POINT and

INTERVAL
ESTIMATION
POINT ESTIMATION
￭ is the process of finding a single value, called
point estimate, from a random sample of the
population, to approximate a population
parameter
𝑥 is the point estimate of 𝜇
2 2
𝑠 is the point estimate of 𝜎
CONFIDENCE LEVEL 1 − 𝛼 100%
- refers to the probability that the confidence interval
contains the population parameter
CRITICAL VALUE
- is the value that indicates the point beyond which lies
the rejection region
REJECTION REGION
- region that does not contain the true population
parameter
INTERVAL ESTIMATE OF POPULATION MEAN WITH KNOWN VARIANCE
Formula for interval estimate of population mean
when population variance is known and 𝑛 ≥ 30.

𝑥 − 𝐸, 𝑥 + 𝐸

𝜎
𝐸 = 𝑧𝛼
2 𝑛
Example
The mean score of a random sample of
49 Grade 11 students who took the first
periodic test is calculated to be 78. The
population variance is known to be 0.16. Find
the 95% confidence interval for the mean of
the entire Grade 11 students.
ESTIMATING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO POP’N MEANS

𝑥1 − 𝑥2 − 𝐸, 𝑥1 − 𝑥2 + 𝐸

𝜎1 2 𝜎2 2
𝐸 = 𝑧𝛼 +
2 𝑛1 𝑛2
Example
Two groups of students in Grade 11 were subjected to two
different teaching techniques. After a month, they were given
exactly the same test. A random sample of 60 students were
selected in the first group and another random sample of 50
students were selected in the second group. The sampled
students in the first group made an average of 84 with a
standard deviation of 8, while the sampled students in the
second group made an average of 78, with a standard deviation
of 6. Find a 95% confidence interval for the difference in the
population means.
SAMPLE SIZE FOR ESTIMATING POPULATION MEAN 𝜇

𝑧𝛼 𝜎 2
2
𝑛=
𝐸

where:
𝑧𝛼 = critical value based on the desired confidence level
2
𝐸 = desired margin of error
𝜎 = population standard deviation
Example
Find the minimum sample size required to estimate an
unknown population mean 𝜇 using the following given data.

a. Confidence level = 95%

Margin of Error = 75%
𝜎 = 250
b. Confidence level = 90%
Margin of Error = 0.891
𝜎=9
Solution (a):
Step 1. Find the value of 𝑧𝛼
2
Confidence level is 95%
𝛼 = 0.05
𝑧𝛼 = 𝑧0.025 = 1.96
2

Step 2. Find sample size.

𝑧𝛼 𝜎 2 1.96(250)
2
2
𝑛= = = 42.68 𝑜𝑟 43
𝐸 75
The minimum sample size required to estimate an unknown
population mean 𝜇 is 43.
Solution (b):
Step 1. Find the value of 𝑧𝛼
2
Confidence level is 90%
𝛼 = 0.10
𝑧𝛼 = 𝑧0.05 = 1.645
2

Step 2. Find sample size.

𝑧𝛼 𝜎 2 1.645(3)
2
2
𝑛= = = 30.68 𝑜𝑟 31
𝐸 0.891
The minimum sample size required to estimate an unknown
population mean 𝜇 is 31.