In the article “The Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) at the Northern Edge of Its Range” (Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 391–398), Blem and Blem examined the reproductive...

In the article “The Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) at the Northern Edge of Its Range” (Journal of Herpetology, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 391–398), Blem and Blem examined the reproductive characteristics of the eastern cottonmouth, a once widely distributed snake whose numbers have decreased recently due to encroachment by humans. A simple random sample of 44 female cottonmouths yielded a sample mean of ??̅ = 7.6 young per litter. Assume σ = 2.4.

a. Is the sample mean likely to equal μ exactly? Explain your answer

b. Find the 95% Confidence Interval.

c. How large a sample would be needed to get at 99% confidence interval with a margin of error of

just 0.1?