How Large Should n Be for a Specific Confidence Interval Width?

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You have a random sample of size n from a normal distribution with unknown mean μ and variance 100. You want to find n large enough so that the length of the confidence interval (from left endpoint to right endpoint) is at most .2. Find such a value of n so that n is as small as possible. If you instead were willing to have a confidence interval with twice this length, what would you need to do to n? (Note: All confidence intervals in this problem are 95 percent confidence intervals.)

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  • Handwritten work on lined paper: a normal curve with a 0.2 bracket and a 0.4 bracket below two curves, the confidence interval formula x-bar plus or minus z times sigma over root n, and derivation steps giving n of 38416 and n of 9604.
    20121213_073652.jpg
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