Hypothesis Testing

1) A manufacturer of electric lamps is testing a new production method that will be

considered acceptable if the lamps produced by this method result in a normal
population with an average life of 2,400 hours and a standard deviation equal to 300.
A sample of 100 lamps produced by this method has an average life of 2,320 hours.
Can the hypothesis of validity for the new manufacturing process be accepted with a
risk equal to 1%?

Step 1: State the null & alternative hypothesis.

H0 : μ = 2,400
Ha : μ ≠ 2,400

Step 2: Select the level of significance.

α= 0.01 = 0.01 ÷ 2= 0.005

Step 3: Determine the critical value and rejection region.

α= 0.01 = 0.01 ÷ 2= 0.005

0.5 – 0.005= 0.4950 =2.57 & 2.58

(2.57 + 2.58 ) ÷ 2 = 2.575 & -2.575

Step 4: Make the decision rule.

If Zc < -2.575 or Zc > 2.575 , then reject H0.

2) The life span of 100 W light bulbs manufactured by a particular company follows a
normal distribution with a standard deviation of 120 hours and its half-life is
guaranteed under warranty for a minimum of 800 hours. At random, a sample of 50
bulbs from a lot is selected and it is revealed that the half-life is 750 hours. With a
significance level of 0.10, should the lot be rejected by not honoring the warranty?

Step 1: State the null & alternative hypothesis.

H0 : μ > 800
Ha : μ < 800

Step 2: Select the level of significance.

α= 0.10

Step 3: Determine the critical value and rejection region.

0.50 – 0.10= 0.4000

= -1.28

Step 4: Make the decision rule.

If Zc < -1.28 , then reject H0.

3) The Internal Revenue Service claims that the mean wait time for callers during a
recent tax filing season was at most 7 minutes. A random sample of 11 callers has a
mean wait time of 8.7 minutes and a standard deviation of 2.7 minutes. Is there
enough evidence to reject the claim at a significance level of 0.005?

Step 1: State the null & alternative hypothesis.

H0 : μ < 7
Ha : μ > 7

Step 2: Select the level of significance.

α= 0.005

Step 3: Determine the critical value and rejection region.

0.50 – 0.005= 0.4950

2.57 + 2.58= 2.575

Step 4: Make the decision rule.

If Zc > 2.575 , then reject H0.

4) It is believed that the average level of prothrombin in a normal population is 20 mg of
blood plasma with a standard deviation of 4 miligrams. To verify this, a sample is taken
from 40 individuals in whom the average is 18.5 mg. Can the hypothesis be accepted
with a significance level of 4%?

Step 1: State the null & alternative hypothesis.

H0 : μ = 20
Ha : μ ≠ 20

Step 2: Select the level of significance.

α= 0.04 (0.04 ÷ 2= 0.02)

Step 3: Determine the critical value and rejection region.

α= 0.04 = 0.04 ÷ 2= 0.02

0.50 – 0.02= 0.4800

= 2.05 & -2.05

Step 4: Make the decision rule.

If Zc <-2.05 or Zc > 2.05, then reject H0.

5) A principal at a certain school claims that the students in his school are above average
intelligence. A random sample of thirty students IQ scores have a mean score of 112. Is
 there sufficient evidence to support the principal’s claim? The mean population IQ is 100
with the standard deviation of 15. IQ scores are normally distributed with a level of
significance of α=0.02.

Step 1: State the null & alternative hypothesis.

H0 : μ < 100
Ha : μ > 100

Step 2: Select the level of significance.

α= 0.02

Step 3: Determine the critical value and rejection region.

0.50 – 0.02= 0.4800

= 2.05

Step 4: Make the decision rule.

If Zc > 2.05, then reject H0.

6) The administrator at your local hospital states that on weekends the average wait time for
emergency room visits is 10 minutes. Based on discussions you have had with friends
who have complained on how long they waited to be seen in the ER over a weekend, you
dispute the administrator's claim. You decide to test you hypothesis. Over the course of
a few weekends you record the wait time for 40 randomly selected patients. The average
wait time for these 40 patients is 11 minutes with a standard deviation of 3 minutes. Do
you have enough evidence to support your hypothesis that the average ER wait time is
less than 10 minutes? You opt to conduct the test at a 5% level of significance.

Step 1: State the null & alternative hypothesis.

H0 : μ > 10
Ha : μ < 10

Step 2: Select the level of significance.

α= 0.05

Step 3: Determine the critical value and rejection region.

0.50 – 0.05= 0.4500

(1.64 + 1.65) ÷ 2 = -1.645

Step 4: Make the decision rule.

If Zc < -1.645, then reject H0.