Question

A poll with a +/- 4% margin of error finds that Donald Trump is supported by 44% of likely voters and Joe Biden is supported by 38% of likely voters (the rest are undecided): •What is the sampling error? •What are the confidence intervals? •Can we say whether Candidate X enjoys more support than Candidate Y?

Answer 1

The sampling error is +/- 4%. The confidence intervals for Donald Trump and Joe Biden are calculated by adding and subtracting the margin of error from their percentages of support. Based on the confidence intervals, we can say that Donald Trump may enjoy more support than Joe Biden.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sampling error for this poll is +/- 4%. This means that the actual percentages of support for the candidates among all likely voters could be higher or lower by 4%.

The confidence intervals can be calculated by adding and subtracting the margin of error from the percentages of support for each candidate. For Donald Trump, the confidence interval is 44% +/- 4%, which means his actual support could be between 40% and 48%. For Joe Biden, the confidence interval is 38% +/- 4%, which means his actual support could be between 34% and 42%.

Based on the confidence intervals, we can say that Donald Trump may enjoy more support than Joe Biden, as his confidence interval (40% to 48%) is entirely above Joe Biden's confidence interval (34% to 42%). However, it's important to note that the undecided voters are not taken into account in this comparison.