Activity 20

MATH 216: Statistical Thinking

Activity 1: Think-Pair-Share

\[ T = \frac{\bar{x} - \mu}{s / \sqrt{n}} \]

  1. Think individually about why the t-statistic is more appropriate for small samples compared to the z-statistic.
  2. Pair with a neighbor to discuss their thoughts.
  3. Share your insights with the class.

Activity 2: Quiz

  • Question: Given a sample mean \(\bar{x} = 2.283\), sample standard deviation \(s = 0.950\), and sample size \(n = 6\), calculate the t-statistic for a population mean \(\mu = 2.0\).

Activity 3: Interactive Data Exploration

Prompt: Provide students with the following dataset and ask them to explore it using RStudio:

  • Task: Calculate the sample mean \(\bar{x}\) and sample standard deviation \(s\).
  • Visualization: Create a histogram of the data and overlay a normal distribution curve.

Activity 4: Group Activities with Real Data

  • Dataset:
  • Task: Calculate the 99% confidence interval for the mean number of characters printed before the printhead fails.
  • Interpretation: Discuss the implications of the confidence interval in the context of the problem.

Activity 5: Case Studies and Problem-Solving

  • Scenario: A pharmaceutical company wants to estimate the mean increase in blood pressure for patients taking a new drug. They have a small sample of 6 patients with the following blood pressure increases (in points):
  • Task: Construct a 95% confidence interval for the mean increase in blood pressure. Discuss the assumptions required for this interval to be valid and whether they are reasonably satisfied.

Activity 6: Calculating Sample Size

Consider a large hospital that wants to estimate the average length of stay of its patients, \(\mu\) . The hospital randomly samples \(n=100\) of its patients and finds that the sample mean length of stay is \(\bar{x}=4.5\) days. Also, suppose it is known that the standard deviation of the length of stay for all hospital patients is \(\sigma=4\) days.

Initial 95% C.I.: \(4.5 \pm 0.78\) days; width \(=1.56\) days.

Adjusting Sample Size for Precision

  • Goal: Narrow C.I. width from 1.56 days to 0.50 day.
  • Calculation leads to a required sample size of approximately ____ patients.