Learning Guide Module

Subject Code Stat1 Introduction to Statistics

Module Code 28.0 Inference about the mean
Lesson Code 28.1 Introduction to the t test for a mean
Time Limit 30 mins.

TARGET
At the end of this lesson, the learner is expected to:
✓ State conditions for inference about a population mean.

HOOK

In the previous lessons, you have learned the concepts and the different steps in testing hypotheses. It
is important to always remember these steps because you will apply these concepts in the succeeding
learning guide modules.
In this learning guide module, you will learn the different assumptions and conditions to be satisfied for
you to use the t-test for the mean.

Did you know that?

The t distributions were discovered in 1908 by William S. Gosset. Gosset was a statistician employed
by the Guinness brewing company, which prohibited its employees from publishing their discoveries
that were brewing related. In this case, the company let him publish under the pen name “Student” using
an example that did not involve brewing. The t distribution is often called “Student’s t” in his honor
(Moore, et.al, 2017).

IGNITE

In the Learning Guide Module 24, you have learned the conditions and assumptions and how to
determine confidence intervals about means and we have seen that the appropriate probability model to
use is the Student’s t with 𝑛 – 1 degrees of freedom. As a recall,
The t distribution is similar to the standard normal distribution in the following ways.
➢ It is bell-shaped.
➢ It is symmetric about the mean.
➢ The mean, median, and mode are equal to 0 and are located at the center of the
distribution.
➢ The curve approaches but never touches the x axis.

The t distribution differs from the standard normal distribution in the following ways.
➢ The variance is greater than 1.
➢ The t distribution is a family of curves based on the degrees of freedom, which is a number
related to sample size.
➢ As the sample size increases, the t distribution approaches the normal distribution
(Bluman, 2014).
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Just like the confidence intervals for means, the same assumptions and conditions apply in testing
hypotheses about population means.
ASSUMPTIONS

➢ Independence. The data values should be mutually independent. With this, you should
think about whether the assumption is reasonable since there is really no way to check
independence of the data by looking at the sample.
➢ Normal Population. The population follows a normal model. But this is almost certainly
not true. Models are idealized, real data is never exactly normal.

CONDITIONS

➢ Randomization. This condition is satisfied if the data arise from a random sample or
suitably randomized experiment.
➢ Nearly/Approximately Normal. The data come from a distribution that is unimodal and
symmetric. Check this condition by making a histogram or normal probability plot.
Normality is less important for larger sample sizes. (De Veaux, 2014).

As to the sample size n, the t methods can be used for very small samples, say 𝑛 < 30, if the data
follow a normal model. When n is large enough, say 𝑛 ≥ 30, the t methods are safe to use unless the
data are extremely skewed.
Remember! Check the conditions before proceeding. These conditions will be your basis to proceed
with your data analysis using the t-test or any other tests. Thus, if the data you are testing is something
like strongly skewed small sample or a nonrepresentative sample, then you are unable to proceed at all.
Let us try checking for the conditions with the following examples.

Example 1: A researcher wishes to know whether the height of randomly selected eight-year-old
children differs from 126 cm, the mean height of eight-year-old children.

110 123 140 127 138

116 131 136 128 126
118 128 121 131 133

Condition Remark
Randomization It is clearly stated that the samples are randomly
selected, so randomization condition is satisfied.
Nearly/Approximately Normal 5
4
Frequency

3
2
1
0

Heights in cm

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 Since the sample is small, n < 30, we need to make
the histogram. Looking at the histogram of the data,
it seems that it is nearly normal because it is
unimodal, almost symmetric and there is no outlier.
Hence, nearly normal condition is also satisfied.

Therefore, we can proceed with our inference using

the t method.

Example 2: A student researcher wants to know if the salary of entomologists in the province is lower
than the average base salary of Php 358,069. A random sample of entomologists revealed the following
salaries (in Php).

300,000 350,000 360,000 320,000 353,000 360,000

308,000 350,000 335,000 325,000 345,000 350,000
323,000 340,000 385,000 310,000 373,000 380,000

Let us check again the two condition if they are satisfied.

Condition Remark
Randomization It is clearly stated that the samples are randomly
selected, so randomization condition is satisfied.
Nearly/Approximately Normal 6
5
Frequency

4
3
2
1
0
304.5
314.5
324.5
334.5
344.5
354.5
364.5
374.5
384.5
394.5
More
Salaries (in Php1000)

Since the sample is small, n < 30, we need to make

the histogram. Looking at the histogram of the data,
it seems that it is nearly normal because it is
unimodal, somewhat symmetric, and there is no
outlier. Hence, nearly normal condition is also
satisfied.

Therefore, we can proceed with our inference using

the t method.

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Example 3: A credit card company takes a random sample of 100 cardholders to see how much they
charged on their card las month. Here is a histogram. (De Veaux, 2014, p. 562)

Let us check if the conditions are met for us to use the t method.

Condition Remark
Randomization It is clearly stated that the samples are randomly
selected, so randomization condition is satisfied.
Nearly/Approximately Normal Looking at the histogram, we can see there is a large
outlier and basically the distribution is skewed
right. Hence, nearly normal condition is not
satisfied.

Therefore, we cannot proceed with our inference

using the t method.

References:
1. Bluman, A.G. (2014). Elementary Statistics: A step by step approach (9th Edition). Mc-Graw Hill
2. De Veaux, R.D., Velleman, P.F., & Bock, D.E. (2014). Intro stats (New International Edition).
Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited
3. De Veaux, R.D., Velleman, P.F., & Bock, D.E. (2012). Stats data and models (3rd Edition). United
States of America: Pearson Education, Inc.
4. Moore, D. et.al. (2017). Introduction to the Practice of Statistics (9th ed.). New York, W.H. Freeman
Company.

Prepared by: Ronnie R. Calanno Reviewed by: Jennifer Ann de los Reyes
Position: SST V Position: SST III
Campus: PSHS – IRC Campus: PSHS – EVC

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