Final answer:
The correct answer is: The northern California study with a margin of error of 3.2% has the smallest margin of error for a 98% confidence interval.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order to determine which study has the smallest margin of error for a 98% confidence interval, we need to find the margin of error for each study and compare them. The margin of error is calculated using the formula: margin of error = z * sqrt((p * (1-p))/n), where z is the z-score for the desired confidence level, p is the proportion of the population with the characteristic of interest, and n is the sample size.
For the northern California study:
Sample size (n) = 1000; Proportion (p) = 0.74
For the southern California study:
Sample size (n) = 500; Proportion (p) = 0.34
Using a z-score of 2.33 for a 98% confidence level, the margin of error for the northern California study is 3.2% and the margin of error for the southern California study is 4.9%.
Therefore, the correct answer is: The northern California study with a margin of error of 3.2% has the smallest margin of error for a 98% confidence interval.