Lesson 11: Estimation

and Confidence Interval

Chapter 4: Estimation
 process of using sample data to calculate
a number that can be used to represent
an unknown population parameter

Estimation
Point estimate: A single statistic value
estimate for the parameter value

Interval estimate: An interval/range of

numbers/values to estimate a population
parameter

Types of Estimate
1. Unbiased – the expected value of the
estimates obtained from samples of a
given size is equal to the parameter
being estimated
2. Consistent – As the sample size
increases, the value of the estimator
approaches the value of the parameter
being estimated
3. Relatively Efficient – The estimator
must have the smallest variance

Properties of a Good Estimator

POINT ESTIMATE
A researcher wants to estimate the
average grade of all mathematics
students in a certain school. He
determined the grades of five
students as follows: 76, 82, 88, 90,
and 96. Estimate the average
mathematics grade of all the
students and the variance of their
grades.

Example 1
 n
1
x   xi
n i 1
Point Estimate of Population Mean
 n
1
s 
2

n  1 i 1
( xi  x) 2

Point Estimate of Population

Variance
A smanufacturer wants to estimate the
average shoe size of Filipino teens. Using a
sample of 7 random teenagers, he gathered
the following sizes: 38, 42, 43, 43, 44, 45,
47.

 Estimate the average shoe size and

variance of Filipino teens using the
sample.
INTERVAL ESTIMATE
 Confidence Interval or Interval
Estimate – interval with an associated
confidence that the interval contains the
unknown population parameter

Related Terms
 Confidence Level – probability that the
parameter is contained in the interval
estimate

 Most studies use a confidence level close

to 1, such as 0.95 or 0.99.

 Denoted by 𝒄

Related Terms
 If c=90%

c 0.90

0.10

½ (1-c) 0.05

- 1.645

1. 645

Confidence level 𝜶 between two

critical values
  z  Z  z
2 2

Interval estimate
 C
2
The equivalent area for z
 Find an interval of values for Z using the
standard normal distribution,
corresponding to an area of 95%
 Find an interval of values for Z using the
standard normal distribution,
corresponding to an area of 90.1%