Chapter 1.1, Problem 1E

For each of the following situations, identify the population of interest, the inferential objective, and how you might go about collecting a sample.

1. a A university researcher wants to estimate the proportion of U.S. citizens from “Generation X” who are interested in starting their own businesses.
2. b For more than a century, normal body temperature for humans has been accepted to be 98.6° Fahrenheit. Is it really? Researchers want to estimate the average temperature of healthy adults in the United States.
3. c A city engineer wants to estimate the average weekly water consumption for single-family dwelling units in the city.
4. d The National Highway Safety Council wants to estimate the proportion of automobile tires with unsafe tread among all tires manufactured by a specific company during the current production year.
5. e A political scientist wants to determine whether a majority of adult residents of a state favor a unicameral legislature.
6. f A medical scientist wants to estimate the average length of time until the recurrence of a certain disease.
7. g An electrical engineer wants to determine whether the average length of life of transistors of a certain type is greater than 500 hours.