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1. Using a t-table, find the critical t-value needed for each of the following.
A. A 99% confidence interval based on a sample size of 30
B. A 95% confidence interval based on a sample size of 15
C. A 95% confidence interval based on a sample size of 25
D. A 99% confidence interval based on a sample size of 18
E. A 90% confidence interval based on a sample size of 23
2. Using your graphing calculator, find the necessary critical t-value for each of the
following.
A. A 95% confidence interval based on a sample size of 25
B. A 99% confidence interval based on a sample size of 30
C. A 95% confidence interval based on a sample size of 35
D. A 90% confidence interval based on a sample size of 50
E. A 95% confidence interval based on a sample size of 40
3. A supermarket wants to know how many people use the express checkout. In a single
week, researchers record how many people use the express checkout during ten
separate one-hour periods and come up with these totals: 54, 45, 35, 38, 43, 45, 52,
36, 48, and 50. Find a 95% confidence interval for the mean number of people who use
the express checkout per hour.
4. A supermarket is interested in how long its customers wait in line in the express
checkout lanes. Ten customers are observed and the following wait times are recorded
(in minutes): 8, 12, 5, 11, 10, 9, 3, 5, 7, and 6. Find a 90% confidence interval for the
mean wait time in the express lanes.
5. A weight-loss clinic wants to have an idea of how long it's taking its clients to reach their
target weight. Researchers take a random sample of clients and record the following
data (in months): 12, 18, 6, 17, 25, 24, 27, 15, 9, 14, 12, 24, 20, 15, and 21. Find a
99% confidence interval for the mean number of months it takes a client of this
weight-loss clinic to reach their target weight.
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AP Statistics
Creating Confidence Intervals
TI-83 and TI-84 Calculator Instructions
Page 1 of 5
The t-Distributions
The Central Limit Theorem says that if your sample size is large, the distribution of a
statistic (its sampling distribution) will be normal and will have the standard deviation
. But in the real world, you usually don't know and must estimate it using s, the
s
n
, and is
The t-distributions resemble the normal distribution but, due to the additional
variability inherent in using a sample, have more area in their tails.
The t-distributions are robust, which means they work well even when the
distribution isn't normal (as long as it's not strongly skewed and doesn't have
outliers).
t-Confidence Intervals
Generating a t-interval is analogous to generating a z-interval. To calculate a confidence
interval for the population mean with confidence level C, use
s
where t* is the critical tvalue for n 1 degrees of
x (t*) ( s x ) = x t*
n
freedom.
You can calculate t-intervals on a graphing calculator, but you do need to know the general
form for constructing t-intervals so you can interpret your results.
Significance Tests
Doing a significance test with a t-distribution is analogous to doing one with a normal
distribution, except you use a t-statistic instead of a z-statistic. To compute the t-statistic
for your sample, use
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(x x )2
n 1
AP Statistics
Creating Confidence Intervals
TI-83 and TI-84 Calculator Instructions
Page 2 of 5
You can find critical tvalues in a t-distribution directly by using a table or indirectly by
using a graphing calculator. Similarly, you can find areas (probabilities, or S-values) for the
W-distribution directly by using tcdf on your calculator or indirectly by using a table. You'll
probably find that a t-table is better for finding critical t-values and that for finding Svalues from t-statistics it's easier to use a calculator.
Worked Examples
Example 1: Computing a t-Statistic and a S-Value
You have the following information for the hypothesis test H0 : = 20, H a : 20
based on a random sample with n = 30, s = 3.4, x = 22.4.
A. Compute a test statistic.
B. Compute a S-value based on this test statistic.
Answers
A. The answer is: t = 3.87.
x 22.4 20
2.4
t =
=
=
= 3.87
.6208
s n
3.4 30
B. The answer is P = .0006.
Use your graphing calculator to give you the area under the curve for the tdistributions.
Since this test is two-tailed, this can be computed in one of two ways:
1. Use your TI-83 or TI-84 to compute 2(P(t > 3.87)) = 2(tcdf(3.87,E99,29)).
(E99 is used here as the upper bound, but any large number will work.)
2. Use your TI-83 or TI-84 to compute 1 tcdf(3.87,3.87,29).
Example 2: Finding Critical t-Values
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AP Statistics
Creating Confidence Intervals
TI-83 and TI-84 Calculator Instructions
Page 3 of 5
B. On your calculator, press STAT. Cursor over to TESTS, scroll down to TInterval and
press ENTER. Cursor over to Stats and press ENTER. Enter these settings: x = 0,
A teacher has the following random sample of grades on a test: 89, 74, 79, 85, 83, 88,
77, 90, 85, and 80.
A. Calculate a 95% confidence interval for this sample by hand.
B. Find a 99% confidence interval for this sample using your graphing calculator.
C. Redo question B, but pretend you only know n, s and the confidence interval. Find t*
without using your table.
Answers
A. The answer is: (79.16, 86.84).
t* = 2.262, x = 83 , s = 5.37, n = 10
5.37
s
= 83 3.84 = (79.16, 86.84)
= 83 2.262
x t*
n
10
B. The answer is: (77.476, 88.524).
Store data in a list, then press STAT , cursor over to TESTS, choose TInterval and
press ENTER. Cursor to DATA and press ENTER. Enter the list name and .99 as the
C-Level. Arrow to CALCULATE and press ENTER. You'll get the interval (77.476,
88.524).
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AP Statistics
Creating Confidence Intervals
TI-83 and TI-84 Calculator Instructions
Page 4 of 5
Find the length of the interval by subtracting the lower bound from the upper bound
and dividing by 2:
88.524 77.476 = 11.048
11.048/2 = 5.524
Set up an equation where this number equal to the margin of error and solve for t*:
5.37
s
= t*(1.698)
= t*
5.524 = t*
n
10
t* =
5.524
3.25
1.698
For a typical introductory statistics course, you don't need to know how to find the
desired sample size for a given margin of error when you don't know t*.
If you look at the z-formula for the minimum sample size necessary to reach a desired
confidence level with a given margin of error, which is
2
z *
n=
,
m
you might assume that for instances where the population standard deviation is
unknown you can simply replace z* with t* and with s. There's a problem with doing
this, however: You have to know n in order to get the degrees of freedom needed to find
t*, but you don't know n because n is what you're trying to find! In the real world,
statisticians use previous research to estimate , but this can get complicated. The
bottom line is: You don't need to know how to do this for a basic stats course.
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