HYPOTHESIS TESTING
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
In the following multiple-choice questions, please circle the correct answer.
1. If a researcher takes a large enough sample, he/she will almost always obtain:
a. virtually significant results
b. practically significant results
c. consequentially significant results
d. statistically significant results
2. The null and alternative hypotheses divide all possibilities into:
a. two sets that overlap
b. two non-overlapping sets
c. two sets that may or may not overlap
d. as many sets as necessary to cover all possibilities
3. Which of the following is true of the null and alternative hypotheses?
a. Exactly one hypothesis must be true
b. both hypotheses must be true
c. It is possible for both hypotheses to be true
d. It is possible for neither hypothesis to be true
4. One-tailed alternatives are phrased in terms of:
a.
b. < or >
c. or =
d. or
5. The chi-square goodness-of-fit test can be used to test for:
a. significance of sample statistics
b. difference between population means
c. normality
d. probability
6. A type II error occurs when:
a. the null hypothesis is incorrectly accepted when it is false
b. the null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected when it is true
c. the sample mean differs from the population mean
d. the test is biased
7. Of type I and type II error, which is traditionally regarded as more serious?
a. Type I
b. Type II
c. They are equally serious
d. Neither is serious
8. You conduct a hypothesis test and you observe values for the sample mean and sample
standard deviation when n = 25 that do not lead to the rejection of H 0 . You calculate a
p-value of 0.0667. What will happen to the p-value if you observe the same sample mean
and standard deviation for a sample > 25?
a. Increase
b. Decrease
c. Stay the same
d. May either increase or decrease
9. The form of the alternative hypothesis can be:
a. one-tailed
b. two-tailed
c. neither one nor two-tailed
d. one or two-tailed
10. A two-tailed test is one where:
a. results in only one direction can lead to rejection of the null hypothesis
b. negative sample means lead to rejection of the null hypothesis
c. results in either of two directions can lead to rejection of the null hypothesis
d. no results lead to the rejection of the null hypothesis
11. The value set for is known as:
a. the rejection level
b. the acceptance level
c. the significance level
d. the error in the hypothesis test
12. A study in which randomly selected groups are observed and the results are analyzed
without explicitly controlling for other factors is called:
a. an observational study
b. a controlled study
c. a field test
d. a simple study
13. The null hypothesis usually represents:
a. the theory the researcher would like to prove.
b. the preconceived ideas of the researcher
c. the perceptions of the sample population
d. the status quo
14. In statistical analysis, the burden of proof lies traditionally with:
a. the alternative hypothesis
b. the null hypothesis
c. the analyst
d. the facts
15. When one refers to “how significant” the sample evidence is, he/she is referring to the:
a. value of
b. the importance of the sample
c. the p-value
d. the F-ratio
16. Which of the following values is not typically used for ?
a. 0.01
b. 0.05
c. 0.10
d. 0.25
17. Smaller p-values indicate more evidence in support of:
a. the null hypothesis
b. the alternative hypothesis
c. the quality of the researcher
d. further testing
18. The hypothesis that an analyst is trying to prove is called the:
a. elective hypothesis
b. alternative hypothesis
c. optional hypothesis
d. null hypothesis
19. A p-value is considered “convincing” if it is:
a. less than 0.01
b. between 0.01 and 0.05
c. 0.05 and 0.10
d. greater than 0.10
20. A null hypothesis can only be rejected at the 5% significance level if and only if:
a. a 95% confidence interval includes the hypothesized value of the parameter
b. a 95% confidence interval does not include the hypothesized value of the parameter
c. the null hypothesis is void
d. the null hypotheses includes sampling error
21. If a teacher is trying to prove that new method of teaching math is more effective than
traditional one, he/she will conduct a:
a. one-tailed test
b. two-tailed test
c. point estimate of the population parameter
d. confidence interval
22. A type I error occurs when:
a. the null hypothesis is incorrectly accepted when it is false
b. the null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected when it is true
c. the sample mean differs from the population mean
d. the test is biased
23. Null and alternative hypotheses are statements about:
A. population parameters.
B. sample parameters.
C. sample statistics.
D. it depends - sometimes population parameters and sometimes sample statistics.
24. A hypothesis test is done in which the alternative hypothesis is that more than 10% of a
population is
left-handed. The p-value for the test is calculated to be 0.25. Which statement is correct?
A. We can conclude that more than 10% of the population is left-handed.
B. We can conclude that more than 25% of the population is left-handed.
C. We can conclude that exactly 25% of the population is left-handed.
D. We cannot conclude that more than 10% of the population is left-handed.
25. A result is called “statistically significant” whenever
A. The null hypothesis is true.
B. The alternative hypothesis is true.
C. The p-value is less or equal to the significance level.
D. The p-value is larger than the significance level.
26. A test to screen for a serious but curable disease is similar to hypothesis testing, with a null
hypothesis of no disease, and an alternative hypothesis of disease. If the null hypothesis is
rejected treatment will be given. Otherwise, it will not. Assuming the treatment does not have
serious side effects, in this
scenario it is better to increase the probability of:
A. making a Type 1 error, providing treatment when it is not needed.
B. making a Type 1 error, not providing treatment when it is needed.
C. making a Type 2 error, providing treatment when it is not needed.
D. making a Type 2 error, not providing treatment when it is needed.
27. A random sample of 25 college males was obtained and each was asked to report their actual
height and what they wished as their ideal height. A 95% confidence interval for μ d = average
difference between their ideal and actual heights was 0.8" to 2.2". Based on this interval, which
one of the null hypotheses below (versus a two-sided alternative) can be rejected?
A. H0: μ = 0.5
B. H0: μ = 1.0
C. H0: μ = 1.5
D. H0: μ = 2.0
28. A significance test based on a small sample may not produce a statistically significant result
even if the true value differs substantially from the null value. This type of result is known as
A. the significance level of the test.
B. the power of the study.
C. a Type 1 error.
D. a Type 2 error.
