Final answer:
The sample mean time used to compute the confidence interval (8.50, 9.50) is 9 minutes, which is the average of the lower and upper bounds.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is requesting assistance with finding the sample mean time based on a given confidence interval. The confidence interval provided is (8.50, 9.50). To find the sample mean, we simply need to calculate the average of the lower and upper bounds of the confidence interval.
The calculation for the sample mean is as follows:
Sample mean = (Lower bound + Upper bound) / 2
Sample mean = (8.50 + 9.50) / 2
Sample mean = 18 / 2
Sample mean = 9 minutes (rounded to two decimal places)
Therefore, the sample mean time used to compute the confidence interval is 9 minutes.