Step 1 :We are given that the SAT scores are distributed with a mean of 1,500 and a standard deviation of 288. We are interested in estimating the average SAT score of first year students at a college. We want to limit the margin of error of our confidence interval to 40 points with 85 percent confidence.
Step 2 :To find out how many students we should sample, we can use the formula for the sample size in a confidence interval estimation: \(n = (Z*σ/E)^2\), where \(n\) is the sample size, \(Z\) is the Z-score corresponding to the desired confidence level, \(σ\) is the standard deviation of the population, and \(E\) is the desired margin of error.
Step 3 :In this case, we know that \(σ = 288\), \(E = 40\), and we want a confidence level of 85%. The Z-score for an 85% confidence level is approximately 1.44.
Step 4 :Plugging these values into the formula, we get \(n = (1.44*288/40)^2\).
Step 5 :Calculating the above expression, we find that \(n = 108\). Since we can't have a fraction of a student, we'll round up to the nearest whole number if we get a decimal.
Step 6 :Final Answer: The number of students that should be sampled is \(\boxed{108}\).