How to calculate confidence interval not on t-table

Click For Summary
To calculate a confidence interval for a percentage not listed on the t-table, such as 97%, one can use the inverse of the cumulative t-distribution. For a sample size less than 30 and unknown population standard deviation, the formula involves calculating the degrees of freedom (n-1) and using the cumulative distribution function. The TI-83 calculator does not have a built-in invT function, but methods exist online to perform this calculation. Alternatively, the TI-84 calculator includes the invT function for easier computation. Resources like YouTube videos and specific websites can provide step-by-step instructions for using the TI-83.
Notoriousb3
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
So as the title says. How do you calculate the confidence interval that is not on the t-table. For example how do you calculate the confidence interval for 97%? Assume that it is a normal distribution, you are not given σ and that n<30. Is there a formula? Or should i look for a more specific t-table?:P
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Notoriousb3 said:
So as the title says. How do you calculate the confidence interval that is not on the t-table. For example how do you calculate the confidence interval for 97%? Assume that it is a normal distribution, you are not given σ and that n<30. Is there a formula? Or should i look for a more specific t-table?:P

You need a calculator that can calculate the inverse of the cumulative t-distribution.

In Mathematica this would be: inversecdf[ studenttdistribution[n-1], 0.015 ] for the lower bound, which is negative.
In this formula n-1 is the so called "degrees of freedom", usually designated "df".
And 0.015 is half of the remaining chance, which is (1 - 0.97) / 2.
Since the t-distribution is symmetric, the upper bound equals minus the lower bound.

You can evaluate this for yourself on the web:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=inversecdf[+studenttdistribution[29

Does this answer your question?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry but I don't understand your response what is "inversecdf" and "studenttdistribution". Also what kind of calculator would I need to calculate the inverse of the cumulative t-distribution? I'm rolling on a ti-83 plus and this baby has yet to fail me. Just to be clear, I know how to calculate a confidence interval for the following 80%, 90%, 95%, 98% and 99%. But I would like to know how you would calculate the confidence interval that cannot be solved with the student t distribution. i.e 93%, 97% etc.
 
Notoriousb3 said:
Sorry but I don't understand your response what is "inversecdf" and "studenttdistribution". Also what kind of calculator would I need to calculate the inverse of the cumulative t-distribution? I'm rolling on a ti-83 plus and this baby has yet to fail me. Just to be clear, I know how to calculate a confidence interval for the following 80%, 90%, 95%, 98% and 99%. But I would like to know how you would calculate the confidence interval that cannot be solved with the student t distribution. i.e 93%, 97% etc.

The offical name of the t-table is the student-t-distribution-table.
"inversecdf" stands for the inverse of the cumulative distribution function.

To calculate this on a graphical calculator you can use the invT-function.
However it seems this function is not available on the ti-83+, but is available on the ti-84.
But there are ways described on the internet how to do this anyway with the ti-83+.

I found a youtube video describing exactly you problem and how to solve it on your calculator:



And I found another procedure to calculate invT on:

http://www.angelfire.com/pro/fkizer/Instructions/tiusrmanstat83.htm"
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here is a little puzzle from the book 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin. The side of a small square is one meter long and the side of a larger square one and a half meters long. One vertex of the large square is at the center of the small square. The side of the large square cuts two sides of the small square into one- third parts and two-thirds parts. What is the area where the squares overlap?

Similar threads

  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
4K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K