Math Problem Statement

If 1600 members of a political party were randomly sampled and 1200 said they wanted a change in leadership, what is the 95% confidence interval for the true population percentage for all of the members of the party who wanted a change in leadership?

Solution

To calculate the 95% confidence interval for the true population percentage of party members who want a change in leadership, we can use the formula for the confidence interval of a proportion:

Confidence Interval=p^±Zp^(1p^)n\text{Confidence Interval} = \hat{p} \pm Z \cdot \sqrt{\frac{\hat{p}(1 - \hat{p})}{n}}

where:

  • p^\hat{p} is the sample proportion,
  • ZZ is the Z-score corresponding to the 95% confidence level (approximately 1.96),
  • nn is the sample size.

Step 1: Calculate the Sample Proportion (p^\hat{p})

p^=number who want changetotal sample size=12001600=0.75\hat{p} = \frac{\text{number who want change}}{\text{total sample size}} = \frac{1200}{1600} = 0.75

Step 2: Plugging Values into the Formula

Using Z=1.96Z = 1.96 for a 95% confidence level, n=1600n = 1600, and p^=0.75\hat{p} = 0.75:

Margin of Error=1.960.75×(10.75)1600\text{Margin of Error} = 1.96 \cdot \sqrt{\frac{0.75 \times (1 - 0.75)}{1600}}

  1. Calculate 0.75×(10.75)=0.75×0.25=0.18750.75 \times (1 - 0.75) = 0.75 \times 0.25 = 0.1875,
  2. Divide by 1600: 0.18751600=0.0001171875\frac{0.1875}{1600} = 0.0001171875,
  3. Take the square root: 0.00011718750.01083\sqrt{0.0001171875} \approx 0.01083,
  4. Multiply by 1.96: 1.96×0.010830.021231.96 \times 0.01083 \approx 0.02123.

Step 3: Determine the Confidence Interval

Confidence Interval=0.75±0.02123\text{Confidence Interval} = 0.75 \pm 0.02123

Converting to percentages, we get:

Confidence Interval=75%±2.12%\text{Confidence Interval} = 75\% \pm 2.12\%

Final Answer

The 95% confidence interval for the true population percentage of party members who want a change in leadership is approximately:

[72.88%,77.12%][72.88\%, 77.12\%]

Would you like further details or have any questions?


Here are some related questions:

  1. How would the confidence interval change if the confidence level were 99%?
  2. What if the sample size were doubled to 3200 members?
  3. How does the choice of confidence level affect the width of the interval?
  4. What is the interpretation of a 95% confidence interval in this context?
  5. How would the results differ if the sample proportion were closer to 0.5?

Tip: Larger sample sizes generally produce narrower confidence intervals, reflecting higher precision in the estimate of the population parameter.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Statistics
Confidence Intervals
Proportions

Formulas

Confidence Interval = p̂ ± Z * √(p̂(1 - p̂) / n)
p̂ = number who want change / total sample size

Theorems

Central Limit Theorem

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 10-12