A soccer ball manufacturer wants to estimate the mean circumference of soccer balls within 0.18 inch. (a) Determine the minimum sample size required to construct a 99% confidence interval for the population mean. Assume the population standard deviation is 0.5 inch. (b) The sample mean is 27 inches. With a sample size of 62, a 99% level of confidence, and a population standard deviation of 0.5 inch, does it seem possible that the population mean could be less than 27.1 inches? Explain. Click here to view page 1 of the Standard Normal Table. Click here to view page 2 of the Standard Normal Table. (a) The minimum sample size required to construct a 99% confidence interval is (Round up to the nearest whole number.) soccer balls.