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In an accelerated failure test, components are operated under extreme conditions so that a substantial number will fail in a rather short time. In such a test involving two types of microchips, 640 chips manufactured by an existing process were tested, and 125 of them failed. Then, 840 chips manufactured by a new process were tested, and 130 of them failed. Find a 90% confidence interval for the difference between the proportions of failures for chips manufactured by the two processes. (Round the final answers to four decimal places.)

User Bad Loser
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Final answer:

To determine the 90% confidence interval for the difference between failure rates of two types of microchips, the formula for the confidence interval is applied, and calculations result in a 90% confidence interval ranging from -0.0046 to 0.0856, after rounding to four decimal places.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the 90% confidence interval for the difference between the proportions of failures for chips manufactured by the two processes, we use the following formula for the confidence interval of the difference between two proportions:

CI = (p1 - p2) ± Z*(√(p1*(1-p1)/n1 + p2*(1-p2)/n2))

Where:

  • p1 = proportion of failures in the first group = 125/640
  • p2 = proportion of failures in the second group = 130/840
  • n1 = size of the first sample = 640
  • n2 = size of the second sample = 840
  • Z* = Z value for the chosen confidence level (90% confidence level corresponds to Z* approximately 1.645)

First, we calculate the sample proportions:

  • p1 = 125/640 = 0.1953
  • p2 = 130/840 = 0.1548

Then, we calculate the standard error (SE):

SE = √((0.1953*(1-0.1953)/640) + (0.1548*(1-0.1548)/840))

SE = √(0.000475 + 0.000275) = √(0.000750) = 0.0274

Now, we find the margin of error (MOE) using the Z* value:

MOE = 1.645 * 0.0274 = 0.0451

Finally, we calculate the confidence interval (CI):

CI = (0.1953 - 0.1548) ± 0.0451

CI = (0.0405 ± 0.0451)

CI = (-0.0046, 0.0856)

After rounding to four decimal places, our 90% confidence interval for the difference in the failure rates is (-0.0046, 0.0856).

User Vinayak
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