7

Chapter

Hypothesis Testing

Elementary Statistics
Larson Farber

A Statistical Hypothesis
A claim about a population.

Null hypothesis H0
Statistical hypothesis
that contains a
statement of equality,
such as , = or .

Alternative
hypothesis Ha
contains a statement
of inequality, such as
<, or >.

Complementary Statements
If I am false,
you are true

H0

If I am false,
you are true

Ha

Writing Hypotheses
Write the claim about the population. Then,
write its complement. Either hypothesis, the
null or the alternative, can represent the claim.
A hospital claims its ambulance response
time is less than 10 minutes.
H0 : 10 min
Ha : 10 min claim

A consumer magazine claims the

proportion of cell phone calls made during
evenings and weekends is at most 60%.
H0 : p 0.60 claim
Ha : p 0.60

Errors and Level of

Significance
Actual Truth of H0

Decision

H0 True
Do not
reject H0

Correct
Decision

Type I
Reject H0
Error

H0 False
Type II
Error
Correct
Decision

A type I error: Null hypothesis is actually

true but the decision is to reject it.

Level of significance,
Maximum probability of committing
a type I error.

Rejection Regions
Sampling distribution for x
Rejection Region

z0

Critical Value

z0

The rejection region is the range of

values for which the null hypothesis is not
probable. It is always in the direction of
the alternative hypothesis. Its area is equal
to .
A critical value separates the rejection
region from the non-rejection region

Types of Hypothesis Tests

Right-tail test Ha: >value

Rejection
region

0 z0

Reject H0 if z > z0
otherwise fail to reject H0.

Left-tail test Ha: <value

Rejection
region

z0

Reject H0 if z < z0
otherwise fail to reject H0.

Two-tail test Ha: value

Rejection
region

-z0 0

Rejection
region

z0

Reject H0 if z >z0 or z <-z0

otherwise fail to reject H0.

Interpreting the Decision

ot
ect
rej

Re
jec
tH

n
Do

Claim is H0

H0

There is
enough
evidence to
reject the claim

There is not
enough
evidence to
reject the claim

Interpreting the Decision

ot
ect
rej

Re
jec
tH

n
Do

Claim is Ha

H0

There is
enough
evidence to
support the
claim

There is not
enough
evidence to
support the
claim

8 Steps in a Hypothesis Test

1. Write the null and alternative hypothesis

Write H0 and Ha as mathematical statements.
Remember H0 always contains the = symbol.

2. State the level of significance

This is the maximum probability of rejecting
the null hypothesis when it is actually true.
(Making a type I error.)

3. Identify the sampling distribution

The sampling distribution is the distribution for
the test statistic assuming that H0 is true and
that the experiment is repeated an infinite
number of times.

4. Find the

5. Find the

critical value

rejection region

The critical value separates the rejection region

of the sampling distribution from the nonrejection region.

6. Find the test statistic

Perform the calculations to standardize your
sample statistic.

7. Make your decision

If the test statistic falls in the critical region,
reject H0. Otherwise, fail to reject H0.

8. Interpret your decision

Critical Values
The critical value z0 separates the rejection region
from the non-rejection region. The area of the

rejection region is equal to .

Rejection
region

Rejection
region

z0

0
Find z0 for a left-tail
test with =.01
z0=-2.33

0 z0
Find z0 for a right-tail
test with =.05
z0=1.645

Rejection
region

Rejection
region

-z0 0 z0
Find - z0 and z0 for a two-tail test with =.01
-z0=-2.575 and z0 =2.575

The z-test for a Mean

A cereal company claims the mean
sodium content in one serving of its cereal is
no more than 230 mg. You work for a
national health service and are asked to test
this claim. You find that a random sample of
52 servings has a mean sodium content of
232 milligrams and a standard deviation of
10 mg. At = 0.05, do you have enough
evidence to reject the companys claim?
1. Write the null and alternative hypothesis
H0: 230 mg.(claim)

Ha: > 230 mg.

2. State the level of significance

=
0.05
3. Determine the sampling distribution
Since the sample size is at least 30, the sampling
distribution is normal.

Since Ha contains the > symbol, this is a right tail test.

Rejection
region

0 z0
1.645

4. Find the critical

value
5. Find the rejection
region

6. Find the test statistic

n=52
x = 232
s=10

232 230
2
z

1.44
10
1.387
52

7. Make your decision

z = 1.44 does not fall in the rejection region, so
fail to reject H0
8. Interpret your decision
There is not enough evidence to reject the
companys claim that there is at most 230mg of
sodium in one serving of its cereal.