Final answer:
To calculate the 95% lower confidence bound for the true average proportional limit stress of all joints, subtract (1.96 * (sample standard deviation / square root of sample size)) from the sample mean. The lower bound is 8.22 MPa. This means, with 95% confidence, the true mean proportional limit stress of all such joints is greater than 8.22 MPa.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the 95% lower confidence bound for the true average proportional limit stress of all joints, we can use the formula:
Lower Bound = Sample Mean - (Z * (Sample Standard Deviation / Square Root of Sample Size))
Substituting the given values:
Lower Bound = 8.59 - (1.96 * (0.74 / sqrt(13)))
Calculating this equation gives a lower bound of 8.22 MPa. Interpretation: With 95% confidence, we can say that the value of the true mean proportional limit stress of all such joints is greater than 8.22 MPa.
The assumption made about the distribution of proportional limit stress is that the sample observations were taken from a normally distributed population.