A laundry detergent company wants to determine if a new formula of detergent, A, cleans better than the original formula, B. Researchers randomly assign 500 pieces of similarly soiled clothes to the two detergents, putting 250 pieces in each group. After washing the clothes, independent reviewers determine the cleanliness of the clothes on a scale of 1–10, with 10 being the cleanest. The researchers calculate the proportion of clothes in each group that receive a rating of 7 or higher. For detergent A, 228 pieces of clothing received a 7 or higher. For detergent B, 210 pieces of clothing received a rating of 7 or higher. Assuming the conditions for inference are met, what is the 90% confidence interval for the difference in proportions of clothes that receive a rating of 7 or higher for the two detergents?Find the z-table here.




A local school board claims that there is a difference in the proportions of households with school-aged children that would support starting the school year a week earlier, and the proportion of households without school-aged children that would support starting the school year a week earlier. They survey a random sample of 40 households with school-aged children about whether they would support starting the school year a week earlier, and 30 households respond yes. They survey a random sample of 45 households that do not have school-aged children, and 25 respond yes.Based on the 90% confidence interval, (0.03, 0.36), is there convincing evidence of a difference in the true proportions of households, those with school-aged children and those without school-aged children, who would support starting school early?
A therapist wanted to determine if yoga or meditation is better for relieving stress. The therapist recruited 100 of her high-stress patients. Fifty of them were randomly assigned to take weekly yoga classes, and the other 50 were assigned weekly meditation classes. After one month, 30 of the 50 patients in the yoga group reported less stress, and 35 of the 50 patients in the meditation group reported less stress.Based on the 95% confidence interval, (–0.29, 0.09), is there convincing evidence of a difference in the true proportions of patients experiencing stress relief in the yoga and meditation groups?
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