Basic Exercises Chapter 10 - 14

1. Assume that the true proportion of college students who have taken at least one online
course is .22. Suppose a sample of 500 college students is selected.

a. What would you expect the shape of the sampling distribution for the sample proportion to

look like?

b. What would be the mean of this sampling distribution?

c. What would be the standard deviation of this sampling distribution?

d. If the sample size is increased to 1000, how would the sampling distribution change?

2. Assume that the true proportion of college students who do not have dental insurance is
.85. Suppose that a sample of 200 college students is selected.

a. Is the success/failure condition satisfied? Explain.

b. What is the probability that the sample proportion will be at least .85?

c. What is the probability that the sample proportion will be less than .80?

d. What is the probability that the sample proportion will be between .80 and .90?

3. The net worth of families in New Brunswick in thousand dollars has a mean of 220 with a
standard deviation of 40. A sample of families in New Brunswick is interviewed and the sample
mean net worth is computed.

a. Assuming a large enough sample size, what would you expect the shape of the sampling

distribution for the sample mean to look like?

b. What would be the mean of this sampling distribution?

c. If the sample size is 50, what would be the standard deviation of this sampling
distribution?

d. If the sample size is 100, what would be the standard deviation of this sampling

distribution?
4. Assume that new eco-friendly plastic bags have a mean tensile strength of 90 MPa with a
standard deviation of 10 MPa. Suppose that a sample of 64 bags is selected.

a. What is the probability that the sample mean will be at least 90 MPa?

b. What is the probability that the sample mean will be between 87.5 MPA and

92.5 MPa?

c. What is the probability that the sample mean will be less than 91MPa?

d. What is the probability that the sample mean will be more than 93.75 MPa?

ANSWERS

1. a. Normal

b. .22

c. .0185

d. The mean would not change, and the standard deviation would decrease to

.0131.

2. a. Yes, the success/failure condition is satisfied:

np = 200(0.85) = 170  10
nq = 200(0.15) = 30  10

b. .5

c. .0239

d. .9522

3. a. Normal

b. 220

c. 5.66

d. 4

4. a. .5
 b. .9544

c. .7881

d. .0013

Basic Exercises
1. Suppose a sample is selected from a population in order to estimate the population proportion p.
Based on the sample data, the proportion is calculated to be .22.
a. What is the standard error if the sample size is 50?
b. What is the standard error if the sample size is 100?
c. What is the standard error if the sample size is 1000?
d. How is the standard error affected by the sample size?

2. Suppose that you are constructing a confidence interval for the population proportion p. Find the
appropriate z* value for each of the following levels of confidence.
a. 90%.
b. 95%
c. 99%
d. How is the confidence interval affected by the stated level of confidence?

3. Suppose that you are constructing a confidence interval for the population proportion p. You
have selected a sample and based on the data calculate the proportion as .45.
a. What is the margin of error if the sample size is 50 and you want to be 90% confident?
b. What is the margin of error if the sample size is 1000 and you want to be 90% confident?
c. What is the margin of error if the sample size is 50 and you want to be 99% confident?
d. What is the margin of error if the sample size is 1000 and you want to be 99% confident?

4. A random sample of 800 individuals provided 544 “no” responses.

a. What is the sample proportion?
b. Is the success/failure condition satisfied? Explain.
c. Construct a 95% confidence interval for the true proportion of “no” responses.
 d. Interpret this confidence interval.

5. Suppose you want to estimate the proportion of college students who own their own car.
a. What sample size is needed if you wish to be 95% confident that your estimate is within
.02 of the true proportion?
b. What sample size is needed if you wish to be 99% confident that your estimate is within
.02 of the true mean?
c. What sample size is needed if you wish to be 95% confident that your estimate is within
.05 of the true mean?
d. Suppose that based on past studies, you have an idea that the proportion is .25. What
sample size is needed if you wish to be 95% confident that your estimate is within .02 of
the true proportion?

6. Suppose that it was found that 75 out of 300 students enrolled in the accounting program failed at
least one course, and that a similar study found that 80 out of 400 students enrolled in finance
courses failed at least one course. Find a 95% confidence interval for the difference in proportions
of failures between accounting and finance students.

ANSWERS

1. a. .0586
b. .0414
c. .0131
d. As the sample size increases, the standard error decreases.

2. a. 1.645
b. 1.960
c. 2.576
d. As the stated level of confidence increases, the width of the interval increases.

3. a. .1157
b. .0259
c. .1812
 d. .0405

4. a. .68
b. Yes, npˆ = 544  10 and nqˆ = 256  10 .

c. The 95% confidence interval is 0.68  0.032, i.e. between 0.648 and 0.712.

d. We are 95% confident that the true proportion of “no” responses is between .648 and
.712.

5. a. n = 2401
b. n = 4148
c. n = 385
d. n = 1801

6. The 95% confidence interval is 0.05  0.0619, i.e. between − 0.012 and 0.112.

Basic Exercises
1. The four cities, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary accounted for 40% of Canadian
household income in a recent year. You interview a random sample of households this year to see
whether that proportion has changed. Suppose that all assumptions are met and you test the null
hypothesis H0: p = .40.
a. What is the standard deviation of the sample proportion if the sample size is 50?
b. What is the standard deviation of the sample proportion if the sample size is 100?
c. What is the standard deviation of the sample proportion if the sample size is 1000?
d. Why are we calculating a standard deviation and not a standard error?

2. In 2009, the Financial Post report on Canadian Demographics classified 25% of Canadian
households as “Quiet Neighbours”. You interview a random sample of households this
year to see whether that proportion is still the same. Suppose that all assumptions are met
and you test the hypotheses H0: p = .25.

a. What is the critical value if HA: p ≠ .25 and α = .05?

b. What is the critical value if HA: p > .25 and α = .05?
 c. What is the critical value if HA: p < .25 and α = .05?
d. What is the critical value if HA: p ≠ .25 and α = .01?

3. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver accounted for 30% of Canadian retail sales in a recent
year. You interview a random sample of Canadian residents this year to see whether that
proportion has changed. Suppose that all assumptions are met and you test the hypotheses
H0: p = .30 vs. HA: p ≠ .30. A sample of size 500 results in a sample proportion of .25.
a. What is the standard deviation of the sample proportion?
b. Compute the value of the z statistic.
c. Find the P-value associated with this z statistic.
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.

4. In a recent year, Canadian households in the territories and provinces other than Quebec
accounted for 75% of national households. You interview a random sample of households
this year to see whether the proportion of non-Quebec based households has increased.
Suppose that all assumptions are met and you test the hypotheses H0: p = .75 vs. HA: p >
.75. A sample of size 100 results in a sample proportion of .80.

a. What is the standard deviation of the sample proportion?

b. Compute the value of the z statistic.
c. Find the P-value associated with this z statistic.
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.

5. In a recent year 55% of TV viewing time in Canada was associated with foreign
programming. The government has recently introduced additional grants to subsidize the
production of Canadian programming. You interview a random sample of Canadians this
year to see whether the proportion of Canadians viewing foreign programming has
dropped. Suppose that all assumptions are met and you test the hypotheses H0: p = .55 vs.
HA: p < .55. A sample of size 1000 results in a sample proportion of .51.

a. What is the standard deviation of the sample proportion?

b. Compute the value of the z statistic.
c. Find the P-value associated with this z statistic.
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.
6. In a survey, it was found that 20% of all Canadians aged 15 or older had a university degree.
You interview a random sample of Canadians this year to see whether that proportion has
changed. Suppose that all assumptions are met and you test the hypotheses H0: p = .20 vs. HA: p ≠
.20. A sample of size 250 results in a sample proportion of .25.

a. Construct a 99% confidence interval for p.

b. Based on the confidence interval, at α = .01 can you reject H0? Explain.
c. What is the difference between the standard error and standard deviation of the sample
proportion?
d. Which is used in computing the confidence interval?

7. In a recent survey, it was found that of 200 people interviewed in Ontario, 25% spoke a language
other than English or French at home. In British Columbia, a similar study of an equally sized
sample found that 20% of people spoke a language other than English or French at home.
Provided that all assumptions and conditions are met, can we conclude that there is a significant
difference between British Columbia and Ontario in the proportion of people who speak a
language other than English or French at home? Test at
α = .05.

ANSWERS

1. a. .069
b. .049
c. .0155
d. We are calculating the standard deviation because we assume that the null hypothesis is
true and that p = .40.

2. a. ± 1.96
b. 1.645
c. - 1.645
d. ± 2.575
3. a. .0205
b. - 2.44
c. .0147
d. Because P-value = .0147 <.05, we reject the null hypothesis H0. There is strong evidence
that the proportion has changed.

4. a. .0433
b. 1.15
c. .1251
d. The high P-value = 0.1251 >.05 indicates that these results could be reasonably
explained by sampling error, so we fail to reject the hull hypotheses H0. There is no
evidence to suggest that the proportion of non-Quebec based households has increased.

5. a. .0157
b. - 2.55
c. .0054
d. Because P-value = .0054 <.05, we reject the null hypothesis H0. There is
strong evidence that the proportion of Canadians viewing foreign
programming has dropped.

6. a. .25 ± .065, i.e. between 0.185 and 0.315

b. No, because .20 is included in the 99% confidence interval.
c. The term standard error is used for sample-based estimates of the standard
deviation of the sampling distribution model. The proportion determines the
value of the standard deviation of its sampling distribution model. Thus, we use
SD( pˆ ) rather than SE( pˆ ) .
d. The standard error, not the standard deviation, should be used for the confidence
interval.

7. Since z = 1.196 and the critical value is z = ±1.96, we cannot conclude that a
difference exists.

Basic Exercises
1. Suppose a sample is selected from a population with mean µ and standard deviation σ. The
sample mean is calculated to estimate µ. The sample standard deviation is also computed and found to be
120.

a. What is the standard error if the sample size is 36?

b. What is the standard error if the sample size is 64?
c. What is the standard error if the sample size is 100?
d. How does the standard error differ from the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of
the sample mean?

2. Suppose that you are constructing a confidence interval for µ. A sample is taken from a
population with a nearly normal distribution and the sample mean and sample standard deviation are
calculated. Find the appropriate t-value for each of the following.
a. A 90% confidence interval based on n = 30.
b. A 95% confidence interval based on n = 30.
c. A 99% confidence interval based on n = 30.
d. As the level of confidence increases, how will the resulting confidence interval be
affected?

3. Suppose that you are constructing a confidence interval for µ. A sample is taken from a
population with a nearly normal distribution and the sample mean and sample standard deviation are
calculated. Find the appropriate t-value for each of the following.
a. A 95% confidence interval based on n = 9.
b. A 95% confidence interval based on n = 25.
c. A 95% confidence interval based on n = 101.
d. As the sample size increases, how will the resulting confidence interval be affected?

4. Suppose that you are constructing a confidence interval for µ. A sample is taken from a
population with a nearly normal distribution.
a. If the sample size is 36, and the sample standard deviation is 24, at 99% confidence what is the
margin of error?
b. If the sample size is 36, and the sample standard deviation is 24, at 95% confidence what is the
margin of error?
c. If the sample mean is 250, construct the 95% and 99% confidence intervals for µ.
d. Interpret these confidence intervals.

5. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µ = 1800 vs. HA: µ > 1800 and a sample of size
25 yields the sample mean of 1895 and the sample standard deviation of 250.
a. Compute the value of the t statistic.
b. Find the P-value associated with this t statistic.
c. At α = .05, what is the critical value for t?
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.

6. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µ = 85 vs. HA: µ < 85 and a sample of size 76
yields the sample mean of 84 and the sample standard deviation of 6.5.
a. Compute the value of the t statistic.
b. Find the P-value associated with this t statistic.
c. At α = .05, what is the critical value for t?
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.

7. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µ = 15 vs. HA: µ ≠ 15 and a sample size of 16
yields the sample mean of 17.5 and the sample standard deviation of 6.
a. Compute the value of the t-statistic.
b. Find the P-value associated with this t statistic.
c. State your conclusion at α = .05.
d. Would you expect the 95% confidence interval for µ to contain 15? Explain.

ANSWERS

1. a. 20
b. 15
c. 12
d. The standard error is used when σ is unknown and must be estimated using s.

2. a. 1.699
 b. 2.045
c. 2.756
d. As the level of confidence increases, the interval gets wider.

3. a. 2.306
b. 2.064
c. 1.984
d. As the sample size increases, the interval gets shorter.

4. a. 10.9
b. 8.12
c. 95% confidence interval is 241.88 to 258.12
99% confidence interval is 239.1 to 260.9
d. We are 95% confident that the true mean is contained in the interval 241.88 to
258.12 and 99% confident that the true mean is contained in the interval 239.1 to
260.9.

5. a. 1.90
b. between .025 and .05 (by the table); 0.0348 (by technology)
c. 1.711
d. Since P-value = .0348 < .05 (alternatively, t24 = 1.90 > 1.711), we reject H0. There
is strong evidence that the true mean is higher than 1800.

6. a. –1.34
b. between .05 and .10 (by the table); 0.0920 (by technology)
c. –1.665
d. Since P-value = .0920 > .05 (alternatively, t75 = –1.34 > –1.665), we fail to reject
H0. There is no evidence to suggest that the true mean is less than 85.

7. a. 1.67
 b. between .10 and .20 (by the table); 0.1163 (by technology)
c. Since P-value = .1163 > .05 (alternatively, –2.131< t15 = 1.67 < 2.131), we fail to
reject H0. There is no evidence to suggest that the true mean differs from 15.

d. Yes, because we are not able to reject the H0 at α = .05.

Basic Exercises

1. Suppose that two independent random samples were selected from two populations that are
normally distributed. The table shows the data for each sample.

Sample 1 Sample 2
30 26

36 32

29 34

25 38

40 30

20 36

a. Calculate the two sample means.

b. What is the estimated difference between means?
c. Calculate the two sample standard deviations.
d. What is the standard error of the estimated difference between means?

2. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µ1 – µ2 = 0 vs. HA: µ1 – µ2 ≠ 0 and obtained the
following results from independent samples selected from two populations.

Sample 1 Sample 2

n1 = 60 n2 = 55

𝑦̅1 = 122 𝑦̅2 = 125

 s1 = 22.5 s2 = 19.9

a. Compute the value of the t statistic.

b. What are the degrees of freedom?
c. What is P-value associated with the t statistic?
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.

3. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µ1 = µ2 vs. HA: µ1 > µ2 and obtained the
following results from independent samples selected from two populations.

Sample 1 Sample 2

n1 = 35 n2 = 45

𝑦̅1 = 13.8 𝑦̅2 = 11.5

s1 = 2.5 s2 = 3.2

a. Compute the value of the t statistic.

b. What are the degrees of freedom?
c. What is P-value associated with the t statistic?
d. State your conclusion at α = .01.
4. Suppose that two independent random samples were selected from two populations that are
normally distributed. The following results are obtained.

Sample 1 Sample 2

n1 = 20 n2 = 25

𝑦̅1 = 55.2 𝑦̅2 = 56.9

s1 = 5.1 s2 = 4.8

a. What is the estimated difference between means?

b. What is the standard error of the estimated difference between means?
c. Construct a 95% confidence interval for the difference between means.
d. At α = .05, can you conclude that the true means are the same? Explain.
5. Suppose that two independent random samples were selected from two populations that are
normally distributed. The table shows the data for each sample.

Sample 1 Sample 2

145 158

133 162

150 170

120 150
115 135

129
144

a. What is the estimated difference between means?

b. If we assume that the population variances are the same for both groups, calculate the
pooled estimate of the variance?
c. What are the degrees of freedom for the t distribution?
d. Construct a 90% confidence interval for the difference between means.

6. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µ1 = µ2 vs. HA: µ1 < µ2 and obtained the
following results from independent samples selected from two populations. Assume that the
population variances are equal.

Sample 1 Sample 2

n1 = 100 n2 = 80

𝑦̅1 = 68.9 𝑦̅2 = 74.9

s1 = 12.5 s2 = 12.9

a. Compute the value of the t statistic.

b. What are the degrees of freedom?
c. What is P-value associated with the t statistic?
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.
7. Endurance measurements (in minutes) were made on a sample of individuals both before
and after they participated in a fitness program.

Before After

20 22

15 18

22 20

30 38
22 32

20 26
15 15

25 22

a. Compute the “After – Before” pairwise differences.

b. What is the mean of the pairwise differences?
c. What is the standard deviation of the pairwise differences?
d. What is the standard error of the mean difference?

8. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µd = 0 vs. HA: µd ≠ 0 and obtained the following
paired observations. Assume assumptions are met for the paired t test.

Pre Post Pre – Post

140 136 4

133 135 –2

150 148 2

142 135 7

132 128 4

135 135 0

151 144 7

133 139 –6
 148 140 8

147 141 6

a. Compute the value of the t statistic.

b. What is the number of degrees of freedom?
c. What is P-value associated with the t statistic?
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.

9. Suppose that you are testing the hypotheses H0: µd = 0 vs. HA: µd < 0 and obtained the
following paired observations. Assume assumptions are met for the paired t test.

Pre Post Pre – Post

5 8 –3

6 10 –4

4 4 0

6 9 –3

2 6 –4

8 6 2

9 14 –5

7 6 1

a. Compute the value of the t statistic.

b. What is the number of degrees of freedom?
c. What is P-value associated with the t statistic?
d. State your conclusion at α = .05.

10. Suppose that the time it takes to complete a certain task on a shop floor was measured for 16
workers. After reconfiguring the workspace, the time it takes to complete the same task was
measured again for the same 16 workers. The mean and standard deviation of the pairwise
differences (defined as “Before – After” reconfiguring the workspace) is found to be 10 minutes
and 6.8 minutes, respectively.

a. What is the standard error of the mean difference?

 b. At 95% confidence, what is the margin of error?
c. What is the 95% confidence interval?
d. At α = .05, is there a significant difference in the time required to complete the task
before and after reconfiguring the workspace?

ANSWERS

1. a. 30 and 32.67
b. –2.67

c. 7.24 and 4.32

d. 3.44

2. a. –0.76

b. 113
c. .449
d. At α = .05, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. There is no evidence that the
difference between true means of group 1 and 2 is not equal to zero; the means are
equal.

3. a. 3.61
b. 78
c. < .001 (by the table); 0.0003 (using technology)
d. At α = .01, we reject the null hypothesis. There is strong evidence that the true
mean of group 1 is larger than the true mean of group 2.

4. a. –1.70

b. 1.49
c. (–4.71, 1.31)

d. Yes, because zero falls into the 95% confidence interval.

5. a. –17.11

b. 223.46
c. 10
d. (–32.97, –1.25)

6. a. –3.15

b. 178

c. 0.00096  0.001
d. At α = .05, we reject the null hypothesis. There is strong evidence that the true
mean of group 1 is smaller than the true mean of group 2.

7. a. 2, 3, –2, 8, 10, 6, 0, –3

b. 3
c. 4.69
d. 1.66

8. a. 2.10
b. 9
c. .065
d. At α = .05, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. There is no difference between Pre
and Post measurements.

9. a. –2.16

b. 7
c. .034
d. At α = .05, we reject the null hypothesis. There is strong evidence that the true
mean of group Pre is smaller than the true mean of group Post. Pre measurements
are significantly lower than post measurements.

10. a. 1.7
b. 3.62
c. (6.38, 13.62)
d. Yes, because the interval does not contain zero.