Chronic pain is often defined as pain that occurs constantly and flares up frequently, is not caused by cancer, and is experienced at least once a month for a 1- year period of time. Many articles have been written about the relationship between chronic pain and the age of the patient. In a survey conducted on behalf of the American Chronic Pain Association in 2004, a random cross section of 800 adults who suffer from chronic pain found that 424 of the 800 participants in the survey were above the age of 50.
a. Would it be appropriate to use a normal approximation in conducting a statistical test of the research hypothesis that over half of persons suffering from chronic pain are over 50 years of age?
b. Using the data in the survey, is there substantial evidence (a = .05) that more than half of persons suffering from chronic pain are over 50 years of age?
c. Place a 95% confidence interval on the proportion of persons suffering from chronic pain that are over 50 years of age.