Question

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a banned drug used by athletes to increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of their blood. New tests for EPO were first introduced prior to the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia. Chance (Spring 2004) reported that of a sample of 830 world-class athletes, 159 did not compete in the 1999 World Championships (a year prior to the new EPO test). Similarly, 133 of 825 potential athletes did not compete in the 2000 Olympic Games. Was the new test effective in deterring an athlete's participation in the 2000 Olympics? If so, then the proportion of nonparticipating athletes in 2000 will be greater than the proportion of nonparticipating athletes in 1999. Use a 98% confidence interval to compare the two proportion

Answer 1

(a)

n1 = 830

1 = 159/830 = 0.192

n2 = 825

2 = 133/825 = 0.161

= 0.02

From Table, critical values of Z = 2.326

Confidence Interval:

So,

Answer is:

( - 0.103, 0.074)

(b)

Since the confidence interval: ( - 0.103, 0.074) contains 0, we conclude:

The new test is not effective in deterring an athlete's participation in the 2000 Olympics because the proportion of nonparticipating athletes in 2000 is not greater than the proportion of nonparticipating athletes in 1999.