Over the past several months, an adult patient has been treated for tetany (severe muscle spasms). This condition is associated with an average total calcium level below 6 mg/dl. Recently, the patient's total calcium tests gave the following readings (in mg/dl). Assume that the population of x values has an approximately normal distribution.

9.7

8.8

10.7

8.7

9.4

9.8

10.0

9.9

11.2

12.1

(a)

Use a calculator with mean and sample standard deviation keys to find the sample mean reading and the sample standard deviation s. (in mg/dl; round your answers to two decimal places.) = mg/dl s = mg/dl

(b)

Find a 99.9% confidence interval for the population mean of total calcium in this patient's blood. (in mg/dl; round your answer to two decimal places.) lower limit mg/dl upper limit mg/dl

(c)

Based on your results in part (b), do you think this patient still has a calcium deficiency? Explain.

Yes. This confidence interval suggests that the patient may still have a calcium deficiency. Yes. This confidence interval suggests that the patient no longer has a calcium deficiency. No. This confidence interval suggests that the patient may still have a calcium deficiency. No. This confidence interval suggests that the patient no longer has a calcium deficiency.