Estimation

Estimator

Definition:
An estimator is any statistic
whose value is used to estimate
an unknown parameter. A realized
value of an estimator is called an
estimate.

Point Estimate

Definition:
A point estimate is a single
value used to represent the
parameter of interest, i.e., it
corresponds to a single point in
the real number line.

Interval Estimator

Definition:
An interval estimator of a population is
a rule that tells us how to calculate two
numbers based on a sample data,
forming an interval within which the
parameter is expected to lie. The pair
of numbers (a, b) is called an interval
estimate or confidence interval.

Level of
Confidence

Definition:
The degree of certainty
attached to an interval
estimate for the unknown
parameter is 1 , called the
level of confidence or
confidence coefficient.

Confidence Interval for , is known

x z
2

x z
2

Example

A survey of the delivery time of 100

orders worth Php 20,000 from SHK
Pizza yielded a mean of 55 minutes
with a standard deviation of 12
minutes. Assuming that the delivery
time follows a normal distribution,
construct a 95% confidence interval
for the true mean.

Error in Estimating the Population

Mean

e z
2

Example

The heights of a random sample of 50

college students showed a mean of
174.5 cm and a standard deviation of
6.9 cm. What can we assert with 98%
confidence about the possible size of
our error if we estimate the mean
height of all college students to be
174.5

Sample Size for Estimating the

Population Mean

n z
e
2

Example

The monthly wage of new employees

at a certain broadcasting company is
said to follow a normal distribution
with a standard deviation of Php
1,000. How large sample be needed
to be 99% confident that the sample
mean will be within Php 300 of the
true mean.

Confidence Interval for , is

Unknown

s
s
x t
x t
n
n
2
2
where t is the t value with v n 1
2

degrees of freedom

Example

A random sample of 8 cigarettes of a

certain brand has average nicotine
content of 3.6 milligrams and a standard
deviation of 0.9 milligrams. Construct a
99% confidence interval for the true
average nicotine content of this
particular brand of cigarettes, assuming
an approximate normal distribution.

Exercise 1

The mean and standard deviation for the

quality grade point average of a random
sample of 38 college seniors are
calculated to be 2.7 and 0.3, respectively.
Find the 95% confidence interval for the
mean of the entire senior class.

Exercise 1

In a study of the use of hypnosis to relieve

pain, sensory ratings were measured for
15 subjects, with the results given below.
Construct a 95% confidence interval for
the true mean sensory ratings for all
subjects.
8.8 6.2 7.7 6.4 6.1 6.8 9.8 8.3
8.2 8.5 7.3 7.1 6.0 6.2 5.9