:

The high temperatures are:
[tex]\[
\{98.1, 96.7, 99.2, 99, 99.3, 99.8, 99.7, 97, 98.5\}
\][/tex]

The sample mean [tex]\(\overline{x}\)[/tex] is calculated as:
[tex]\[
\overline{x} = \frac{\sum x_i}{n} = \frac{98.1 + 96.7 + 99.2 + 99 + 99.3 + 99.8 + 99.7 + 97 + 98.5}{9} = 98.5889 \text{ (rounded to 4 decimal places)}
\][/tex]

2. Calculate the sample standard deviation:

The sample standard deviation (s) is calculated using:
[tex]\[
s = \sqrt{\frac{\sum (x_i - \overline{x})^2}{n-1}}
\][/tex]
After calculating this, the sample standard deviation is approximately:
[tex]\[
s \approx 1.123
\][/tex]

3. Calculate the standard error of the mean:

The standard error (SE) is:
[tex]\[
SE = \frac{s}{\sqrt{n}} = \frac{1.123}{\sqrt{9}} = 0.3743
\][/tex]

4. Determine the t critical value:

For a 90% confidence interval with [tex]\(n - 1 = 8\)[/tex] degrees of freedom, the t critical value can be found using the t-distribution table or statistical software. The t critical value is approximately:
[tex]\[
t \approx 1.860
\][/tex]

5. Calculate the margin of error:

The margin of error (ME) is:
[tex]\[
ME = t \times SE = 1.860 \times 0.3743 = 0.6961
\][/tex]

6. Determine the confidence interval:

The 90% confidence interval for the mean is:
[tex]\[
\left( \overline{x} - ME, \overline{x} + ME \right) = (98.5889 - 0.6961, 98.5889 + 0.6961) = (97.8928, 99.2850)
\][/tex]

So, the 90% confidence interval of the mean high temperature of these towns is:
[tex]\[
(97.89, 99.29)
\][/tex]

I hope this helps! If you have any more questions or need further clarifications, feel free to ask.