Q238 · Practice questionTechnology-activeComplex familiar5 marks
QUESTION 238 (5 marks)
A wildlife monitoring budget is $400. Independent measurements with unbiased instrument A have standard deviation 6 and cost $2 each; B has standard deviation 4 and costs $5 each. Use the full budget with one instrument and z=1.96.
a)[3 marks]
Find both sample sizes and 95 percent margins of error to four decimal places.
b)[2 marks]
Choose the more precise design and explain why smaller individual standard deviation need not win.
WORKED SOLUTION
5 marksPractice marking scheme
ANSWER
(a) A: , margin ; B: , margin . (b) A.
Worked solution
(a) Sample sizes are 400/2=200 and 400/5=80. The respective margins are
(b) A has the smaller margin. Its greater number of independent observations outweighs its larger individual standard deviation. Precision depends on standard error, not individual spread alone.
Equivalent mathematically justified methods accepted.
Exact answers unless a decimal accuracy is specified.
Part a: Find both sample sizes.
Part a: Calculate the A margin.
Part a: Calculate the B margin.
Part b: Select A using the smaller margin.
Part b: Explain the sample-size trade-off.
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