Math Problem Statement

A manufacturing process produces items with a mean weight of 75 grams and a standard deviation of 5 grams. A sample of 70 items is selected to estimate the mean weight of all items produced. Calculate a 95% confidence interval for the mean weight of the items produced by this manufacturing process.

(Express your answer in the format 45.0987 to 49.1234, rounding to four decimal places. )

Solution

To calculate the 95% confidence interval for the mean weight of the items produced, we use the formula for the confidence interval when the population standard deviation is known:

CI=xˉ±Zα/2×σnCI = \bar{x} \pm Z_{\alpha/2} \times \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}

Where:

  • xˉ\bar{x} is the sample mean (75 grams),
  • Zα/2Z_{\alpha/2} is the Z-score for the 95% confidence level (which is 1.96),
  • σ\sigma is the population standard deviation (5 grams),
  • nn is the sample size (70).

Step 1: Compute the standard error

The standard error is given by:

SE=σn=57058.36660.5977SE = \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}} = \frac{5}{\sqrt{70}} \approx \frac{5}{8.3666} \approx 0.5977

Step 2: Multiply by the Z-score

Now, calculate the margin of error:

ME=Zα/2×SE=1.96×0.59771.1709ME = Z_{\alpha/2} \times SE = 1.96 \times 0.5977 \approx 1.1709

Step 3: Calculate the confidence interval

Now, we can calculate the lower and upper bounds of the confidence interval:

  • Lower bound: 751.1709=73.829175 - 1.1709 = 73.8291
  • Upper bound: 75+1.1709=76.170975 + 1.1709 = 76.1709

Final Answer:

The 95% confidence interval for the mean weight is approximately:

73.8291 to 76.1709\boxed{73.8291 \text{ to } 76.1709}

Would you like any further details or clarifications?

Related Questions:

  1. How would the confidence interval change if the sample size increased to 100 items?
  2. How can you calculate the margin of error for different confidence levels?
  3. What happens to the confidence interval if the standard deviation of the population is unknown?
  4. How do you interpret a 95% confidence interval in the context of this problem?
  5. How does the confidence interval relate to hypothesis testing?

Tip:

The larger the sample size, the narrower the confidence interval, as the standard error decreases with an increase in nn.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Confidence Intervals
Standard Deviation
Z-scores
Sampling Distribution

Formulas

Confidence Interval Formula: CI = x̄ ± Zα/2 × (σ / √n)

Theorems

Central Limit Theorem

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 11-12