PAST YEAR QUESTIONS

DECEMBER 2013

3. a) Amount spent for groceries (RM) for 25 housewives were

taken randomly. Based on the information given, answer
the following questions:

One Samples Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation
Monthly_bill (RM) 705.8 114.5695

iii. Specify the null and alternative hypotheses for

testing whether housewives spent more than RM200
for groceries. Perform a test at the 5%
significance level.
3. b) Researches wanted to investigate if carpeted rooms (1)
contained more bacteria than uncarpeted rooms (2).
Colonies of bacteria per cubic foot formed in Petri dish
from eight carpeted rooms and eight uncarpeted has been
recorded. Based on the results from SPSS output in Table
2, answer the following questions.

Table 2: Independent Samples Test

Colonies
Equal Equal
variances variances
assumed not assumed
Levene’s Test F 0.393
for Equality
Sig. 0.541
of Variances
t-test for t 0.914 0.914
Equality of df 14 13.299
Means Sig. (2-tailed) 0.376 0.377
Mean Difference 1.37500 1.37500
Std. Error Difference 1.50520 1.5052
95% Confidence Lower -1.85333 -1.86936
Interval of
Upper 4.60333 4.61936
the Difference

i. State the hypotheses for the test.

ii. Based on the results, what is the assumption of the
variances? Use α = 0.05.
iii. Using the p-value in the SPSS output, do the data
provide sufficient evidence to indicate that
carpeted room contained more bacteria than
uncarpeted rooms? Use α = 0.05.
JUNE 2014

3. a) A report prepared by the Academic Affairs Department of

UCC College claimed that on the average, students spent
3 hours per day studying. However, one of the deans at
the college believes that the mean study hours is
actually more than 3 hours per day. To investigate this
claim, the dean carried out a survey and the following
results were obtained.

Table 1: One Samples Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Study Hours 20 3.3240 0.40829 0.09130

ii. Perform a test of hypotheses at 5% significance

level to test the claim make by one of the deans at
the college that the mean study hours is actually
more than 3 hours per day. Show all the steps
clearly.
3. b) A statistics lecturer wants to find out if there is a
significant difference in CGPA between the students from
AM222 and AC220 programs. A survey on 40 students
produced the results as shown in the following tables:

Table 2: Independent Samples Test

CGPA
Equal Equal
variances variances
assumed not assumed
Levene’s Test F 0.043
for Equality
Sig. 0.836
of Variances
t-test for t -1.695 -1.666
Equality of df 38 17.50
Means Sig. (2-tailed) 0.098 0.114
Mean Difference -0.236 -0.236
Std. Error Difference 1.3941 1.4184
95% Confidence Lower -0.5185 -0.5348
Interval of
Upper 0.0450 -0.624
the Difference

i. State the null and alternative hypotheses for the

above test.
ii. Based on the result, what is the assumption of the
variances of the CGPA between the two programs? Use
α = 0.05.
iii. Using the p-value, do the data provide sufficient
evidence to indicate that there is a significant
difference in CGPA between the two programs?
DECEMBER 2014

3. a) The performances measured by time taken (in seconds) for

21 finishers in the men’s 2000 meter event at a
championship were analyzed and the computer output is
given below.

Table 3: One Samples Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Time 21 407.6143 17.6038 P

Table 4: One-Sample Test

Test Value = 420
98% Confidence
Sig. (2- Mean Interval of the
T df
tailed) Difference Difference
Lower Upper
Time -3.224 20 0.004 -12.3857 Q -422.65

i. Determine the value for P and Q.

ii. Based on the p-value in the computer output, is
there any evidence that the average performance is
significantly different from 420 seconds? Use α =
0.01.

3. b) An archery equipment manufacturer has developed a new

arrow release. The manufacturer wants to know if it
performs better than the old arrow release. Fifty arches
of varying ability are selected and their average scores
with both types of release are measured. The computer
output of the scores is given below.

Table 5: Paired Samples Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
New 50 129.42 10.82 1.53
Pair 1
Old 50 129.70 6.31 0.89

Table 6: Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
95% Sig.
Std.
Confidence t df (2-
Error
Interval tailed)
Mean
Lower Upper
Pair 1 New - Old 1.23 -2.76 2.20 -0.23 49 0.822
 i. Show that the value of the test statistic is -0.23.
ii. Give the null and alternative hypotheses.
iii. Test at the 5% level of significance whether the
new arrow release is an improvement over the old
arrow release.
iv. State the 95% confidence interval for the mean
difference.
v. Does the result in (iv) above support your
conclusion in (iii)? Explain.

JUNE 2015

3. a) It is claimed that many working population suffer from

depression. Forty participants are recruited for a
psychological intervention study. The researcher
performs a test on each participant to characterize his/
her depression level based on a particular depression
index. Anyone who achieves a score of 4.0 is defined to
have a ‘normal’ level of depression. Meanwhile, lower
socres indicate low level of depression and higher
scores indicate greater level of depression. Depression
scores are recorded in terms of the variable dep_score.
An analysis has been conducted and the results are
reported in the following tables.

One Samples Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
dep_score 40 3.7225 0.3709 0.11654

One-Sample Test
Test Value = 4
98% Confidence
Sig. (2- Mean Interval of the
t df
tailed) Difference Difference
Lower Upper
dep_score -2.381 39 0.022 -0.27750 -0.5132 -0.0418

Based on the above tables, answer the following

questions.

i. Show that the standard error of the mean is

0.11654.
ii. Obtain a 90% confidence interval for the mean of
between 3.5308 and 3.9142.
iii. State the null and hypotheses for the above study.
iv. Using p-value, decide whether there is any
sufficient evidence to indicate that the depression
level of the participants have ‘normal’ level of
depression at 5% significance level.
3. b) The concentration of cholesterol level in the blood is
associated with the risk of developing heart disease.
Being overweight and/or physically inactive increases
the concentration of cholesterol level in your blood.
Both exercise and weight loss can reduce the level of
cholesterol concentration. Therefore, a researcher
decides to investigate whether an exercise or weight
loss intervention is more effective in lowering
cholesterol levels. Thus, the researcher recruits a
random sample of 40 inactive males that are classified
as overweight. This sample is then randomly split into
two groups: Group 1 undergoes a calorie-controlled diet
and Group 2 undertakes the exercise-training program.
The results are in the following SPSS output.

Group Statistics
Std. Std. Error
Group N Mean
Deviation Mean
Cholesterol Diet 20 6.1450 0.51959 0.11618
Concentration Exercise 20 5.7950 0.38179 0.08537

Independent Samples Test

Cholesterol
Concentration
Equal Equal
variances variances
assumed not assumed
Levene’s Test F .314
for Equality
Sig. .579
of Variances
t-test for T 2.428 2.428
Equality of Df 38 34.886
Means Sig. (2-tailed) 0.020 0.021
Mean Difference 0.3500 0.3500
Std. Error Difference 0.14418 0.14418
95% Confidence Lower 0.05813 0.05727
Interval of
Upper 0.64187 0.64273
the Difference

Based on the output, answer the following questions.

i. What is the variable in this study?
ii. Determine whether there is any difference between
the variances of the population at the 5%
significance level.
iii. Is there any difference in the mean cholesterol
level between the diet group and the exercise group
using the 5% significance level?
4. b) A new study is introduced in Faculty A. To assess the
effectiveness of this program, 9 students are randomly
selected to undergo this program. If the new program is
effective, the numbers of hours spend by the students on
doing their assignment per week will increase. The table
below shows the number of hours each student spends on
doing assignment per week before and after the new
program is introduced.

Before the new program 15 9 6 12 7 10 18 13 3

After the new program 20 9 9 17 6 15 21 22 2

The SPSS output for the above information is as follow:

Paired Samples Test

Pair 1
before-after
Paired Mean -3.111
Differences Std. Deviation 3.333
Std. Error Mean 1.111
95% Confidence Interval Lower -5.673
of the Difference Upper -.549
T -2.800
df 8
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.023

Using p-value in the SPSS output, test whether the new

study program is effective at 10% significance level.
DECEMBER 2015

3. b) A company believes that by setting up canteen facilities, the time spent by employees
during lunch could be reduced. A sample of 40 employees was selected and the time (in
minutes) spent during lunch, before and after the set up canteen facilities were recorded.
The results are shown in the following tables.

Paired Samples Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Before 40 72.3250 15.80228 2.49856
Pair 1
After 40 67.5750 17.76324 2.80862

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
95% Confidence Sig. (2-
Std. Std. Error t df
Mean Interval tailed)
Deviation Mean
Lower Upper
Pair Before –
4.7500 21.79714 3.44643 -2.22106 11.72106 1.378 39 0.006
1 After

i. Show that the value of the test statistic is 1.378.

iii. At 5% level of significance, is there sufficient evidence to conclude that the time
spent by the employees during lunch has reduced after the company set up the canteen
facilities?
3. c) A lecturer wants to determine whether there is a
significant difference in the mean academic performance
between college residential students and non-residential
students. The lecturer randomly samples 40 students from
each group. The data were recorded and analyzed using
SPSS with the output shown below.

Independent Samples Test

Academic Performance
Equal Equal
variances variances
assumed not assumed
Levene’s Test F 0.286
for Equality
Sig. 0.594
of Variances
t-test for t -0.512 -0.512
Equality of df 78 76.4832
Means Sig. (2-tailed) 0.610 0.610
Mean Difference -1.950000 -1.950000
Std. Error Difference 3.81211 3.81211
95% Confidence Lower -9.53932 -9.53932
Interval of
Upper 5.63932 5.63932
the Difference

Assume that the academic performance for college

residential students and non-residential students are
normally distributed.
i. Based on p-value in the Levene’s Test, what can be
concluded about the equality of variances?
ii. Show that the test statistic value is -0.512.
iv. Using the p-value, do the data provide sufficient
evidence to support the lecturer’s claim?
JUNE 2016

3. b) Several retired bicycle racers are coaching a large group of young prospects. They randomly
select seven of their riders to take part in a test on the effectiveness of a new dietary
supplement to increase the strength and stamina. Each of the seven riders does a time trial
on the same course. Then they take the dietary supplement for four weeks. All other aspects
of their training program remained as they were prior to the time trial. At the end of the
four weeks, these riders do another time trial on the same course. The times (in minutes)
recorded by each rider for these trials before and after the four week period are
summarized in the SPSS output as given in Table 4 and Table 5.

Table 4: Paired Samples Test

Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
After 98.29 7 4.461 1.686
Pair 1
Before 101.71 7 6.157 2.327

Table 5: Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
95% Confidence Sig. (2-
Std. Std. Error t df
Mean Interval tailed)
Deviation Mean
Lower Upper
Pair After -
-3.429 4.577 1.730 -7.662 0.805 -1.982 A 0.095
1 Before

i. Show that the value of the test statistics is -1.982.

ii. Find A.
iii. Test at 5% level of significance whether the strength and stamina after taking the
dietary supplement has increased.
3. c) A tax collector wishes to see if the mean values of the tax-exempted properties (in
millions of RM) are different for two cities. The SPSS outputs for the group statistics is
given in Table 6 while the independent samples test is displayed in Table 7.

Table 6: Group Statistics

City N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
City A 16 24.75 25.965 6.491
Tax
City B 16 42.94 72.45 18.186

Table 7: Independent Samples Test

Levene’s Test
for Equality t-test for Equality of Means
of Variances
95% Confidence
Sig. Std.
Mean Interval of the
F Sig. t df (2- Error
Diff Difference
tailed) Diff
Lower Upper
Equal variances
4.123 0.051 -0.942 30 0.354 -18.188 19.310 -57.624 21.249
assumed
Tax
Equal variances
-0.942 30 0.358 -18.188 19.310 -58.639 22.264
not assumed

Based on the output, answer the following questions.

i. Using Levene’s Test, determine whether there is any difference between the variances
of the population at 5% level significance.
ii. Why is the independent samples t-test being used instead of dependent samples t-test
to test whether the mean values of the tax-exempted properties are different for two
cities? Give two reasons to support your answer.
iii. Is there any difference in the mean tax between City A and City B? Test at 5% level of
significance.
DECEMBER 2016

4. A group of students are selected from the population to investigate whether a plyometric-
training program improves their standing long jump performance. In order to test whether this
training improves performance, the sample group are tested for their long jump performance
before they undertake a plyometric-training program and then again at the end of the program.
The data was recorded and analyzed using SPSS. The results are as follow.

Paired Samples Test

Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
JUMP1 (Before training) 2.4815 20 .16135 .03608
Pair 1
JUMP2 (After training) 2.5155 20 .15982 .03574

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
95% Confidence Sig. (2-
Std. Std. Error t df
Mean Interval tailed)
Deviation Mean
Lower Upper
Pair JUMP1-
M .032 .007 -.049 -.019 -4.77 19 .000
1 JUMP2

a) Find the value of M.

b) At the 5% level of significance, is there sufficient evidence to indicate that the
plyometric-training program improves the students standing long jump performance?
5. A researcher wants to determine whether there is significant difference in monthly income
between those who hold degree certificates from public universities and private universities.
A survey on 100 employees of three companies produces statistics as shown in the following
tables.
Group Statistics
University N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Public 60 3889.70 32.19 4.156
Income (RM)
Private 40 3813.50 70.39 11.130

Independent Samples Test

Levene’s Test
for Equality t-test for Equality of Means
of Variances
95% Confidence
Sig. Std.
Mean Interval of the
F Sig. t df (2- Error
Diff Difference
tailed) Diff
Lower Upper
Equal
variances 19.3 0.79 6.41 98 0.001 76.20 11.88 16.20 126.20
Income assumed
(RM) Equal
variances 6.24 81.2 0.075 76.20 12.21 20.20 130.20
not assumed

a) State the null and alternative hypotheses for the above test.
b) Based on the Levene’s test, what is the assumption for the equality of variances? Use α =
0.05.
c) Using the p-value, do the data provide sufficient evidence to indicate that there is
significant difference in monthly income between those who hold degree certificates from
both universities? Use α = 0.05.
JUNE 2017

4. The manufacturer of a gasoline additive claims that the use

of this additive increases mileage earned. A random sample
of six cars was selected, and these cars were driven for
one week without the gasoline additive and then for one
week with the additive. The SPSS output of the paired
sampled tests of the mileage without and with the additive
are shown in the following table.

Mileage Without 24.6 28.3 18.9 23.7 15.4 29.5

(KM) With 26.3 31.7 18.2 25.3 18.3 30.9

Paired Samples Test

Difference, D =
WithoutAdditive -
WithAdditive
Paired Mean M
Differences Std. Deviation 1.42747
Std. Error Mean .58276
95% Confidence Lower -3.21470
Interval of the
Upper -.21863
Difference
T -2.946
Df 5
Sig. (2-tailed) .032

a) Find the value of M.

b) Assuming that D is normally distributed, test at 2.5%
significance level that the use of the gasoline additive
increases mileage earned.
5. A researcher wants to know if there is a significant
difference in the mean enrolment of those specializing in
research and primary care. The SPSS outputs for the
statistics of enrolments and the independent samples test
of those specializing in research and primary care are
given below.

Group Statistics
Std. Std. Error
specialization N Mean
Deviation Mean
Research 17 594.4706 162.63038 39.44366
Enrolments
Primary Care 16 481.5000 179.39565 44.84891

Independent Samples Test

Enrolments
Equal Equal
variances variances
assumed not assumed
Levene’s Test F .106
for Equality
Sig. .747
of Variances
t-test for T 1.897 1.891
Equality of Df 31 30.226
Means Sig. (2-tailed) .067 .068
Mean Difference 112.97059 112.97059
Std. Error Difference 59.54381 59.72627
95% Confidence Lower -8.46982 -8.96856
Interval of
Upper 234.41100 234.90974
the Difference

The enrolment of those specializing in research and primary

care are assumed to be normally distributed.
a) Based on p-value in the Levene’s Test, test the equality
of variances in this study. Use α = 0.05.
b) State the null and alternative hypotheses for the mean
test.
c) Using p-value, justify there is a significant difference
in the mean enrolment of those specializing in research
and primary care, at 5% significance level.
JANUARY 2018

4. A researcher claims that after playing a certain type of interactive game, the memory
capability of a group of autistic children had improved. In order to test her hypothesis, a
sample of 20 autistic children was selected and the ability to memorize items out of 10
before and after playing the interactive game was recorded. The data were analyzed using SPSS
and have the following outputs:

Paired Samples Statistics

Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Memory1 (Before) 2.15 20 1.837 .310
Pair 1
Memory2 (After) 4.95 20 1.317 .294

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
Std. 95% Confidence Sig. (2-
Std. t df
Mean Error Interval tailed)
Deviation
Mean Lower Upper
Pair Memory1-
D 1.196 .268 -3.360 -2.240 -10.466 E .000
1 Memory2

a) Find the values of D and E.

b) At 5% level of significance, using the value of t = -10.466, is there sufficient evidence
to indicate that the interactive game has improved the memory of the autistic children?
5. The Ministry of Education wants to determine whether there is significant difference in the
starting salary offer per month between those who hold a bachelor degree from the public and
private universities. A survey was conducted on a randomly selected 100 employees and the
statistics are shown in the following tables.

Group Statistics
University N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Public 60 3889.70 32.19 4.156
Starting Salary Offer (RM)
Private 40 3813.50 70.39 11.130

Independent Samples Test

Levene’s Test
for Equality t-test for Equality of Means
of Variances
95% Confidence
Sig. Std.
Mean Interval of the
F Sig. t df (2- Error
Diff Difference
tailed) Diff
Lower Upper
Equal
Starting variances 19.3 0.79 6.41 98 0.001 76.20 11.88 16.20 126.20
Salary assumed
Offer Equal
(RM) variances 6.24 81.2 0.075 76.20 12.21 20.20 130.20
not assumed

a) State the null and alternative hypotheses for the above test.
b) Based on the Levene’s test, what can be concluded about the equality of variances? Use α =
0.05.
c) Using the p-value, do the data provide sufficient evidence to indicate that there is
significant difference in starting monthly salary between graduates from public and private
universities? Use α = 0.05.
JUNE 2018

4. Two groups of drivers are surveyed to see how many

kilometers per week they drive for pleasure trips. The
recorded data were analyzed using SPSS software. The
output of statistical analysis is shown in the
following tables.

Group Statistics
Type of Std. Std. Error
N Mean
drivers Deviation Mean
Single
35 196.4779 32.62732 5.51502
Distance in drivers
KM Married
35 189.1209 25.94217 4.38503
drivers

Independent Samples Test

Distance in KM
Equal
Equal
variances
variances
not
assumed
assumed
Levene’s F 1.102
Test for
Equality of Sig. .298
Variances
t-test for T 1.044 1.044
Equality of Df 68 64.714
Means Sig. (2-tailed) .300 .300
Mean Difference 7.35700 7.35700
Std. Error
7.04585 7.04585
Difference
95% Lower -6.70277 -6.71570
Confidence
Interval of
Upper 21.41677 21.42971
the
Difference

a) Based on p-value in the Levene’s Test, test the

equality of variances in this study. Use α = 0.05.
b) State the null and alternative hypotheses to test
whether single drivers do more driving on average
than married drivers for pleasure trips.
c) At 10% significance level, can it be concluded that
the single drivers do more driving for pleasure
trips on average than married drivers?
DECEMBER 2018

4. The manager of an insurance company hired a marketing executive officer to advice the best
advertising strategies to improve the sales of the insurance policies under the company. In
order to investigate whether the sales had improved, the manager recorded the sales of the
insurance policies a month before and after the officer was hired. The data was analyzed
using SPSS and the result is as follows.

Paired Differences
90% Confidence Interval
Std. Std. Error of the Difference
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df
Pair 1 Sales before -
-4.94 3.901 1.745 -9.784 -0.096 -2.83 4
Sales after

a) Show how the value of test statistics, t is obtained.

b) State the null and alternative hypotheses.
c) At the 5% level of significance, do the data provide sufficient evidence to indicate that
the sales had improved?
 JUNE 2019

6. One indicator of physical fitness is resting pulse rate.

Ten men volunteered to test the exercise device as
advertised on television by using it three times a week
for 20 minutes. Their pulse rate (beats per minute) were
measured before and after six week of the test. The data
were recorded and analyzed using SPSS. The results are
shown below.
Paired Sample Statistics
N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Before 10 85.2000 6.89283 2.17970
Pair
After 10 82.0000 5.94418 1.87972

Pair 1
Before –
After
Mean G
Paired Std. deviation 2.14994
Differences 95% Confidence Interval Lower 1.66203
of the Difference Upper 4.73797
T 4.707
Df 9

a) Find the value of G.

b) Prove the t - statistics value for the above study.
c) State the 95% confidence interval for the mean
difference before and after six weeks of the test.
d) At the 5% level of significance, is there sufficient
evidence to indicate that this kind of exercise device
could reduce resting pulse rate?