Chapter 12:

Sampling Distributions,
Sampling Distribution of the Mean,
the Normal Deviate (z) Test

• Replicated/ Repeated measures

– 1 subject gets 2 treatments
• Independent measures
– 2 subjects get 1 different treatment each
• Main question/ concern of hypothesis testing
what is the probability of getting the obtained result
or results even more extreme if chance alone is responsible for the differences between the experimental
and control scores?
1. calculating the appropriate statistic
2. evaluating the statistic based on its sampling distribution

SAMPLING DISTRIBUTIONS
• sampling distribution of a statistic gives
(1) all the values that the statistic can take and
(2) the probability of getting each value under the assumption that it resulted from chance alone

Essentials of inferential statistics

• If the probability of getting the obtained value of the statistic or any value more extreme is
equal to or less than the alpha level, we reject H0 and accept H1.
• If not, we retain H0.
• If we reject H0 and it is true, we’ve made a Type I error.
• If we retain H0 and it’s false, we’ve made a Type II error.
• Applies to all experiments involving hypothesis testing.
• What changes from experiment to experiment is the statistic used
and its accompanying sampling distribution.
• Large part inferential statistics is devoted to presenting the most often used statistics, their
sampling distributions, and the conditions under which each statistic is appropriately used.

zobt and zcrit

• critical region for rejection of the null hypothesis

area under the curve that contains all the values of the statistic that allow rejection of the null hypothesis

• critical value of a statistic

value of the statistic that bounds the critical region.

• The critical region for rejection o f H0 is determined by the alpha level

• If zobt falls in the critical region for rejection, we will reject H0

CRITICAL REGIONS

ONE-TAILED

CRITICAL REGIONS: TWO-TAILED

Two tailed:

CRITICAL REGIONS: TWO-TAILED

Steps for solving the z test / z statistic

1. State the hypotheses and select an alpha level
Alternative Hypothesis – H1: µ ≠ population mean
Null Hypothesis – H0: µ = population mean
2. Draw the normal curve: label the critical value and
critical region; determine the critical value
refer to the z-table for the critical value of
3. Calculate the test statistic

4. Make a decision regarding H0 assess whether zobt falls within the critical region

Practice Problem 1
A university president believes that, over the past few years, the average age of students attending
his university has changed. To test this hypothesis, an experiment is conducted in which the age of
150 students who have been randomly sampled from the student body is measured. The mean age is
23.5 years. A complete census taken at the university a few years before the experiment showed a
mean age of 22.4 years, with a standard deviation of 7.6.

Practice Problem 1
STEP 1: STATE THE HYPOTHESIS
a. Nondirectional alternative hypothesis:
Over the past few years, the average age of students at the university has changed. Therefore, the
sample with X́ obt = 23.5 is a random sample from a population where µ ≠ 22.4.
In symbol – H1: µ ≠ 22.4
b. Null hypothesis:
The null hypothesis asserts that it is reasonable to consider the sample with X́ obt = 23.5 is a random
sample from a population where µ = 22.4
In symbol - H0: µ = 22.4

Practice Problem 1
c. Conclusion using α = 0.052tail
STEP 2: Draw the normal curve, label the critical value and

critical region; Determine the critical value of z (zcrit) from z table

STEP 3: Calculate the appropriate statistic

STEP 4: Decision - assess whether zobt falls within the critical region

Practice Problem 2

Practice Problem 2
STEPS
1. state the hypothesis
2. Draw the normal curve, label the critical value and critical region
determine the critical value of z (zcrit)
3. calculate the statistic, in this case the zobt
4. assess whether zobt falls within the critical region for rejection of H0

Practice Problem 2
c. Conclusion using α = 0.051tail
STEP 2: Draw the normal curve, label the critical value and
critical region; Determine the critical value of z (zcrit) from
z table
STEP 3: Calculate the appropriate statistic
STEP 4: assess whether zobt falls within the critical region

Conditions Under Which the z Test Is Appropriate

• when the experiment involves a single sample mean
• when parameters of the population are known
(i.e., when µ and σ are known)
• sampling distribution of the mean should be normally distributed
• N ≥ 30; size of the sample is greater than 30
• Is it reasonable to consider a sample of 40 scores with X́ obt = 65 to be a random sample from
a population of scores that is normally distributed, with µ = 60 and σ = 10? Use α = 0.052 tail in
making your decision.
• A professor has been teaching statistics for many years. His records show that the overall
mean for final exam scores is 82, with a standard deviation of 10. The professor believes that
this year’s class is superior to his previous ones. The mean for final exam scores for this year’s
class of 65 students is 87. What do you conclude? Use α = 0.051 tail.
• An automotive engineer believes that her newly designed engine will be a great gas saver. A
large number of tests on engines of the old design yielded a mean gasoline consumption of
27.5 miles per gallon, with a standard deviation o f 5.2. Fifteen new engines are tested. The
mean gasoline consumption is 29.6 miles per gallon. What is your conclusion? Use α = 0.051 tail.

Chapter 13: Student’s t Test for Single Samples

Review of z test
Only appropriate when the mean and standard deviation of the population is known
STEPS FOR SOLVING z statistic
1. State the hypotheses and select an alpha level
2. Draw the normal curve: label the critical value and critical region
3. Calculate the test statistic
4. Make a decision regarding H0

Steps for solving the z test / z statistic

1. State the hypotheses and select an alpha level
Alternative Hypothesis – H1: µ ≠ population mean
Null Hypothesis – H0: µ = population mean
2. Draw the normal curve: label the critical value and
critical region
refer to the z-table for the critical value of
3. Calculate the test statistic

4. Make a decision regarding H0 assess whether zobt falls within the critical region

t Test
• Also called Student’s t test
• Developed by W. S. Gosset who wrote under the pen name “Student”
• Can be used when the mean and standard deviation of the population is unknown
• Widely used in the behavioral sciences

Compare: z and t tests

• Only difference: z test uses the standard deviation of the population (σ) while t test uses the
standard deviation of the sample (s)

Degrees of Freedom
• degrees of freedom (df) for any statistic is the number of scores that are free to vary in
calculating that statistic.
• df = N – 1 degrees of freedom for t test (single sample)

Steps for solving the t test / t statistic

1. State the hypotheses and select an alpha level
2. Locate the critical region
Refer to the t distribution table
find the df and decide for the alpha level
3. Calculate the test statistic

4. Make a decision regarding H0

if the t statistic falls within the critical region,
reject the H0 ; reject H0 if |tobt| ≥ |tcrit|

Sample problem 1: t test single sample

Increasing Early Speaking in Children
Suppose you have a technique that you believe will affect the age at which children begin
speaking. In your locale, the average age of first word utterances is 13.0 months. The
standard deviation is unknown. You apply your technique to a random sample of 15
children. The results show that the sample mean age of first word utterances is 11.0
months, with a standard deviation of 3.34.

Sample problem 1: t test single sample

1. Alternative Hypothesis: The technique affects the age at which children begin speaking. H 1: µ ≠
13.0
2. Null Hypothesis: The technique does not affect the age at which children begin speaking. H 0: µ
= 13.0

Sample problem 1: t test single sample

• Locate the critical region (refer to the t distribution table)

3. Calculate the t statistic
 Decision:

Calculating t statistic (tobt) from raw scores

Sample problem 2

A. What is the alternative hypothesis?

B. What is the null hypothesis?
C. What is your conclusion if α = 0.012tail?
STEPS:
1. state the hypotheses
2. locate the critical regions, label and determine the
critical value
3. calculate the test statistic
4. make a decision

Sample problem 2
1. H1: The height of women has been changing
H1: µ ≠ 63
H0: The height of women has not changed.
H0: µ = 63
2. locate the critical regions, label and determine the critical value:
3. Calculate the test statistic
Sample problem 2
4. Calculate the test statistic

4. Decision

Conditions Under Which the t Test Is Appropriate

t test (single sample) is appropriate
• when the experiment has only one sample
• µ (population mean) is given
• σ (population standard deviation)is unknown
• Like the z test, the t test requires that the sampling distribution of the samples be normal
• For the sampling distribution of X to be normal, N must be ≥ 30

A physician employed by a large corporation believes that due to an increase in sedentary life in the
past decade, middle-age men have become fatter. In 1995, the corporation measured the percentage
of fat in their employees. For the middle-age men, the scores were normally distributed, with a mean
of 22%. To test her hypothesis, the physician measures the fat percentage in a random sample of 12
middle-age men currently employed by the corporation. The fat percentages found were as follows:
24, 40, 29, 32, 33, 25, 15, 22, 18, 25, 16, 27. On the basis of these data, can we conclude that middle-
age men employed by the corporation have become fatter? Assume a directional H1 is legitimate and
use α = 0.051 tail in making your decision.
Research examining the effects of preschool childcare has found that children who spent time in day
care, especially high-quality day care, perform better on math and language tests than children who
stay home with their mothers (Broberg, Wessels, Lamb, & Hwang, 1997). In a typical study, a
researcher obtains a sample of n = 10 children who attended day care before starting school. The
children are given a standardized math test for which the population mean is μ = 50. The scores for
the sample are as follows: 53, 57, 61, 49, 52, 56, 58, 62, 51, 56. Is this sample sufficient to conclude
that the children with a history of preschool day care are significantly different from the general
population? Use a two-tailed test with α = .01.
A local business school claims that its graduating seniors get higher-paying jobs than the national
average for business school graduates. Last year’s figures for salaries paid to all business school
graduates on their first job showed a mean of $10.20 per hour. A random sample of 10 graduates from
last year’s class of the local business school showed the following hourly salaries for their first job:
$9.40, $10.30, $11.20, $10.80, $10.40, $9.70, $9.80, $10.60, $10.70, $ 10.90. You are skeptical of the
business school claim and decide to evaluate t he salary of the business school graduates,
using α = 0.052 tail . What do you conclude?