Final answer:
The degree of confidence for a population mean with a given confidence interval cannot be precisely determined without additional information. Common confidence levels are 90%, 95%, or 99%, and the example margin of error may suggest a 95% confidence level, but this is not specified.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to find the degree of confidence for the given confidence interval of the population mean time students spent preparing for a test. Given a confidence interval μ = 5.7 ± 4.4, we can infer that the sample mean is 5.7 hours, and the margin of error is 4.4 hours. This margin of error corresponds to the range within which the true population mean is expected to lie with a certain degree of confidence.
To determine the degree of confidence, we typically look at the corresponding z*-values or t*-values from statistical tables, which match up with the given margin of error. Since the exact sample size and standard deviation are not provided, we cannot calculate the precise degree of confidence. However, standard confidence levels are typically 90%, 95%, or 99%.
In the context of common practices, if the margin of error was derived from a standard table of z-scores or t-scores, the provided margin might be suggestive of a 95% confidence level, which is the convention in many statistical analyses. Nevertheless, without additional information or context, a definite conclusion cannot be reached about the degree of confidence.