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Probability Calculations for SAT and Salaries

This document presents 5 problem sets related to statistical sampling and probabilities. Problem set 1 asks about the probabilities of sample means falling within certain values of population means based on SAT scores and MBA graduate salaries. Problem set 2 asks about probabilities of sample means of gas prices falling within a certain value of the population mean. Problem set 3 asks about standard errors of proportions for different sample sizes. Problem set 4 asks about the probability of a sample proportion falling within a certain value of a population proportion based on on-time flight arrival data.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
40 views1 page

Probability Calculations for SAT and Salaries

This document presents 5 problem sets related to statistical sampling and probabilities. Problem set 1 asks about the probabilities of sample means falling within certain values of population means based on SAT scores and MBA graduate salaries. Problem set 2 asks about probabilities of sample means of gas prices falling within a certain value of the population mean. Problem set 3 asks about standard errors of proportions for different sample sizes. Problem set 4 asks about the probability of a sample proportion falling within a certain value of a population proportion based on on-time flight arrival data.
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© All Rights Reserved
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Problem set C

1. The College Board American College Testing Program reported a population mean SAT
score of µ = 1020 (The World Almanac 2003). Assume that the population standard deviation is σ =100.

a. What is the probability that a random sample of 75 students will provide a sample
mean SAT score within 10 of the population mean?
b. What is the probability a random sample of 75 students will provide a sample mean
SAT score within 20 of the population mean?

2. BusinessWeek conducted a survey of graduates from 30 top MBA programs (BusinessWeek, September 22,
2003). On the basis of the survey, assume that the mean annual salary
for male and female graduates 10 years after graduation is $168,000 and $117,000, respectively. Assume
the standard deviation for the male graduates is $40,000, and for the
female graduates it is $25,000.

a. What is the probability that a simple random sample of 40 male graduates will provide
a sample mean within $10,000 of the population mean, $168,000?
b. What is the probability that a simple random sample of 40 female graduates will
provide a sample mean within $10,000 of the population mean, $117,000?
c. In which of the preceding two cases, part (a) or part (b), do we have a higher probability of obtaining a
sample estimate within $10,000 of the population mean? Why?
d. What is the probability that a simple random sample of 100 male graduates will provide a sample mean
more than $4000 below the population mean?

3. The average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was reported to be $2.34 in
northern Kentucky (The Cincinnati Enquirer, January 21, 2006). Use this price as the
population mean, and assume the population standard deviation is $.20.

a. What is the probability that the mean price for a sample of 30 service stations is within
$.03 of the population mean?
b. What is the probability that the mean price for a sample of 50 service stations is within
$.03 of the population mean?
c. What is the probability that the mean price for a sample of 100 service stations is
within $.03 of the population mean?
d. Which, if any, of the sample sizes in parts (a), (b), and (c) would you recommend to
have at least a .95 probability that the sample mean is within $.03 of the population
mean?

4. Assume that the population proportion is .55. Compute the standard error of the proportion, , for sample
sizes of 100, 200, 500, and 1000. What can you say about the size of the standard error of the proportion as
the sample size is increased?

5. The Democrat and Chronicle reported that 25% of the flights arriving at the San Diego airport during the
first five months of 2001 were late (Democrat and Chronicle, July 23, 2001). Assume the population
proportion is p .25.
a. Show the sampling distribution of , the proportion of late flights in a sample of 1000 flights.
b. What is the probability that the sample proportion will be within .03 of the population proportion if a
sample of size 1000 is selected?
c. Answer part (b) for a sample of 500 flights.

Common questions

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For a probability of at least 0.95 that the sample mean is within $.03 of the population mean, choose the sample size with the smallest SEM such that the probability exceeds 0.95. From Source 1, SEM for n=100 is 0.02, z=.03/.02=1.5; z-score 1.5 gives 0.9332. Hence, the sample size must be increased to have SEM smaller than 0.02, implying n>100. Therefore, use the formula SEM = σ/√n, set SEM to about 0.015, and solve for n: n ≈ (0.20/0.015)^2 ≈ 178 .

The standard error of the proportion (SE) is SE = √(p(1-p)/n) = √(0.25*0.75/500) ≈ 0.0194. Calculate z for 0.03: z = 0.03/0.0194 ≈ 1.55. Find the probability for z = 1.55 using the standard normal distribution table, giving 0.9394. Therefore, the probability that the sample proportion is within 0.03 of the population proportion is approximately 0.9394 .

The standard deviation measures the dispersion of data points from the mean and directly affects the standard error, which determines the variability of the sample mean or proportion around the population mean or proportion. A larger standard deviation indicates more variability, leading to a larger standard error, and thus a lower probability that the sample estimate falls within a specified range of the population value. Conversely, a smaller standard deviation indicates less variability, a smaller standard error, and a higher probability of being within the specified range .

Calculate the standard error of the mean (SEM) using SEM = σ/√n, where σ=$0.20 and n=30. SEM = 0.20/√30 ≈ 0.0365. Find z for $.03: z = 0.03/0.0365 ≈ 0.82. Using the standard normal distribution table, the probability for z = 0.82 is about 0.7939. Therefore, the probability that the mean lies within $.03 of $2.34 is approximately 0.7939 .

To compare probabilities, calculate the standard error of the mean (SEM) for both male and female graduates. For males, SEM = $40,000/√40 = $6324.56. For females, SEM = $25,000/√40 = $3952.85. Smaller SEM leads to a higher probability of being closer to the mean within a fixed range. Calculate z for $10,000: z_male = 10000/6324.56 ≈ 1.58; P(z_male) ≈ 2 * 0.442 = 0.884. For females: z_female = 10000/3952.85 ≈ 2.53; P(z_female) ≈ 2 * 0.494 = 0.988. The female sample has a higher probability of having a mean within $10,000 of the population mean since its SEM is smaller .

Increasing the sample size generally decreases the standard error of the proportion, leading to a higher probability of the sample proportion being close to the population proportion. For example, with a population proportion p=0.25 and a sample size of 1000, the SE is smaller compared to 500, which increases the probability of the sample proportion being within a specific range (e.g., within .03 of p) because the distribution becomes more concentrated around the mean .

The Central Limit Theorem states that for a sufficiently large sample size, the distribution of the sample mean will be approximately normally distributed, regardless of the original population distribution. This property applies to the context of sample size and standard deviation by allowing the use of normal probability models to estimate the likelihood of obtaining certain sample means if the standard deviation is known. As sample size increases, the standard error of the mean decreases, making the sample mean more closely resemble a normal distribution, thus enabling more accurate inferences about the population .

The probability can be calculated using the standard error of the mean (SEM). Here, SEM = σ/√n = 100/√75 = 11.547. To find the probability that the sample mean is within 10 points of 1020, calculate the z-score for 10 points: z = 10/11.547 ≈ 0.866. Using the standard normal distribution table, find the probability for z = 0.866, which corresponds to 0.8078. Since we want within 10 points on either side, multiply by 2 to get approximately 0.6156. Therefore, the probability is about 0.6156 .

The standard error for the proportion (SE proportion) is calculated as √(p(1-p)/n). For n=100, SE = √(0.55*0.45/100) = 0.0497. For n=200, SE = 0.0352. For n=500, SE = 0.0221. For n=1000, SE = 0.0157. As the sample size increases, the standard error of the proportion decreases, which indicates higher precision and smaller variance in sample proportion estimates .

Calculate the SEM using SEM = $40,000/√100 = $4000. With a desired sample mean of more than $4000 below $168,000, find the z-score for a deviation of $4000: z = 4000/4000 = 1. Use the standard normal distribution to find P(z < -1), which is approximately 0.1587. Thus, there is a 0.1587 probability that the sample mean is more than $4000 below $168,000 .

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