Practice worksheet

Q1. The Bun-and-Run is a franchise fast-food restaurant located in the Northeast specializing in
half-pound hamburgers,
fish sandwiches, and chicken sandwiches. Soft drinks and French fries also are available. The
marketing department of Bun-and-Run Inc. reports that the distribution of daily sales for their
restaurants follows the normal distribution and that the population standard deviation is $3,000.
A sample of 40 franchises showed the mean daily sales to be $20,000.
a. What is the population mean of daily sales for Bun-and-Run franchises?
b. What is the best estimate of the population mean? What is this value called?
c. Develop a 95% confidence interval for the population mean of daily sales.
d. Interpret the confidence interval.
Q2. A research firm conducted a survey of 49 randomly selected Americans to determine the
mean amount spent on coffee during a week. The sample mean was $20 per week. The
population distribution is normal with a standard deviation of $5.
a. What is the point estimate of the population mean? Explain what it indicates.
b. Using the 95% level of confidence, determine the confidence interval for μ. Explain what
it indicates.
Q3. Bob Nale is the owner of Nale’s Quick Fill. Bob would like to estimate the mean number of
gallons of gasoline sold to his customers. Assume the number of gallons sold follows the normal
distribution with a population standard deviation of 2.30 gallons. From his records, he selects a
random sample of 60 sales and finds the mean number of gallons sold is 8.60.
a. What is the point estimate of the population mean?
b. Develop a 99% confidence interval for the population mean.
c. Interpret the meaning of part (b).
Q4. Dottie Kleman is the “Cookie Lady.” She bakes and sells cookies at locations in the
Philadelphia area. Ms. Kleman is concerned about absenteeism among her workers. The
information below reports the number of days absent for a sample of 10 workers during the last
two-week pay period.
4 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 0 3
a. Determine the mean and the standard deviation of the sample.
b. What is the population mean? What is the best estimate of that value?
 c. Develop a 95% confidence interval for the population mean. Assume that the population
distribution is normal.
d. Explain why the t distribution is used as a part of the confidence interval.
e. Is it reasonable to conclude that the typical worker does not miss any days during a pay
period?
Q5. The owner of Britten’s Egg Farm wants to estimate the mean number of eggs produced per
chicken. A sample of 20 chickens shows they produced an average of 20 eggs per month with
a standard deviation of 2 eggs per month.
a. What is the value of the population mean? What is the best estimate of this value?
b. Explain why we need to use the t distribution. What assumption do you need to make?
c. For a 95% confidence interval, what is the value of t?
d. Develop the 95% confidence interval for the population mean.
e. Would it be reasonable to conclude that the population mean is 21 eggs? What about
25 eggs?
Q6. A student conducted a study and reported that the 95% confidence interval for the mean
ranged from 46 to 54. He was sure that the mean of the sample was 50, that the standard
deviation of the sample was 16, and that the sample size was at least 30, but he could not
remember the exact number. Can you help him out?
Q7. A recent study of 26 Conway, South Carolina, residents revealed they had lived at their
current address for a mean of 9.3 years, with a sample standard deviation of 2 years.
a. What is the population mean?
b. What is the best estimate of the population mean?
c. What is the standard error of the mean?
d. Develop a 90% confidence interval for the population mean.
Solutions

Q1.

a. Unknown. This is the value we wish to estimate.

b. The sample mean of $20,000 is the point estimate of the population mean daily franchise
sales.
$3,000
c. $20,000 ± 1.960 = $20,000 ± $930
√40

d. The estimate of the population mean daily sales for the Bun-and-Run franchises is between
$19,070 and $20,930.

About 95% of all possible samples of 40 Bun-and-Run franchises would include the population
mean.

Q2.

a. $20. It is our best estimate of the population mean.

b. $18.60 and $21.40, found by $20 ± 1.96($5⁄√49 ). About 95% of the intervals
similarly constructed will include the population mean.

Q3.

a. 8.60 gallons
b. 7.83 and 9.37, found by 8.60 ± 2.58(2.30⁄√60)
c. If 100 such intervals were determined, the population mean would be included in about
99 intervals.

Q4.

18 √11.6
a. 𝑥̅ = 10 = 1.8, 𝑠 = = 1.1353
√10−1
b. The population mean is not known. The best estimate is the sample mean, 1.8 days.
1.1353
c. 1.80 ± 2.262 = 1.80 ± 0.81. The endpoints are 0.99 and 2.61.
√10

d. t is used because the population standard deviation is unknown.

 e. The value of 0 is not in the interval. It is unreasonable to conclude that the mean number
of days of work missed is 0 per employee.

Q5.

a. The population mean is unknown, but the best estimate is 20, the sample mean.
b. Use the t distribution since the standard deviation is unknown. However, assume the
population is normally distributed.
c. 2.093
d. Between 19.06 and 20.94, found by 20 ± 2.093(2⁄√20)
e. Neither value is reasonable because they are not inside the interval.

Q6.

𝑛 = 61.47, rounded to 62. Found by solving for n in the equation:

56 = 54 + 𝑧 . (16⁄√𝑛),

1.96(16⁄√𝑛) = 4

Q7.

a. Unknown
b. 9.3 years
2.0
c. 𝑠𝑥̅ = = 0.392
√26
(1.708)2.0
d. 9.3 ± = 9.3 ± 0.67 which gives (8.63, 9.97).
√26