A medical statistician wants to estimate the average weight loss
of people who are on a new diet plan. In a study, he guesses that
the standard deviation of the population of weight losses is about
20 pounds.
- How large a sample should he take to estimate the mean weight
loss to within 8 pounds from the sample average weight, with 95%
confidence?
- Is your estimation always correct? Please briefly explain your
reasoning.
- If you start with a bigger sample, (under the condition that
the confidence level and standard deviation remain unchanged,) then
does it affect the accuracy of the estimation? Please briefly
explain your reasoning.
- What happens to the confidence interval if the standard
deviation takes a bigger value? Please briefly explain your
reasoning.