Step 1 :Given that Emily used a coin toss to select either her right hand or her left hand, the probability of guessing correctly by chance is 0.5. This is because a coin toss has two equally likely outcomes: heads or tails, which we can associate with Emily's right hand or her left hand.
Step 2 :The best point estimate of the therapists' success rate is the proportion of correct responses in Emily's sample. This can be calculated as the number of correct responses divided by the total number of trials. In this case, the success rate is \(\frac{144}{300} = 0.48\).
Step 3 :To construct a 95% confidence interval for the proportion of correct responses, we can use the formula for the confidence interval for a proportion: \(\hat{p} \pm Z\sqrt{\frac{\hat{p}(1-\hat{p})}{n}}\), where \(\hat{p}\) is the sample proportion, Z is the Z-score for the desired level of confidence (for 95% confidence, Z is approximately 1.96), and n is the sample size. The lower and upper bounds of the confidence interval are then \(\hat{p} - Z\sqrt{\frac{\hat{p}(1-\hat{p})}{n}}\) and \(\hat{p} + Z\sqrt{\frac{\hat{p}(1-\hat{p})}{n}}\), respectively.
Step 4 :Substituting the given values into the formula, we get the lower bound as \(0.48 - 1.96\sqrt{\frac{0.48(1-0.48)}{300}} = 0.423\) and the upper bound as \(0.48 + 1.96\sqrt{\frac{0.48(1-0.48)}{300}} = 0.537\).
Step 5 :\(\boxed{\text{Final Answer:}}\) a. The expected proportion of correct responses if the touch therapists made random guesses is 0.5. b. The best point estimate of the therapists' success rate is 0.48. c. The 95% confidence interval estimate of the proportion of correct responses made by touch therapists is approximately (0.423, 0.537).