Final answer:
To estimate the mean number of travel days per year for salespeople employed by three hardware distributors with a 0.90 degree of confidence and a population mean estimated within two days, a sample size of 1,116 salespeople should be sampled.
Step-by-step explanation:
To estimate the mean number of travel days per year for salespeople employed by three hardware distributors with a 0.90 degree of confidence, we can use the formula:
Sample Size = (Z * Standard Deviation / Margin of Error)^2
Given that the population mean needs to be estimated within two days, the margin of error is two. The Z-value for a 0.90 degree of confidence is 1.645. Substituting the values into the formula:
Sample Size = (1.645 * 21 / 2)^2 = 1,112.25 ≈ 1,116
Hence, the answer is a. 1,116.