In: Statistics and Probability
In a survey, 10 people were asked how much they spent on their child's last birthday gift. The results were roughly bell-shaped with a mean of $38 and standard deviation of $8. Construct a confidence interval at a 98% confidence level.
 = 
 38
s = 
 8/
n = 10
Degrees of freedom = df = n - 1 = 10 - 1 = 9
At 98% confidence level the t is ,
 = 1 - 98% = 1 - 0.98 = 0.02
  / 2 = 0.02 / 2 = 0.01
t
 /2,df = t0.01,9 =2.821
Margin of error = E = t
/2,df * (s /√n)
= 2.821 * (8 / √10) = 7.1
The 98% confidence interval estimate of the population mean is,
 - E < 
 < 
 + E
38 - 7.1 < 
 < 38 + 7.1
30.9 < 
 < 45.1
(30.9, 45.1 )