E. canis infection is a tick-borne disease of dogs that is sometimes contracted by humans. Among infected humans, the distribution of white blood cell counts has an unknown mean and standard deviation. In the general population, the mean white blood cell count is 7250/mm³.

In a sample of 15 infected persons, the sample mean white blood cell count was 4767/mm³ and the sample standard deviation was 3204/mm³.

1.Construct a 95% confidence interval for the mean white blood cell count among infected humans. Interpret the confidence interval.

2.Conduct a hypothesis test at the 0.5 significance level to determine if the mean white blood cell count among infected humans is different than that of the general population. Clearly state the null and alternative hypotheses, your decision rule, and your conclusion.

3.Based on the 95% confidence interval you constructed in part a, would you have expected to reject or not reject the null hypothesis? Why?