INFERENTIAL STATISTICS (SQQS2063)

HYPOTHESIS TESTING

1. Briefly explain the meaning of each of the following terms.

a. Null hypothesis
b. Alternative hypothesis
c. Rejection region
d. Critical point(s)
e. Tails of a test
f. Significance level

2. Determine the appropriate critical value(s) for each of the following tests concerning
the population mean:
a. upper-tailed test: α = 0.025; n= 25; σ = 3.0
b. lower-tailed test: α = 0.05; n = 30; s = 9.0
c. two-tailed test: α = 0.02; n = 51; s = 6.5
d. two-tailed test: α = 0.10; n = 36; σ = 3.8

3. Provide the relevant critical value(s) for each of the following circumstances:
a. 𝐻𝐴 : μ > 13, n = 15, σ = 10.3, α = 0.05
b. 𝐻𝐴 : μ ≠ 21, n = 23, s = 35.40, α = 0.02
c. 𝐻𝐴 : μ ≠ 35, n = 41, σ = 35.407, α = 0.01
d. 𝐻𝐴 : μ < 49; data: 12.5, 15.8, 44.3, 22.6, 18.4; α = 0.10
e. 𝐻𝐴 : 𝑥̅ > 15, n = 27, σ = 12.4

4. For the following hypothesis test:

𝐻0 : 𝜇 ≥ 23
𝐻𝐴 ∶ 𝜇 < 23
with n= 25, s = 8, 𝑥̅ = 20 and α = 0.025, state

a. the decision rule in terms of the critical values of the test statistic
b. the calculated value of the test statistic
c. the conclusion

5. For the following hypothesis test:

𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 60.5
𝐻𝐴 ∶ 𝜇 ≠ 60.5
with n= 15, s = 6.5, 𝑥̅ = 62.2 andα = 0.05, state

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a. the decision rule in terms of the critical values of the test statistic
b. the calculated value of the test statistic
c. the conclusion

6. A sample taken from a population yields a sample mean 0f 58.4. Calculate the p-value
for each of the following circumstances:
a. 𝐻𝐴 : 𝜇 > 58, 𝑛 = 16, 𝜎 = 0.8
b. 𝐻𝐴 : 𝜇 ≠ 45, 𝑛 = 41, 𝜎 = 35.407
c. 𝐻𝐴 : 𝜇 ≠ 45, 𝑛 = 41, 𝑠 = 35.407

7. For each of the following scenarios, indicate which type of statistical error could have
been committed or, alternatively, that no statistical error was made. When warranted,
provide a definition for the indicated statistical error.
a. Unknown to the statistical analyst, the null hypothesis is actually true
b. The statistical analyst fails to reject the null hypothesis.
c. The statistical analyst rejects the null hypothesis.
d. Unknown to the statistical analyst, the null hypothesis is actually true and the
analyst fails to reject the null hypothesis.
e. Unknown to the statistical analyst, the null hypothesis is actually false.
f. Unknown to the statistical analyst, the null hypothesis is actually false and the
analyst rejects the null hypothesis.

8. A researcher wishes to see if the average length of the major rivers in the United States is the
same as the average length of the major rivers in Europe. The data in miles of a sample of
rivers are shown below. At  = 0.01, is there enough evidence to reject the claim?

United States Europe

729 560 434 481 724 820
329 332 360 532 357 505
450 2315 865 1776 1122 496
330 410 1036 1224 634 230
329 800 447 1420 326 626
600 1310 652 877 580 210
1243 605 360 447 567 252
525 926 722 824 932 600
850 310 430 634 1124 1575
532 375 1979 565 405 2290
710 545 259 675 454
300 470 425

9. The director of a state agency believes that the average starting salary for clerical
employees in the state is less than $30,000 per year. To test her hypothesis, she has
collected a simple random sample of 100 starting clerical salaries from across the
state and found that the sample mean is $29,750

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 a. State the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses.
b. Assuming the population standard deviation is known to be $2,500 and the
significance level for the test is to be 0.05, what is the critical value(stated in
dollars)?
c. Referring to your answer in part b, what conclusion should be reached with
respect to the null hypothesis?
d. Referring to your answer in part c, which of the two statistical errors might have
been made in this case? Explain.

10. A recent internal report issued by the marketing manager for a national oil-change
franchise indicated that the mean number of miles between oil changes for franchise
customers is at least 3,600 miles. One Texas franchise owner conducted a study to
determine whether the marketing manager’s statement was accurate for his franchise’s
customers. He selected a simple random sample of 10 customers and determined the
number of miles each had driven the car between oil changes. The following sample
data were obtained:

3,655 4,204 1,946 2,789 3,555 3,734 3,208 3,311 3,920 3,902

a. State the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses.

b. Use the test statistic approach with α = 0.05 to test the null hypothesis.

11. Starting in 2008 an increasing number of people found themselves facing mortgages
that were worth more that the value of their homes. A fund manager who had invested
in debt obligations involving grouped mortgages was interested in determining the
group most likely to default on their mortgages. He speculates that older people are
less likely to default on their mortgages and thinks the average age of those who do is
55 years. To test this, a random sample of 30 who had defaulted was selected; the
following sample data reflect the ages of the sampled individuals:

40 55 78 27 55 33 51 76 54 67 40 31 60 61 50 42 78 80 25 38 74 46 48
57 30 65 80 26 46 49

a. State the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses.

b. Use the test statistics approach to test the null hypothesis with α = 0.01.

12. A new laboratory technician read a report that the average number of students using
the computer laboratory per hour was 16. To test this hypothesis, he selected a day at
random and kept track of the number of students who used the lab over an eight-hour
period. The results were as follows:
One-Sample Statistics

Std. Error
N Mean Std. Deviation Mean
HOUR 8 19.6250 2.97309 1.05115

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 One-Sample Test

Test Value = 16
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Mean Difference
t df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Lower Upper
HOUR 3.449 7 .011 3.6250 1.1394 6.1106

At  = 0.05, test the claim that the average is actually 16.

13. The following null and alternative hypotheses have been stated:

𝐻0 : 𝜇1 − 𝜇2 = 0

𝐻𝐴 : 𝜇1 − 𝜇2 ≠ 0

To test the null hypothesis, random samples have been selected from the two normally
distributed populations with equal variance. The following sample data were
observed:

Sample from population 1 Sample from population 2

33 29 35 39 39 41 25 33 38 46 43 42 46 44 47 50 43 39

Test the null hypothesis using an alpha level equal to 0.05.

14. Given the following null and alternative hypotheses, conduct a hypothesis test using
an alpha equal to 0.05. (Note: The population standard deviations are assumed to be
known.)

𝐻0 : 𝜇1 ≤ 𝜇2

𝐻0 : 𝜇1 >𝜇2

The sample means for the two populations are shown as follows:

𝑛1 = 40 𝑥̅1 = 144 𝜎1 = 11

𝑛2 = 50 𝑥̅2 = 129 𝜎2 = 16

15. Descent, Inc., produces a variety of climbing and mountaineering equipment. One of
its products is a traditional three-strand climbing rope. An important characteristic of
any climbing rope is its tensile strength. Descent produces the three-stand rope on two
separate production lines: one in Bozemen and the other in Challis. The Bozemen line
has recently tests the tensile strength of its ropes by randomly selecting ropes from
production and subjecting them to various tests. The most recent random sample of
ropes, taken after the new equipment was installed at the Bozemen plant, revealed the
following:

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 Bozeman Challis
𝑛1 = 25 𝑥̅1 = 7,200Ib 𝑠1 = 𝑛2 = 20 𝑥̅2 = 7,087Ib𝑠2 =
425 415

Descent’s production managers are willing to assume that the population of tensile
strength for each plant is approximately normally distributed with equal variances.
Based on the sample results, can Descent’s managers conclude that there is a
difference between the mean tensile strength of ropes produced in Bozemen and
Challis? Conduct the appropriate hypothesis test at the 0.05 level significance.

16. The Management of the Seaside Golf Club regularly monitors the golfers on its
course for speed of play. Suppose a random sample of golfers was taken in 2005 and
another random sample of golfer was selected in 2006. The result of the two samples
as follows:

2005 2006
𝑛1 = 36 𝑥̅1 = 213 𝑠1 = 20.25 𝑛2 = 31 𝑥̅2 = 219 𝑠2 = 21.70

Based on the sample results, can the management of the Seaside golf Club conclude
that average speed of play was different in 2006 than in 2005? Conduct the
appropriate test at the 0.10 level of significance. Assume that the management of the
club is willing to accept the assumption that the populations of playing times for each
year are approximately normally distributed with equal variances.

17. The marketing manager for a major retail grocery chain is wondering about the
location of the stores’ dairy products. She believes that the mean amount spent by
customers on dairy products per visit is higher in stores where the dairy section is in
the central part of the store compared with store. To consider relocating the dairy
products, the manager feels that the increase in the mean amount spent by customers
must be at least 25 cents. To determine whether relocation is justified, her staff
selected a random sample of 25 customers at stores where the dairy section is central
in the store. A second sample of 25 customers was selected in stores with the dairy
section at the rear of the store. The following sample results were observed:

Central Dairy Rear Dairy

𝑥̅1 = $3.47 𝑠1 = $0.87 𝑥̅2 = $3.26 𝑠2 = $0.79

a. Conduct a hypothesis test with a significance level of 0.05 to determine if the

manager should relocate the dairy products in those stores displaying their dairy
products in the rear of the store.

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 b. If a statistical error associated with hypothesis testing was made in this
hypothesis, what error could it have been? Explain.

18. A researcher wishes to test the claim that on average more juveniles than adults are
classified as missing persons. Records for the last five years are shown and the results
are given in the output. At  = 0.10 is there enough evidence to support the claim?

Juveniles 65,513 65,934 64,213 61,954 59,167

Adults 31,364 34,478 36,937 35,946 38,209

Group Statistics

Std. Error
PERSON N Mean Std. Deviation Mean
NUMBER Juv 5 63356.20 2808.31385 1255.916
Adults 5 35386.80 2631.03947 1176.637

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for

Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
90% Confidence
Interval of the
Mean Std. Error Difference
F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper
NUMBER Equal variances
.094 .767 16.252 8 .000 27969.400 1720.9878 24769.14 31169.66
assumed
Equal variances
16.252 7.966 .000 27969.400 1720.9878 24767.38 31171.42
not assum ed

19. As an aid for improving students’ study habits, nine students were randomly selected
to attend a seminar on the importance of education in life. The table shows the
number of hours each student studied per week before and after the seminar and the
output shows the results of the study. At  = 0.10, did attending the seminar increase
the number of hours the students studied per week?

Before 9 12 6 15 3 18 10 13 7
After 9 17 9 20 2 21 15 22 6

Paired Samples Statistics

Std. Error
Mean N Std. Deviation Mean
Pair BEFORE 10.33 9 4.690 1.563
1 AFTER 13.44 9 7.196 2.399

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 Paired Samples Correlations

N Correlation Sig.
Pair 1 BEFORE & AFTER 9 .928 .000

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Std. Error Difference
Mean Std. Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df Sig. (2-tailed)
Pair 1 BEFORE - AFTER -3.11 3.333 1.111 -5.67 -.55 -2.800 8 .023

20. Eleven employees were put under the care of the company nurse because of high
cholesterol readings. The nurse lectured them on the dangers of this condition and put
them on a new diet. The cholesterol readings of the 11 employees both before
implement the new diet and one month after implement the new diet are recorded and
analyzed. The results of analysis are shown in Output 4.

Output 4: Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Std. Std. Interval of the
Deviatio Error Difference Sig. (2-
Mean n Mean Lower Upper t df tailed)
Pair 1 Before - 7.783 10.750 45.432 10 .005
After

Determine whether the new diet is effective at 5% significance level. Assume differences in
cholesterol readings are normally distributed in the population.