Question

A researcher compares the effectiveness of two different instructional methods for teaching electronics. A sample of 138 students using Method 1 produces a testing average of 61. A sample of 156 students using Method 2 produces a testing average of 64.6. Assume the standard deviation is known to be 18.53 for Method 1 and 13.43 for Method 2. Determine the 98% confidence interval for the true difference between testing averages for students using Method 1 and students using Method 2. Step 1 of 2: Find the critical value that should be used in constructing the confidence interval.

Answer 1

Answer:

The 98% confidence interval for the true difference between testing averages for students using Method 1 and students using Method 2 is (-8.04, 0.84).

Step-by-step explanation:

The (1 - α)% confidence interval for the difference between population means is:

$CI=(\bar x_{1}-\bar x_{2})\pm z_{\alpha/2}\times \sqrt{\frac{\sigma^{2}_{1}}{n_{1}}+\frac{\sigma^{2}_{2}}{n_{2}}}$

The information provided is as follows:

$n_{1}= 138\\n_{2}=156\\\bar x_{1}=61\\\bar x_{2}=64.6\\\sigma_{1}=18.53\\\sigma_{2}=13.43$

The critical value of z for 98% confidence level is,

$z_{\alpha/2}=z_{0.02/2}=2.326$

Compute the 98% confidence interval for the true difference between testing averages for students using Method 1 and students using Method 2 as follows:

$CI=(\bar x_{1}-\bar x_{2})\pm z_{\alpha/2}\times \sqrt{\frac{\sigma^{2}_{1}}{n_{1}}+\frac{\sigma^{2}_{2}}{n_{2}}}$

     $=(61-64.6)\pm 2.326\times\sqrt{\frac{(18.53)^{2}}{138}+\frac{(13.43)^{2}}{156}}\\\\=-3.6\pm 4.4404\\\\=(-8.0404, 0.8404)\\\\\approx (-8.04, 0.84)$

Thus, the 98% confidence interval for the true difference between testing averages for students using Method 1 and students using Method 2 is (-8.04, 0.84).