III. Solve the following problems. Specify the details in each step in the solution process.

1. A manufacturing firm has been averaging 18.2 orders per week for several years. However, during a
recession, orders appear to have slowed down. Suppose the firm’s production manager randomly selects 32
weeks and finds a sample mean of 15.6 orders, with a sample standard deviation of 2.3 orders. Test to
determine whether the average number of orders is down by using α=0.05. (10 pts)
2. The director of manufacturing at a clothing factory needs to determine whether a new machine is producing a
particular type of cloth according to the manufacturer’s specifications which indicate that the cloth should have a
mean breaking strength of 70 pounds and a standard deviation of 3.5 pounds. A sample of 49 pieces of cloth
reveals a sample mean breaking strength of 69.1 pounds. Is there evidence that the machine is not meeting the
manufacturer’s specifications for the average breaking strength? Use 0.05 level of significance. (10 pts)
3. A psychologist believes that it will take at least an hour for certain disturbed children to learn a task. A random
sample of 30 of these children results in a mean of 50 minutes to learn the task. Should the psychologist modify
her belief at the 0.01 level of significance if the population standard deviation can be assumed to be 15 minutes?