OMIS 41 Week 4 Lecture 1 Variance/Standard Deviation Examples

Some Notes that we went over:

If n = 81 and thus df = 80 a if we get the following values for  2 , then we get the following p-values
I give you this so you can get use to the  2 table
Chi-
Squared p-value Notes
125 pv < .005  
114 .005 < pv < .01  
more extreme is area to left, the subscripts are area to
55 .01 < pv < .025 the right
    so 1 - .99 = .01, and 1 - .975 = .025
50 pv < .005 1 - .995 = .005, more extreme
80 pv > .10  

Speeds and Accidents:

Some traffic experts believe that the major cause of highway collisions is the differing speeds of cars. That
is, when some cars are driven slowly while others are driven at speeds well in excess of the speed limit, cars
tend to congregate in bunches increasing the probability of accidents. Thus, the greater the variation in
speeds, the greater the number of collisions that occur. Suppose on a particular stretch of accident prone
highway, a random sample of 100 cars yielded a sample variance of 23 (mph)2.

• Can we conclude at the 5% significance level that the variance in speeds exceeds 18 (mph)2; which
is the normal variance for less accident prone highways?
• Obtain a 90% confidence interval.
• Does the CI agree with the conclusion of the HT?

1) Ho: σ2 = 18 mph2
Ha: σ2 > 18 mph2
2) α = .05
3) s2 = 23 mph2 the sample variance allow us to possibly infer Ha
4) Sample variances follow a χ2 distribution
(n  1)  s 2 (100  1)  23
5)  2    126.5 (note: values given in the problem are in variance)
2 18
From the table with 100 df (closest to 99 degrees of freedom)
0.025 < p-value < 0.05
6) Since the p-value < α , reject Ho and conclude
There is sufficient statistical evidence (S.S.E.) to infer that
the variance in speeds exceeds 18 mph2.

Confidence Interval:
(n  1) s 2 (n  1) s 2
  2

2 / 2 12 / 2

(99)  23 (99)  23
2 
124.3 77.9
18.3    29.2
2

With this CI we can infer Ha since we are 90% confident that the true population variance is in this interval
which is more than 18 mph2.
Stats Test:
After many years of teaching, a statistics professor computed the standard deviation of the marks on her
final exam and found it to be 25. She recently made changes to the way in which the final exam is marked
and wondered whether this would result in a reduction in the variance. A random sample of this year's final
exam marks are listed here: 57, 92, 99, 73, 62, 64, 75, 70, 88, 60
- Can the professor infer at the 5% significance level that the standard deviation has decreased?
- Construct a 90% confidence interval.

1) Ho: σ ≥ 25
Ha: σ < 25
2) α = .05
3) s = 14.5 ok
4) Sample standard deviations follow a χ2 distribution
(n  1)  s 2 (10  1) 14.52
5)  2    3.03
2 252
From the table with df = 9
0.025 < p-value < 0.05

6) Since the p-value < α , reject Ho and conclude

There is sufficient statistical evidence to infer that
the standard deviation has decreased.

Confidence Interval:
(n  1) s 2 (n  1) s 2
  2

2 / 2 12 / 2

(9) 14.52 (9) 14.52

 
2

16.9 3.32 note: take the square root to get σ

10.6    23.9

With this CI we can infer Ha since we are 90% confident that the true population standard deviation is in
this interval which is entirely than 25, so we can infer Ha.
Example 4: Annual Checkups
During annual checkups, physicians routinely send their patients to medical laboratories to have various tests performed. One
such test determines the cholesterol level in patients' blood. However, not all tests are conducted in the same way. To acquire
more information, a man was sent to 10 laboratories and had his cholesterol level measured in each. The results are listed here.
• 188, 193, 186, 184, 190, 195, 187, 190, 192, 196
• Can the professor infer at the 5% significance level that the standard deviation is less than 5?
• Construct a 90% confidence interval for the stdev.

Stats Test:
1) Ho: σ ≥ 5
Ha: σ < 5
2) α = .05
3) s = 3.93 ok
4) Sample standard deviations follow a χ2 distribution
(n  1)  s 2 (10  1)  3.932
5)  2    5.56
2 52
From the table with df = 9
p-value > 0.1

6) Since the p-value > α , do NOT reject Ho and conclude

There is NOT sufficient statistical evidence to infer that
the standard deviation is less than 5.

Confidence Interval:
(n  1) s 2 (n  1) s 2
  2

2 / 2 12 / 2

(9)  3.932 (9)  3.932

 
16.919 3.325 note: take the square root to get σ
2.86    6.46

With this CI we cannot infer Ha since we are 90% confident that the true population standard deviation is in
this interval which contains the null hypothesized standard deviation of 5 so we cannot reject Ho.