TESTING HYPOTHESIS ABOUT

POPULATION MEAN
 Z-TEST  
••  Oneof the most common tests for population mean is called
the z-test which uses the properties of z-distribution or normal
distribution when the population standard deviation or
variance is known. This is also used when the sample size is
greater than or equal to by virtue of the central limit theorem.
 THE Z-TEST FORMULA IS:
•  

Where:
• = claimed population mean
• = population standard deviation (can be replaced by )
• = sample mean
• = sample size
 DECISION RULE (FOR CRITICAL VALUE METHOD):

• If
•  
REJECT
• If DO NOT ENTER
NOTE:
NEGATIVE sign of the computed z is disregarded when
comparing it to the critical value of z if the hypothesis is
non-directional.
 T-TEST ( 

• If the sample size is small and if the population

•  

standard deviation or variance is unknown, the z-test

cannot be used. For a special case where the population
from which the samples are taken is known to be
normally distributed, the t-test can be used to test a
claim or hypothesis about population mean.
 THE FORMULA T-TEST IS:
•  

Where:
• = claimed population mean
• sample standard deviation
• sample mean
• sample size
DECISION RULE (FOR CRITICAL VALUE
METHOD):

•  

• If REJECT
• If DO NOT ENTER
NOTE:

•  
NEGATIVE sign of the computed is disregarded when
comparing it to the critical value of if the hypothesis is
non-directional.
EXAMPLE 1:

•Determine
  the decision for each of the following given the
computed and critical value of the :
a)
b)
c)
d)
 ANSWERS:

••  a)
Since the computed is less than the critical value of , the null
hypothesis is NOT REJECTED.
• b) Since the computed is greater than the critical value of , the
null hypothesis is REJECTED.
• c) Since the computed is greater than the critical value of , the
null hypothesis is NOT REJECTED.
• d) Since the computed is less than the critical value of , the null
hypothesis is NOT REJECTED.
EXAMPLE 2:

•Determine
  the decision for each of the following given the
computed .
Note: Determine first the critical value using the confidence level, .
• a) confidence level = 90%, two-tailed
• b)
• c) confidence level = 99%, one-tailed,
• d)
ANSWERS:

•a)  the critical value of at 90% confidence level for two-tailed z-test is 1.64
(See Appendix C). Since the computed (1.29) is less than the critical
value of , the null hypothesis is NOT REJECTED.

b) The critical value of when for one-tailed z-test is also 1.64 (See
Appendix C). Since the computed (1.87) is greater than the critical value
of (), then null hypothesis is REJECTED.
•   The confidence level is 99%, thus . Also, since
c)
. The critical value of when
. Since the computed (2.34) is less than the critical value of , the null
hypothesis is NOT REJECTED.

d) The value of , but since it is two-tailed, the to use is , Also, since . The
critical value of when at is 2.120. Since the computed is greater than the
critical value of , the null hypothesis is REJECTED.