Chapter 18, Problem 17E

Meal plan After surveying students at Dartmouth College, a campus organization calculated that a 95% confidence interval for the mean cost of food for one term (of three in the Dartmouth trimester calendar) is ($1372, $1562). Now the organization is trying to write its report and is considering the following interpretations. Comment on each.

1. a) 95% of all students pay between $1372 and $1562 for food.
2. b) 95% of the sampled students paid between $1372 and $1562.
3. c) We’re 95% sure that students in this sample averaged between $1372 and $1562 for food.
4. d) 95% of all samples of students will have average food costs between $1372 and $1562.
5. e) We’re 95% sure that the average amount all students pay is between $1372 and $1562.