Mean TRAP in young women. For many important processes

QUESTION:

Mean TRAP in young women.

For many important processes that occur in the body, direct measurement of characteristics of the process is not possible. In many cases, however, we can measure a biomarker, a biochemical substance that is relatively easy to measure and is associated with the process of interest. Bone turnover is the net effect of two processes: the breaking down of old bone, called resorption, and the building of new bone, called formation. One biochemical measure of bone resorption is tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), which can be measured in blood. In a study of bone turnover in young women, serum TRAP was measured in 31 subjects. The mean was 13.2 units per litre (U/l). Assume that the standard deviation is known to be 6.5 U/l. Give the margin of error and find a 95% confidence interval for the mean TRAP amount in young women represented by this sample.