QUESTION 1 a sample of 100 school children who were given two toothpaste A and B, which were identical apart from the flavor were asked which they preferred. Of the 100 children, 65 said they preferred A. If in a general population of children, A and B are equally preferred, what is the probability that in a sample of 100 children, 65 or more prefer A?
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To solve this problem, we can use the normal approximation to the binomial distribution. Given that the null hypothesis suggests that there's no preference between the two toothpastes (p = 0.5), we treat it as a binomial distribution where n = 100 and p = 0.5. To find the probability of getting 65 or more children preferring A, we first calculate the mean (μ = n * p = 50) and standard deviation (σ = √(n * p * (1 - p)) = √(25) = 5). Converting 65 into the z-score gives us z = (65 - 50) / 5 = 3. The area to the right of this z-score on the normal distribution table is extremely small, showing that it’s highly unlikely to have 65 or more children preferring A under the assumption of equal preference. It's a fascinating glimpse into probability theory, and understanding the underlying concepts can turn these seemingly random preferences into informative data about human behavior! You can even explore how these principles apply to larger scales, such as market research and public opinion polling, where sample sizes and preferences dictate business strategies or political campaigns.