The following data are flash durations, in milliseconds, of a sample of 35 male fireflies of the species Photinus ignitus (Cratsley and Lewis 2003; see Assignment Problem 19 in Chapter 2):

a. Estimate the sample mean flash duration. What does this quantity estimate? 

b. Is the estimate in part (a) likely to equal the population parameter? Why or why not?

c. Calculate a standard error for your sample estimate.

d. What does the quantity in part (c) measure?

e. Using an approximate method, calculate a rough 95% confidence interval for the population mean.

f. Provide an interpretation for the interval you calculated in part (e).

Data from problem 19

Male fireflies of the species Photinus ignitus attract females with pulses of light. Flashes of longer duration seem to attract the most females. During mating, the male transfers a spermatophore to the female. Besides containing sperm, the spermatophore is rich in protein that is distributed by the female to her fertilized eggs. The data below are measurements of spermatophore mass (in mg) of 35 males (Cratsley and Lewis 2003). These data are also available at whitlockschluter3e.zoology.ubc.ca.

Transcribed Image Text:

79,79, 80,80, 82,82, 83,83, 86,86, 85,85, 86,86, 86,86, 88,88, 87,87, 89, 89, 89,89, 90,90, 92,92, 94,94, 92,92, 94,94, 96,96, 95,95, 95,95, 95,95, 96,96, 98,98, 98,98, 98,98, 101,101, 103,103, 106,106, 108,108, 109,109, 112,112, 113,113, 118,118, 116,116, 119119