Problem Set #8

1. Under what circumstances is a t statistic used instead of a z-score for a hypothesis

test?

Answer: T-statistic is used when the population variance or standard deviation is

unknown. The t statistic uses the sample variance or standard deviation in place of the
unknown population values which are required by Z-score.

2. Explain why t distributions tend to be flatter and more spread out than the normal
distribution.

Answer: The reason that the t distribution is flatter and more variable than the normal z-
score distribution because the bottom of the formula of t-score varies from one sample to
another. Specifically, the sample variance (S2) changes from one sample to the next, so
!!
the estimated standard error also varies, SM = ! " . Both the numerator and the
denominator of the t statistic vary.

3. Find the estimated standard error for the sample mean for each of the following
samples
a. n = 4 with SS = 48
b. n = 6 with SS = 270
c. n = 12 with SS = 132

Answer:
!! &' !! %*
a) 𝑆 # = "$% = (
= 16 → 𝑆) = ! " = ! & = 2
b) SM = 3
c) SM = 1

4. To evaluate the effect of a treatment, a sample is obtained from a population with

a mean of 𝜇 = 30, and the treatment is administered to the individuals in the
sample. After treatment, the sample mean is found to be M = 31.3 with a standard
deviation of s = 3.
a. If the sample consists of n = 16 individuals, are the data sufficient to
conclude that the treatment has a significant effect using a two-tailed test
with 𝛼 = .05?
 b. If the sample consists of n = 36 individuals, are the data sufficient to
conclude that the treatment has a significant effect using a two-tailed test
with 𝛼 = .05?
c. Comparing your answer for parts a and b, how does the size of the sample
influence the outcome of a hypothesis test?

Answer:
)$+ )$+ (%.($(/ %.(
a. 𝑡 = = = = = 1.73; so “NO”.
!" !/√" (/√%* /.01
)$+ )$+ (%.($(/ %.(
b. 𝑡 = !"
= !/√" = (/√(*
= /.1 = 2.6; so “Yes”
c. When the sample size increases, the standard error decreases
significantly, and that influences the hypothesis testing. Simply put,
when sample size increases, the likelihood of rejecting the null
hypothesis also increases.

5. To evaluate the effect of a treatment, a sample of n = 8 is obtained from a

population with a mean of 𝜇 = 40, and the treatment is administered to the
individuals in the sample. After treatment, the sample mean is found to be M = 35.
a. If the sample variance is s2 = 32, are the data sufficient to conclude that the
treatment has a significant effect using a two-tailed test with 𝛼 = .05?
b. If the sample variance is s2 = 72, are the data sufficient to conclude that the
treatment has a significant effect using a two-tailed test with 𝛼 = .05?
c. Comparing your answer for parts a and b, how does the variability of the
scores in the sample influence the outcome of a hypothesis test?

Answer:
a. Yes
b. No
c. When the variability becomes larger, we tend to fail to reject the null
hypothesis.
 6. The librarian at the local elementary school claims that, on average, the books in
the library are more than 20 years old. To test this claim, a student takes a sample
of n = 30 books and records the publication date for each. The sample produces
an average age of M = 23.8 years with a variance of s2 = 67.5. Use this sample to
conduct a one-tailed test with 𝛼 = .01 to determine whether the average age of the
library books is significantly greater than 20 years (𝜇 > 20).

Answer:
23.8 − 20.1 3.7
𝑡= = = 2.4666
1.5
!67.5
30
For Df = 29, one-tailed test with alpha = 0.01 requires t score of 2.462. Therefore, the
answer is “yes, the books at the local elementary school on average is more than 20
years old.”

7. Ackerman and Goldsmith (2011) found that students who studied text from printed
hardcopy had better test scores than students who studied from text presented on
a screen. In a related study, a professor noticed that several students in a large
class had purchased the e-book version of the course textbook. For the final exam,
the overall average for the entire class was 𝜇 = 81.7, but the n = 9 students who
used e-books had a mean of M = 77.2 with a standard deviation of s = 5.7.
a. Is the sample sufficient to conclude that scores for students using e-books
were significantly different from scores for the regular class? Use a two-
tailed test with 𝛼 = .05.
b. Construct the 90% confidence interval to estimate the mean exam score if
the entire population used e-books.
c. Write a sentence demonstrating how the results from the hypothesis test
and the confidence interval would appear in a research report.
d.

Answer:
a. Yes
b. For 90% confidence, use t = ±1.860. The interval is 77.2 ± (1.860)1.9
and extends from 73.666 to 80.734.
c. The results show that exam scores were significantly different for
students using e-books than for other students, t(8) = 2.37, p = .05,
90% CI [73.666, 80.734].