9.32 The quantity used in constructing confidence intervals for

(or p) is sometimes called the sampling error.

A Time magazine (April 5, 1993) article on religion in America reported that 54% of those between the ages of 18 and 26 found religion to be a “very important” part of their lives. The article goes on to state that the result comes from a poll of 1,013 people and has a sampling error of 3%. How is the 3% calculated and what is its interpretation? Can we conclude that a majority of people in this age group find religion to be very important?