ESTIMATION OF PARAMETERS

At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

1. illustrates point and interval estimations

2. distinguishes between point and interval estimation
3. identifies point estimator for the population mean and population proportion
4. computes for the point estimate of the population mean and population proportion

One of the objectives of a local government official is to ensure that all services can be
provided to the people. Some of these services are health, social welfare, information,
environment management system, infrastructures, roads, security, and others. But
sometimes the priority services to be provided is dependent on factors like income of the
constituents.

Now, suppose that a certain city mayor would like to know the average income of the
all the households of his city. But since the population is large and is impossible to collect all
the necessary information needed in time in making a decision, getting samples is the best
option. Also, collecting all the household incomes of the entire city will require a lot of
resources (money and manpower). After getting the income from the sampled households,
the sample mean, x́, will be used to estimate the average income of the entire households in
the city. In this situation, the mayor and his researchers are using Inferential statistics
because it deals with making generalization about the value of a parameter based on
samples. In other words, when a parameter of a given population is unknown, a sample data
can be collected and used to make an estimate of that unknown parameter.
Basic Concept of Estimation

4.1 POINT ESTIMATION is the use of a suitable statistic and computes its value from a given
sample data. that is use to estimate a parameter. The statistic use is called the point estimator,
and the value of the statistic is called the point estimate.

The statistic x́ is the point estimator of the of the population parameter mean µ.

Formula: x́=
∑ xi
n

The statistic ^p is the estimator of the of the population parameter proportion p.

x
Formula: ^p= , where x is the number of successes and n is the sample size.
n

Example1. Below are weights in kilograms of 20 randomly selected grade 3 students in

Dasmariñas Elementary School.

22.5 21.8 28.4 21.8

24.7 25.2 27.3 22.6
20.9 30.1 25.4 24.7
25.6 27.3 22.8 23.8
28.1 26.6 21.6 23.0

Estimate the mean weight of all the grade 2 students.

Solution: To estimate the mean weight, we use the point estimator x́.

Then, x́=
∑ x i = 22.5+24.7+ 20.9+…+23.0 =24.71
n 20

Therefore, the mean weight of all the grade 3 students at Dasmariñas Elementary School is
24.71kg.

Example 2. The number of customers of a certain fast food X was recorded daily. The 10-day
observations are as follows: 195, 225, 208, 215, 231, 198, 202, 210, 228, and 214. Estimate the
average daily number of customers of the fast food X.
 Solution: Using the point estimator x́ to estimate the average daily number of customers
we have;

x́=
∑ x i = 195+225+208+ … 214 =212.6
n 20

Therefore, the average daily number of customers of fast food X is 212.6.

Example 3. A survey was conducted in DLSU-D to determine the proportion of students that
own laptop computers. From a sample of 200 students, 78 own laptop computers. From the
given information, find an estimate of the proportion of students at DLSU-D who own laptop
computers.

Solution: Using the point estimator p to estimate the proportion of students at DLSU-D
who own laptop computers. Where x= 78, and n= 200.

x 78
^p= = =0.39
n 200

Therefore, the proportion of students at DLSU-D who own laptop computers is 0.39 or 39%.

Example 4. Out of the 350 randomly selected households in Cavite, 164 are with internet
connection at home. Estimate the proportion of households in Cavite with internet connection
at home.

Solution: Using the point estimator p to estimate the proportion of households in Cavite
with internet connection at home. Where x= 164, and n= 350.

x 164
^p= = =0.4686
n 350

Therefore, the proportion of households in Cavite with internet connection at home is

0.4686 or 46.86%.
Calculating Mean and standard deviation in Excel

1. From the tab menu click

the “Quick Access Tool
Bar. Then click “More
Commands”

2. From the
Excel
Options, click
“Add Ins” and
then Click “Go”.
3. From the Add Ins Menu, Put a check on
“Analysis Toolpak” and Analysis ”Toolpak
VBA”. And then click “OK” button.
4. To check if data analysis menu is installed in excel, from the excel menu, click “Data” and
look for the Data Analysis menu. Once the Data Analysis menu is already there, you are now
ready to compute mean standard deviation, variance, etc.

5. To compute mean,
and standard
deviation, and variance,
input data and then
click the Data Analysis
Menu. From the data
Analysis menu click
“Descriptive
Statistics.
6. Then from the screen, highlights your range of data. Choose any cell for your output (results
of analysis). Check the “Summary Statistics” and click the OK button. If you include the label of
your data, check “ Labels in first row”

7. Now the screen shows the

result of the analysis
Practice Exercise 5.1

Solve the following problems. Show complete solutions.

1. Given the following data:

54 55 57 54 58 61 63 69 68 70
51 69 75 72 64 63 71 53 59 71

Estimate the mean and the variance.

2. The contents, in milliliters (mL) of 10 randomly selected identical bottles of a certain

perfume is 98, 99, 97, 98, 100, 101, 96, 97, 97, and 96. Estimate the mean, standard
deviation and variance of the contents of these bottles of perfume.
3. A study was conducted to know the average weight of grade one pupils of Mahusay
Elementary School. A random sample of 25 students were chosen and the following
weights in kg were obtained:
22.4 23.1 19.6 18.8 20.7
25.7 20.9 21.0 24.3 19.5
 21.7 20.6 21.8 23.4 20.2
18.3 24.0 25.1 22.8 23.0
20.9 19.7 20.4 20.9 21.6

Estimate the mean weight of grade one pupils of Mahusay Elementary School.

4. Icon Industry is manufacturing motherboards for smart phones. On the 12-day

production, the number of rejected items were recorded as follows; 14, 12, 11 13, 10,
10, 15, 12, 11, 14, 10, and 9. Find the average daily number of rejected items produced
by Icon Industry.
5. Business process outsourcing (BPO) is one of the fastest rising industries in Cavite. It is
reported to provide higher compensation among its workers. A random sample of 15
BPO workers in Cavite were asked about their monthly salaries. The salaries in peso are
provided below:
22587 27688 21465 23558 26332
24881 23694 25550 25774 24992
26773 27886 27422 26554 26334

What is the estimated monthly salaries of BPO workers in Cavite?

6. A random sample of 2500 college students in Cavite were asked their mobile network
connections. One thousand one hundred twenty-five confirmed Globe to be their
network connection. What is the proportion of students in Cavite who are connected to
Globe network?
7. The production of Icon industry in a week (6 days) is presented below.

Number of Items Number of Defective

Produced Items
Day
1 15786 82
2 17253 75
3 16551 66
4 18220 70
5 17668 64
6 15992 73
 What is the estimated percentage of defective items produced by Icon Industry in a
week?
8. One of the most popular tropical fruit found in the islands of Mindanao, Philippines is
Durian. A survey conducted by students taking up Tourism Management showed that
out of the 1200 foreign visitors in Mindanao 375 confirmed that they like the taste of
Durian. Estimate the proportion of foreigners visiting Mindanao who like the taste of
Durian fruit?
9. A group of researchers were interested to know which tourist destination in the
Philippines is most preferred by Filipinos. A total of 4350 Filipinos were asked and
revealed that 1988 of them preferred Batanes Island. What proportion of Filipinos do
not prefer Batanes Island as tourist destination?

10. A consultancy firm conducted a pre-election survey for the incoming senatorial election
in the Philippines. A total of 8854 respondents were asked whom they vote. The result is
presented below

Candidat Votes
e Received
A 4488
B 4396
C 4176
D 4005
E 4721
F 2889
G 3551
H 3784
I 3226
J 4220

Estimate the proportion of Filipinos who will vote for candidate A, D, F, and I?
 5.2. INTERVAL ESTIMATION FOR THE POPULATION MEAN

1. identifies the appropriate form of the confidence interval estimator for the
population mean when:
(a)the population variance is known,
(b) the population variance is unknown, and
(c) the Central Limit Theorem is to be used.
2. illustrates the t-distribution
3. computes for the confidence interval estimate based on the appropriate form of the
estimator for the population mean
4. solves problems involving confidence interval estimation of the population mean
5. draws conclusion about the population mean based on its confidence interval
estimate

Interval Estimation is the use of sample data to calculate a range of possible values for
an unknown population parameter. Unlike the point estimation that uses single value,
interval estimation uses interval value.

In practice, interval estimation is a better way to estimate parameters than point

estimation due to sampling error. That is, since we assume that the population size is very
large, point estimation does not guarantee that the estimate is somehow equal to the
parameter of interest. Thus, the use of point estimation incurs a large error in estimating
the parameter. Unlike interval estimation that uses interval of values, we can be confident
at certain level that the value of the population parameter will fall within that range.

Basic Terms

In the Philippines the National Statistics Office (NSO) conducts census every after three
years. The purpose of which is to provide parameters that characterizes the status of the
 country. Examples are gender statistics, average household income, average household size,
etc. However, this process requires a lot of time and resources.

Suppose we are interested about the average income of the households in Cavite,
conducting a census will require us to spend more money and a lot of time and workforce
which is not advisable. Thus, we might use samples instead and results can be obtained by
estimation of parameters.

Let us assume average income of households from the samples collected resulted to an
interval estimate between Php 11,320 and Php 22,580 ( 11320 ≤ μ≤ 22580 ) and we are 95%
confident about our estimate.

The interval 11320 ≤ μ≤ 22580 is the confidence interval. The lower limit of the interval,
11320, and the upper limit, 22580, are called the confidence limits. The 95% level of
confidence is called the confidence level. It can be noted that 95% confidence level
indicates that we might commit 5% error in estimating the mean. The 5% level of error
committed in estimating the mean is known as alpha (α).

5.2.1 Interval Estimation of the Population Mean µ

Interval Estimation is used to calculate an interval of possible values of the unknown

population mean, µ, using sample data with some degree of confidence.

5.2.1.2 Confidence Interval for the Mean µ with known variance σ2

Steps:

1. Identify the given information such as the sample mean, the sample size and the
variance/standard deviation.
2. Determine the confidence level and the level of error α.
3. Determine the value of the Zα/2 using the Z-table.
4. Compute for the confidence interval using the formula;
x́−z α
2
( √σn )≤ μ ≤ x́ + z ( √σn )
α
2

Where:
x́ = sample mean
z α = z value (found in the z – table)
2

σ = population standard deviation

n = sample size

5. Interpret the results.

Example 1. Given the following: x́=10, σ2=9, n=64

Construct a 95% confidence interval for the population mean µ.

Solution:

1. Identify the given:

x́=10, σ=√ σ 2= √ 9=¿3, n=64
2. Determine the confidence level and the level of error α.
The confidence level is 95% thus,
α = 1-0.95 = 0.05 = 5%
3. Determine the value of the Zα/2 using the Z-table. Since α = 0.05
α/2 = 0.05/2 = 0.025 then
From the z-table, Z0.025 = 1.96
4. Computation; Since the variance is known, the 95% CI can be computed as:

( √σn )≤ μ ≤ x́ + z ( √σn )
x́−z α
2
α
2

3 3
¿ 10−1.96 (
√64 ) ( √ 64 )
≤ μ ≤ 10+1.96

¿ 10−0.735≤ μ ≤10+ 0.735

¿ 9.265 ≤ μ ≤ 10.735
 5. Interpret the result: Therefore, we can be 95% confident that the true mean will be
within (9.625, 10.735).

Example 2. The average income of 100 randomly selected jeepney drivers in CALABARZON
is 635.75 pesos per day. If it is known that standard deviation of the daily income of all the
drivers in CALABARZON is 110.5 pesos per day, find a 98% CI on the average daily income of
all the drivers in CALABARZON area.

Solution:

1. Given:
x́=635.75 pesos σ =110.5 pesos
n= 100
2. Determine the confidence level and the level of error α.
The confidence level is 98% thus,
α = 1-0.98 = 0.02 = 1%
3. Determine the value of the Zα/2 using the Z-table. Since α = 0.02
α/2 = 0.02/2 = 0.01 then
From the z-table, Z0.01 = 2.326
4. Computation; Since the variance is known, the 95% CI can be computed as:

x́−z α
2
( √σn )≤ μ ≤ x́ + z ( √σn )
α
2

¿ 635.75−2.326 ( 110.5
√ 100 ) ≤ μ ≤ 635.75+2.326 (
110.5
√ 100 )

¿ 635.75−25.702≤ μ ≤ 635.75−25.702
¿ 610.05 ≤ μ ≤ 661.45
5. Interpret the result: Therefore, we can be 98% confident that the true average daily
income of all jeepney drivers in CALABARZON is between 610.05 and 661.45 pesos.

5.2.1.3 The Central Limit Theorem and Confidence Interval for mean µ
 The Central Limit Theorem states that as the sample size n increases or becomes
large the sampling distribution of the mean approaches normal distribution. We can assume
that s2 = σ2 holds true when the sample size is large enough (n>30).
Because of this assumption, when the variance σ 2 is unknown but the sample size is
large, the sample variance s2 can be used to replace the σ 2 in calculating confidence interval
for mean µ.

Example 1. Given the following: x́=15, s2=25, n=100

Construct a 95% confidence interval for the population mean µ.

Solution:

1. Identify the given:

x́=15, s2=25, n=100 (Note that n > 30)
2. Determine the confidence level and the level of error α.
The confidence level is 95% thus,
α = 1-0.95 = 0.05 = 5%
3. Determine the value of the Zα/2 using the Z-table. Since α = 0.05
α/2 = 0.05/2 = 0.025 then
From the z-table, Z0.025 = 1.96
4. Computation; since the variance σ2 is unknown, we replace the variance σ2 by s2.
That is σ2= s2 = 25 and σ=√ σ 2= √ 25=¿5. Then the 95% CI can be computed as:

σ σ
x́−z α
2
( )
√n ( )
≤ μ ≤ x́ + z α
2 √n
,

5 5
15−1.96 ( √100 )≤ μ ≤15+1.96 ( √ 100 )
15−0.98 ≤ μ ≤15+ 0.98
14.02 ≤ μ ≤15.98
5. Interpret the result: Therefore, we can be 95% confident that the true mean will be
within (14.02, 15.98).
 Example 2. The mean contents of 75 randomly selected bottles of perfume X is 98.5 ml with
a standard deviation of 2.2ml. Find the 99% CI on the mean contents of all bottles of Perfume X.

Solution:

1. Identify the given:

x́=98.5 ml, s=2.2 ml, n=75
2. Determine the confidence level and the level of error α.
The confidence level is 98% thus,
α = 1-0.98 = 0.02= 2%
3. Determine the value of the Zα/2 using the Z-table. Since α = 0.02
α/2 = 0.02/2 = 0.01 then
From the z-table, Z0.01 = 2.326
4. Computation; since the variance σ2 is unknown but n is large(n>30), we can assume that
σ = s = 2.2,

Then the 95% CI can be computed as: x́−z α

2
( √σn )≤ μ ≤ x́ + z ( √σn ),
α
2

98.5−2.326 ( √2.275 ) ≤ μ ≤ 15+2.326( √2.275 )

98.5−0.591≤ μ ≤ 98.5+0.591
97.909 ≤ μ ≤ 99.091
5. Interpret the result: Therefore, we can be 98% confident that the true mean contents of
all the bottles of perfume X will be within 97.909 ml and 99.091 ml.

5.2.1.4 Confidence Interval for the Mean µ with un known variance σ 2 and small sample size
n (n≤30).
 The t-distribution or the Student’s t-distribution is a probability distribution use to estimate
population means when the sample size is small and variance is unknown but the distribution is
assumed to be normal. It was derived by William S. Gosset in 1908. According to Gosset, when
the sample size increases or becoming large the t- distribution
approaches the normal distribution. To illustrate n=3
n=5
Notice that the bell curve approaches normal curve as the sample size n
n=8
increases. n > 30

The formula for t-statistic is given below

x́−μ
t=
s
√n

In confidence interval for the mean μ, when the population variance of the distribution
is unknown (sample variance/standard deviation is used instead) and the sample size use in

constructing the CI for the mean µ is less than 30, the t-distribution is used instead of the z-
distribution.
Steps:

1. Identify the given information such as the sample mean, the sample size and the sample
variance/standard deviation.
2. Determine the confidence level, the level of error α and the degree of freedom v,
where; v=n−1.
3. Using the t-table, determine the value of the t(α/2, v).
4. Compute for the confidence interval using the formula;

x́−t
( α
2
,v () √sn )≤ μ ≤ x́ +t( ) ( √sn )
α
2
,v

Where:
x́ = sample mean
t
( α2 , v )= t-value (found in the t – table)
s = sample standard deviation
n = sample size

5. Interpret the results.

Example 1. Given the following: x́=10, s2=9, n=16

Construct a 95% confidence interval for the population mean µ.

Solution:

1. Identify the given:

x́=10, s2=9, n=16 (Note that n < 30)
2. Determine the confidence level, the level of error α and the degree of freedom v,
The confidence level is 95% thus,
α = 1-0.95 = 0.05 = 5%
The degree of freedom is
v=n−1=16−1=15
3. Using the t-table, determine the value of the t(α/2,v). Since α = 0.05
α/2 = 0.05/2 = 0.025. Note that v=15, thus
From the t-table, t(0.025, 15) = 2.131
4. Computation;
The variance is; s2 = 25, therefore s=√ s 2=√ 9=3. Then the 95% CI can be computed as:

x́−t (0.025 ,15 ) ( √sn ) ≤ μ ≤ x́+ t (0.025 , 15) ( √sn )

3 3
10−2.131 ( ) √ 16
≤ μ ≤10+2.131
√ 16 ( )
10−1.598≤ μ ≤10+1.598
8.402 ≤ μ ≤ 11.598
5. Interpret the result: Therefore, we can be 95% confident that the true mean will be
within (8.402, 11.598).

Example 2. The mean weight of 25 randomly selected grade 1 pupils of San Juan Bautista
Elementary School (SJBES) is 22.6 kg with a standard deviation 2.75 kg. Find the 98% CI for
the true average weight of all grade 1 pupils of SJBES.

Solution:

1. Identify the given:

x́=22.6 kg, s = 2.75 kg, n=25 (Note that n < 30)
2. Determine the confidence level, the level of error α and the degree of freedom v,
The confidence level is 98% thus,
α = 1-0.98 = 0.02 = 2%
The degree of freedom is
v=n−1=25−1=24
3. Using the t-table, determine the value of the t(α/2,v). Since α = 0.02
α/2 = 0.02/2 = 0.01. Note that v=24, thus
From the t-table, t(0.01, 24) = 2.492
4. Computation;
 The variance is; s2 = 25, therefore s=√ s 2=√ 9=3. Then the 95% CI can be computed as:

x́−t (0.01 ,24 ) ( √sn )≤ μ≤ x́ +t (0.01 ,24) ( √sn )

2.75 2.75
22.6−2.492 ( )
√ 25
≤ μ ≤10+ 22.6
√ 25 ( )
22.6−1.37 ≤ μ ≤ 22.6+1.37
21.23 ≤ μ ≤ 23.97
5. Interpret the result: Therefore, we can be 98% confident that the true mean weight of
all grade 1 pupils of San Juan Bautista Elementary School is between 21.23 and 23.97 kg.

Example 3. The speed of 20 randomly selected cars passing along TPLEX was recorded and
obtained the following results;

Speed of 20 cars in kmh:

95 96 95 100
88 80 84 100
92 90 90 85
87 95 100 100
94 95 82 80
Construct a 95% confidence interval for the true average speed of all cars passing along
TPLEX.

Note that the given information is a raw data. In this case, we calculate sample mean
and standard deviation using the above data. The computed sample mean and standard
deviation are 91.4 kmh and 6.71 kmh.

Solution:

1. Identify the given:

x́=91.4 kmh, s = 6.71 kmh, n=20 (Note that n < 30)
2. Determine the confidence level, the level of error α and the degree of freedom v,
The confidence level is 98% thus,
α = 1-0.95 = 0.05 = 5%
 The degree of freedom is
v=n−1=20−1=19
3. Using the t-table, determine the value of the t(α/2,v). Since α = 0.05
α/2 = 0.05/2 = 0.025. Note that v=19, thus
From the t-table, t(0.025, 19) = 2.093
4. Computation;
Then the 95% CI can be computed as:

x́−t (0.01 ,24 ) ( √sn )≤ μ≤ x́ +t (0.01 ,24) ( √sn )

91.4−2.093 ( 6.71
√ 20 ) ≤ μ ≤ 91.4+ 2.093 (
6.71
√ 20 )

91.4−3.14 ≤ μ ≤ 91.4+3.14
88.26 ≤ μ ≤ 9 4.54
5. Interpret the result: Therefore, we can be 95% confident that the true average speed of
all cars passing along TPLEX is between 88.26 and 94.54 kmh.

How to calculate Confidence Interval using sample data.

1. In the excel sheet input the data. Click the Data Analysis menu and then click “Descriptive
Statistics”.

2. Then from the screen,

highlights your range
of data. Choose any cell for your output. Check the “Confidence Level for Mean” across it,
type the level of confidence, say 95%, and click the OK button. If you include the label of
your data, check “Labels in first row”.
 3. The results is now shown in the screen. To compute for the Lower interval, subtract the
error (Confidence Level 95.0%) from the mean. To compute the Upper interval, add the
error to the mean.

Lower Interval = 14.8 – 1.93 = 12.87

Upper Interval = 14.8 + 1.93 = 16.83

The 95% CI is 12.87 ≤ μ ≤ 16.83.

Practice Exercise 5.2.

Direction: Solve the following problems. Show complete solutions.

1. A sample of n=225 has mean of x́=14.7. If the population variance is σ 2=1.44, find a
95% confidence interval for the population mean µ.

2. A random sample of 100 college students in Dasmariñas were asked about their daily
allowances. The result showed an average of 115 pesos. It is known that the daily
allowances of college students is normally distributed with a standard deviation of 75
pesos. Determine the 98% confidence interval for the average daily allowances of all
college students in Dasmariñas.
3. A group of researchers conducted a study about the use of Facebook (FB) of working
mothers. From a sample of 400 mothers, they found out that on the average, mothers spent
150 minutes of FB use daily. Assuming the standard deviation of the daily usage of FB of all
working mothers is 50 minutes, compute a 99% confidence interval for the average usage of
FB of all working mothers. Find the length of the interval.

4. A random sample n=100 has mean x́=112.8 and a standard deviation s= 14.6. Find a 95%
confidence interval for the mean µ.

5. Record shows that the average score of 120 examinees in the National Medical Admission
Test (NMAT) is 74 with a standard deviation of 15.

a. Find a 90% confidence interval for the mean score of all the examinees who
took the NMAT.
b. Determine the length the interval.

6. It was reported on the news that newly developed express way named CALAX has
shortened the time to reach Laguna from Cavite. A sample of 16 drivers were interviewed
and revealed that the mean travel time from Imus, Cavite to Los Calamba, Laguna is 55
minutes with a standard deviation of 12 minutes.

a. Find the 99% confidence interval on the true mean travel time of all cars
from Cavite to Laguna via CALAX.
b. Compute the length of the interval.

7. A study is conducted to determine the socio demographic characteristics of the

households of Barangay Paliparan in Dasmariñas, Cavite. It was observed that the average
monthly income of 20 randomly selected households is Php 22,365.00 and the standard
deviation of Php 5,442.00.

a. Construct the 98% confidence interval for the mean monthly income of all
the households of Barangay Paliparan.
b. Determine the length of the interval
 8. A consumer group wants to determine the average price per kilogram of mangoes in
Cavite. The prices, in peso, per kilogram of mangoes in 8 selected markets in Cavite
were recorded as follows: 65, 75, 68, 70, 70, 60, 80, 65, 67 and 72.
a. Estimate the mean and standard deviation of the price of mangoes per
kilogram.
b. Construct the 98% confidence interval on the true mean price of mangoes per
kilogram in the entire area of Cavite.

9. An engineer developed a new concrete hollow blocks (CHB) use for house
construction. He tested 15 samples for compressive strength, in psi, and obtained the
following results: 875, 935, 978, 830, 902, 961, 888, 847, 910, 902, 894, 930, 878, 841
and 839.
a. Find the 99% confidence interval for the mean compressive strength of the
new developed CHB.
b. Compute the length of the interval.

5.3 INTERVAL ESTIMATION FOR THE POPULATION PROPORTION

Objectives:

 identifies the appropriate form of the confidence interval estimator for the population
proportion based on the Central Limit Theorem
 computes for the confidence interval estimate of the population proportion
 solves problems involving confidence interval estimation of the population proportion
 draws conclusion about the population proportion based on its confidence interval
estimate

1.2.1 Interval Estimation for Population Proportion p

 A random sample is selected to estimate the population proportion, p. The estimated
proportion should be as close as possible to the population proportion as determined by
probability or the level of significance.

4.2.3.1 Central Limit Theorem and Confidence Interval for Population Proportion p

The Central Limit theorem states that if a sample of size n (sufficiently large
enough) is randomly selected from a population of size N, and the number of x successes
are observed, then the sampling distribution of the proportion ^p approaches a normal
distribution. Note that n is sufficiently large if np ≥ 10∧n ( 1−p ) ≥ 10. If this is satisfied, we
can estimate the population proportion using ^p as an estimator with a standard deviation

^p ( q^ )
( ^p )=
√ n
, where q^ =1− ^p .

The Confidence Interval for the population proportion p is

^p q^ ^p q^
^p−z α /2
√ n √
< p< ^p + z α / 2
n

4.2.3.2 Confidence Interval for Population Proportion p

Steps:

1. Identify the given information such n, ^p and q^ .

2. Determine the confidence level and the level of error α
3. Using the z-table, determine the value of the zα/2.
4. Compute the confidence interval using the formula;

^p q^ ^p q^
^p−z α /2
√ n √
< p< ^p + z α / 2
n

5. Interpret the result.

Example1: Given the following: n = 600, ^p = 0.4

Construct a 95% CI on the population proportion p.
Solution:
1. Identify the given:
n = 600^p = 0.4 q^ =1− ^p =1−0.4=0.6

2. The confidence level is 95%, thus α = 1- 0.95 = 0.05

3. Since α = 0.05, then α/2 = 0.025
Z0.025= 1.96
4. Computation: The 95% CI for p is
^p q^ ^p q^
^p−z α /2
√ n √
< p< ^p + z α / 2
n
( 0.4 ) ( 0.6 ) ( 0.4 ) ( 0.6 )
0.4−1.96
√ 600
< p< 0.4+1.96
√ 600
0.4−0.039< p< 0.4+0.039
0.361< p<0.439
5. Interpretation: therefore, we can be 95% confident that the population proportion p is
between 0.361 and 0.439

Example 2. A survey is conducted in the city of Dasmariñas to determine the percentage of

households that own a car. Out of the 1200 randomly selected households 450 own a car.
Find a 96% CI on the proportion of households that own a car in the entire city.

Solution:
1. Given:
450
n = 1200 ^p= =0.375 q^ =1− ^p =1−0.325=0.625
1200

2. The confidence level is 96%, thus α = 1- 0.94 = 0.04

3. Since α = 0.04, then α/2 = 0.02
Z0.02= 2.054
4. Computation: The 95% CI for p is
^p q^ ^p q^
^p−z α /2
√ n √
< p< ^p + z α / 2
n
 ( 0.375 ) ( 0.625 ) ( 0.375 )( 0.625 )
0.375−2.054
√ 1200
< p <0.375+2.054
√ 1200
0.375−0.041< p <0.375+0.041
0.344< p <0.416
5. Interpretation: therefore, there is a 95% confidence the proportion of household who
own a car in the entire city of Dasmariñas is between 0.344 and 0.416. Or we can say
that at 96% level of confidence, 34.4% to 41.6% of the households of Dasmariñas City
own a car.

Practice Exercise 5.3

Solve the following problems. Show complete solutions.

1. The Quality Control department of a certain manufacturing company inspected

100,000 microchips and recorded 252 defective items.
a. Calculate the 98% confidence interval for the percentage of defective
microchips.
b. What is the length of the computed interval?
2. Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is the most viewed sports in television among
Filipinos. A reporter from a known TV station asked 350 Filipinos about their favorite
player in the PBA. Seventy-eight confirmed that Junmar Fajardo of the San Miguel team
is their favorite player. Compute the 96% Confidence interval for the proportion of
Filipinos who like Junmar Fajardo as their favorite player.
3. Federalism is the most talked issues concerning Philippines. It is being proposed by
the Lower House of the Philippines to change the form of government to Federal form.
A group of political science students are interested to know the pulse of the Filipino
people and ask them “Are you in favor of changing the Philippines’ existing form of
government to Federal form? Of the 1500 randomly selected Filipinos, 654 responded
“YES”.
a. Find a 98% confidence interval on the true proportion of Filipinos who are in
favor of the Federal form of government?
 b. What is the Length of the confidence interval?

5.4 LENGTH OF CONFIDENCE INTERVAL

Objectives:

1. identifies the length of a confidence interval

2. computes for the length of the confidence interval
3. computes for an appropriate sample size using the length of the interval
solves problems involving sample size determination

5.4.1 Length of Confidence Interval

Suppose the confidence interval of a parameter θ is;

¿ ≤ θ≤ UL

Where: LL is the lower limit and

UL is the upper limit.

The length of an interval is the difference of the lower limit and the upper limit
of the confidence interval.

Length=UL−¿

Example 1. The 95% CI for the population mean is 68.75 ≤ μ ≤ 71.05. Find the length of the
interval.

Solution: From the above problem LL = 68.75 and UL = 71.05,

Length=UL−¿

Length=71.05−68.75=2.30

The length of the interval is 2.3.

Examples2. The 98% CI for the average electric consumption of all households of Indang, Cavite
is between 55.78 kW and 72.22 kW. What is the length of the interval.

Given:

LL = 55.78 kW and UL = 72.22 kW

Solution:

Length=UL−¿

Length=72.22−55.78=26.44

The length of the interval is 26.44 kW.

Example 3. A study revealed that the 99% CI for the proportion of voters in the entire Cavite
province who trusted electronic election is 61.4% to 70.5%. What is the length of the interval?

Given:

LL = 61.4% = 0.654 and

UL = 70.5% = 0.705

Solution:

Length=UL−¿

Length=0.705−0.614=0.091=9.1 %

The length of the interval is 9.1%.

1.2.2 Sample Size Determination

From the previous lessons, the CI for population mean is computed using the formula;

x́−z α
2
( √σn )≤ μ ≤ x́ + z ( √σn )
α
2
The expression; z α
2
( √σn ) is called the error, so that the error e can be computed using
the formula

e=z α
2
( √σn )
Given the amount of error and the confidence level in estimating the population mean,
the sample size can be determined using the following formula:

2
zα σ
n= ( ) 2
e

If the length of interval is used in determining the sample size, then we’ll have:

Length=UL−¿

σ
( ( ))
¿ x́+ z α
2 √n
−¿

σ
( ( ))
¿2 zα
2 √n
=2 e

Length
e=
2

2
2 Zα σ
Therefore: n=
( ) Length
2

Example. The average length of 75 randomly selected new born babies is 19.45 inches.
The length of new born baby is normally distributed. Find a 95% CI for the length of all
new born babies.
(a) How large a sample is needed, if the we want to be 95% confident that the
mean length of new born babies will not exceed by 0.5 inch.
(b) How large a sample is needed, if we want to be 95% confident that the mean
length of new born babies will be within 0.8 inch.

Solution: Solving for (a)

1. Given: x́=19.45, σ=2.55, n=75

2. The confidence level is 95%, thus α = 1- 0.95 = 0.05
3. Since α = 0.05, then α/2 = 0.05/2 = 0.025
Thus; Z0.025 = 1.96.
σ σ
x́−z α
2
( )
√n
≤ μ ≤ x́ + z α
2 √n
( )
¿ 19.45−1.96 ( 2.55
√75 ) ≤ μ ≤19.45−1.96 (
2.55
√ 75 )
¿ 19.45−0.577≤ μ ≤19.45−0.577
¿ 18.873 ≤ μ ≤ 20.027
4. Conclusion: The 95% CI for the average length of new born babies is between
18.873 and 20.027 inches.

Solving for (b)

Given: e=0.5 α = 0.05, thus α/2 = 0.05/2 = 0.025

Z0.025 = 1.96

2
zα σ
n= ( )
2
e (
=
1.96∗2.55
0.5
2

)
n=99.92 ≈100 samples

Solving for (c)

Given: Length ¿ 0.8 α = 0.02, thus α/2 = 0.02/2 = 0.01

 Z0.025 = 2.326.

2
2zα σ
n= ( )
Length
2
(
=
2∗1.96∗2.55
0.75
2

)
n=219.87 ≈ 220 samples

Practice Exercise 5.4.

Solve the following problems. Show complete solutions.

1. The average height of 160 randomly selected male grade 7 pupils of Bulacan National
Highschool is 130 centimeters. The population standard deviation for the heights of grade 7
pupils is σ =15 cm.

a. Find the 95% confidence interval for the population mean height of all grade 7
pupils in Bulacan National Highschool.

b. What is the length of the interval?

c. How many samples n is needed if the error for the mean height of all grade 7
pupils will not exceed by 1.5 cm. Use α = 0.05

2. A process engineer of a certain manufacturing plant would like to estimate the

average life span of their new light bulb product. A sample of 80 bulbs were tested and
yield an average life span of 740 hours variance of 120 hours;

a. Compute the 98% confidence interval for the average life span of their new
bulb.

b. How large a sample is needed if we want to be 95% confident that the mean
life span of the new bulb will be within 4 hours?
 3. To ensure the quality of service of the Jollibee- a fast food restaurant, the store
supervisor recorded the time it takes for an order to be served. The result of 60
randomly selected orders showed a mean service time of 125 seconds and standard
deviation of 30 seconds.
a. Find the 95% confidence interval for the mean service time.
b. What is the length of the interval?
c. How many samples n is needed if we want to be 95% confident that the error
for the mean service time will not be off by 5 seconds.

Summary of Formulas in Estimation:

Confidence Interval for the Mean µ

with known variance σ2
x́−z α
2
( √σn )≤ μ ≤ x́ + z ( √σn )
α
2

The Central Limit Theorem and

Confidence Interval for mean µ
x́−z α
2
( √sn )≤ μ ≤ x́ + z ( √sn )
α
2
Confidence Interval for the Mean µ s s
with un known variance σ2 and small
x́−t α (
( ) √n
2
,v ) ≤ μ ≤ x́ +t
( ) √n )
( α
2
,v
sample size n (n≤30)
Confidence Interval for the ^p q^ p^ q^
population proportion p
^p−z α
2 √ n
< p< ^p + z α
2 √ n

Length of an interval Length=UL−¿

Error
e=z α
2
( √σn )
2
Sample size zα ∙σ
n= ( ) 2
e
 SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEOS FOR CHAPTER 5.

For you to further understand estimation and all its concepts and computations, these
videos containing additional examples may help:

1. https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-statistics/estimating-confidence-
ap/introduction-confidence-intervals/v/confidence-intervals-and-margin-of-error

2. https://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-statistics/estimating-confidence-
ap/introduction-confidence-intervals/v/interpreting-confidence-intervals-example

3. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-concepts-statistics/chapter/estimating-
a-population-proportion-1-of-3/
 ANSWER TO PRACTICE EXERCISES IN CHAPTER 5

Practice Exercise 5.1

1. Mean = 62.85; Variance 55.29

2. Mean = 97.9 mL; Standard Deviation = 1.66; Variance = 2.77

3. Mean = 21.62 kg

4. Mean = 11.75

5. Mean = 25,432.67

6. p = 1125/2500 or 0.45

7. p = 430/101470 or 0.004

8. p = 375/1200 or 0.31

9. p = 1988/4350 or 0.46

10. Candidate A: p = 50.7% Candidate D: p = 45.2%

Candidate F: p = 32.6% Candidate I: p = 36.4%

Practice Exercise 5.2

1. The 95% CI is 14.54 ≤ μ≤ 114.86.

2. The 98% CI is 97.52 ≤ μ ≤ 132.48.

3. a. The 99% CI is 143.56 ≤ μ ≤ 156.44.

b. The length of the interval is 12.88.

4. The 95% CI is 109.94 ≤ μ ≤ 115.66.

5. a. The 90% CI is 71.75 ≤ μ ≤ 76.25.

b. The length of the interval is 4.50.

6. a. The 99% CI is 46.16 ≤ μ ≤63.84.

b. The length of the interval is 17.68.

7. a. The 98% CI is 19,275.37 ≤ μ ≤ 25,454.63.

b. The length of the interval is 6,179.26.

8. a. The mean is 69.2 and the standard deviation is 5.63.

b. The 98% CI is 64.17 ≤ μ ≤ 74.23.

9. a. The 99% CI is 859.81 ≤ μ ≤ 928.19.

b. The length of the interval is 68.38.

Practice Exercise 5.3

1. a. The 98% CI is 0.0029 ≤ p ≤ 0.0022.

b. The length of the interval is 0.00074.

2. The 96% CI is 0.177 ≤ p ≤ 0.268.

3. a. The 98% CI is 0.406 ≤ p ≤ 0.466

b. The length of the interval is 0.060.

Practice Exercise 5.4

1. a. The 95% CI is 127.68 ≤ p ≤ 132.32.

b. The length of the interval is 4.65.

c. The sample size is 385.

2. The 96% CI is 0.177 ≤ p ≤ 0.268.

3. a. The 98% CI is 0.406 ≤ p ≤ 0.466

b. The length of the interval is 0.060.