The water works commission needs to know the mean household usage of water by the residents of a small town in gallons per day. They would like the estimate to have a maximum error of 0.14

gallons. A previous study found that for an average family the standard deviation is 2.2
gallons and the mean is 15.4
gallons per day. If they are using a 90%
level of confidence, how large of a sample is required to estimate the mean usage of water? Round your answer up to the next integer.

1 answer

To calculate the sample size required to estimate the mean usage of water with a maximum error of 0.14 gallons at a 90% confidence level, we can use the formula:

n = (Z^2 * σ^2) / E^2

Where:
n = sample size
Z = Z-score for a 90% confidence level = 1.645
σ = standard deviation = 2.2 gallons
E = maximum error = 0.14 gallons

Plugging in the values, we have:

n = (1.645^2 * 2.2^2) / 0.14^2
n = (2.702025 * 4.84) / 0.0196
n = 13.0749 / 0.0196
n = 666.736

Since we need to round up to the next integer, the sample size required to estimate the mean usage of water is 667 households.