Using Excel to Calculate

Confidence Intervals
P347: Your Turn
P&G, a major manufacturer of laundry detergent, estimates that the average
household does 25 loads of laundry each month. A random sample of 18
households averages 22.8 loads per month, and the population standard deviation
is 6.1 loads per month. The population of laundry loads per month is normal.
Using Excel to Determine Confidence Intervals
for the Mean (σ Known)

Excel’s CONFIDENCE.NORM function calculates the

margin of error for confidence intervals.
The CONFIDENCE.NORM function has the following
characteristics:

where:
alpha = The significance level of the confidence interval
= The standard deviation of the population

size = Sample size

Using Excel for Confidence Intervals when sigma
is known Solution to P. 347 Your Turn using Excel
• 95% Confidence interval

at B3

Answer: 2.818004443 is the margin of error to add and subtract from

the sample mean of 22.8
 Your Turn P. 347 Using Excel

Margin of Error =CONFIDENCE.NORM(0.05,6.1,18)

LCL UCL
=22.8-B3 =22.8+B3
 Solution varies slightly
Your Turn P. 347 from P377 due to
solved using Excel rounding

Margin of Error 2.818004443

LCL UCL
19.98199556 25.61800444
 Using Excel to Determine Confidence Intervals
for the Mean (σ Unknown)

The Excel function CONFIDENCE.T provides the margin

of error for a confidence interval for the mean when
the population standard deviation is unknown.

where:
alpha (α) = The significance level of the confidence interval
= The standard deviation of the sample

size = Sample size

Margi
n of 2.6217
Error 71637
LCL UCL
90.078 95.321
22836 77164
Using Excel to Calculate a Confidence Interval for the Mean when Sigma
is Unknown
Your Turn P. 354:

Golf Scores
• The following golf scores are a random 95 =AVERAGE(A9:A18)
sample from a particular golf course
member who would like to figure out 92 =STDEV.S(A9:A18)
his true population average golf score 95
for the course:
99
• Excel is calculating the sample mean
and sample standard deviation 92
• We must assume that the golf scores’ 84
population is normal 95
• Find the 90% Confidence Interval for 94
the mean using Excel
95
86
Golf
Scores Sample Statistics

95 92.7 X bar calculated at B9

92 4.522781838 s calculated at B10
95 n=10
99
92
84
95
94
95
86
Using Excel to Calculate a Confidence Interval when
sigma is unknown P. 354 Your Turn Solution on P.378

=CONFIDENCE.T(0.1, B10,10)
Margin of Error calculated at B20
LCL UCL
=B9-B20 =B9+B20

Margin of Error 2.621771637

LCL UCL
90.07822836 95.32177164