Lesson 6.

1 Statistical Test and Decision

Introduction
Inferential statistics has two main purposes: (1) hypothesis testing and (2)
parameter estimation. By far, most of the applications of inferential statistics are in
the area of hypothesis testing. Scientific methodology depends on this application
of inferential statistics. Without objective verification, science would cease to exist,
and objective verification is often impossible without inferential statistics. You will
recall that at the heart of scientific methodology is an experiment. Usually, the
experiment has been designed to test a hypothesis, and the resulting data must be
analysed.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Define the alternative (Ha) and null hypotheses (Ho), and explain the
relationship between them. Include a discussion of directional and non-
directional Has and the Hos that go with them.
2. Define alpha level, explain the purpose of the alpha level, and specify the
decision rule for determining when to reject or retain the null hypothesis.
3. Explain the difference between significant and important.
4. Explain the process of evaluating the null hypothesis, beginning with Ha and
H0, and ending with the possibility of making a Type I or Type II error.
5. Explain why we evaluate H0 first and then Ha indirectly, rather than directly
evaluate Ha; explain why we evaluate the tail result and not the exact result
itself.
6. Explain when it is appropriate to do one- and two-tailed evaluations. Define
Type I and Type II error and explain why it is important to discuss these possible
errors; specify the relationship between Type I and Type II errors, and
between the alpha level and Type I and Type II errors.
sign test.
7. Understand the illustrative example, do the practice problems, and
understand the solutions.

Discussion

Test of Hypothesis

We begin with an experiment. Suppose you were given a coin and asked to
determine if the coin is fair or biased. You might respond by conducting a simple
experiment by tossing the coin many times, and if the probability of a head is 0.5
then you can conclude that it is fair.

If you realize that although personal reports are suggestive, they are not
conclusive. Experiments must be done before one can properly assess cause and
effect.

Hypothesis is a statement or tentative theory which explains facts about the

real world. In search for an answer, "educated guest" and pertinent evidences are
brought out which later on are turned into propositions or hypotheses.

These hypotheses are subjected to testing. If they are found to be statistically

true, they' are not rejected; if they are found to be false they rejected.

Types of Hypothesis

In any experiment, there are two hypotheses that compete for explaining
the results: the alternative hypothesis and the null hypothesis. The alternative
hypothesis is the one that claims the difference in results between conditions is due
to the independent variable. The null hypothesis is set up to be the logical
counterpart of the alternative hypothesis such that if the null hypothesis is false, the
alternative hypothesis must be true. Therefore, these two hypotheses must be
mutually exclusive and exhaustive.

A Null Hypothesis is a statement being tested, it is a hypothesis of equality or

no difference, denoted by Ho, while an Alternative Hypothesis (denoted by Ha)
is a hypothesis believed to be true when the null hypothesis is rejected.
A Null Hypothesis
Begin with the assumption that the null hypothesis is true:
 Similar to the notion of innocent until proven guilty
 Refers to the status quo or historical value
 Always contains “=” , “≤” or “” sign
 May or may not be rejected
Alternative Hypothesis
Is the opposite of the null hypothesis
 May or may not be proven
 Challenges the status quo
 Never contains the “=” , “≤” or “” sign
 Is generally the hypothesis that the researcher is trying to prove

Example:
1. Manager of a certain Bank claims that their Non-A TM customers need to
wait, on the average, for at most ten minutes before they are served. The
hypotheses are:

Ho : Non-ATM customers need to wait an average of at most ten

minutes they are serve.
Ha : Non-ATM customers need to wait an average of more than ten
minutes before they are served.

2. There is no difference between the average score on the long exam of

section A and Section B.
Ho: Average score of section A and B are the same.
Ha: Average score of section A and B are different.

3. Let us consider an experiment involving two groups, an experiment group

and a control group. The experimenter wants or likes whether treatment
(values clarification lessons) will improve the self concept of the
experimental group. The same treatment is not given to the control group.
It is presumed that any difference between the two groups after the
treatment can be attributed to the experimental treatment with certain
degree of confidence.

The hypothesis for this experiment can be stated in many ways:

1. No existence or existence of difference between groups

Ho: There will be no significant differences in self-Concept that will be
exposed to values clarification lessons and the group which will not be
exposed to the same.
Ha: The self concept of the group that will be exposed to values
clarification lessons will differ from the other group.

2. No existence or existence of an effect of the treatment.

Ho: There will be no significant effect of the values clarification
lessons on the self-Concept of the students.
Ha: Values clarification lessons will have a significant effect on the
self concept of the students.
 3. No existence or existence of relationship between the variables.
Ho: the self concept of the students will not relate to the values
clarification lessons conducted to them.
Ha: the self concept of the students will be related to the values
clarification lessons they will be exposed to.

Types of Alternative Hypothesis:

Non-directional- a statement which asserts that one value is different from

another. Directional- an assertion that one measure is less than or greater
another measure of similar nature

From the above example- Example 1 is directional while example 2 is non-

directional.

In example 3 are non directional hypothesis they can be converted to

directional.

1. The self concept of the group that exposed to values clarification lessons
will have better self concept than the other group not exposed the same lesson.
2. Values clarification lessons will have a positive effect on the self concept
of the students.
3. There will be positive relationship between the self concept of the
students and the values clarification lessons they will be exposed to.

Types of Test of Hypothesis

One-Tailed Test- used to test a null hypothesis against a directional

alternative hypothesis.

Two-Tailed Test- used to test a null hypothesis against a non-directional

alternative hypothesis.

Regions of Rejection and Non-rejection

The sampling distribution of the test statistic is divided into two regions, a
region of rejection (sometimes called the critical region) and a region of non-
rejection (see Figure).If the test statistic falls into the region of non-rejection, you do
not reject the null hypothesis. If the test statistic falls into the rejection region, you
reject the null hypothesis.

The region of rejection consists of the values of the test statistic that are
unlikely to occur if the null hypothesis is true. These values are more likely to occur if
the null hypothesis is false. Therefore, if a value of the test statistic falls into this
rejection region, you reject the null hypothesis because that value is unlikely if the
null hypothesis is true. To make a decision concerning the null hypothesis, you first
determine the critical value of the test statistic. The critical value divides the non-
rejection region from the rejection region. Determining this critical value depends
on the size of the rejection region. The size of the rejection region is directly related
to the risks involved in using only sample evidence to make decisions about a
population parameter.

Risks in Decision Making Using Hypothesis-Testing Methodology

When using a sample statistic to make decisions about a population

parameter, there is a risk that you will reach an incorrect conclusion. You can make
two different types of errors when applying hypothesis-testing methodology, Type I
and Type II errors.

A Type I error occurs if you reject the null hypothesis, Ho, when it is true and should
not be rejected. The probability of a Type I error occurring is 𝜶.
A Type II error occurs if you do not reject the null hypothesis, Ho, when it is false
and should be rejected. The probability of a Type II error occurring is 𝜷.

Level of Significance (𝜶)

The probability of committing a Type I error, denoted by 𝜶 (the lowercase

Greek letter alpha), is referred to as the level of significance of the statistical test.
Traditionally, you control the Type I error by deciding the risk level, 𝜶, that you are
willing to have in rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true. Because you specify
the level of significance before the hypothesis test is performed, the risk of
committing a Type I error, 𝜶, is directly under your control. Traditionally, you select
levels of 0.01, 0.05, or 0.10. The choice of a particular risk level for making a Type I
error depends on the cost of making a Type I error. After you specify the value for
𝜶, you can then determine the critical values that divide the rejection and non-
rejection regions. You know the size of the rejection region because 𝜶 is the
probability of rejection when the null hypothesis is true. From this, you can then
determine the critical value or values that divide the rejection and non-rejection
regions.

We always evaluate the results of an experiment by assessing the null

hypothesis. We directly assess the null hypothesis instead of the alternative
hypothesis reason that we can calculate the probability of chance events, and
there is no way to calculate the probability of the alternative hypothesis. And we
evaluate the null hypothesis by assuming that it is true. If the obtained probability
turns out to be equal to or less than a critical probability level called the alpha (𝜶)
level, we reject the null hypothesis. Rejecting the null hypothesis allows us, then, not
to reject the alternative.
The level of significance is also known as the probability of committing
error a type I error and a measure of the degree of confidence with decision.

The Confidence Coefficient

The complement of the probability of a Type I error, (1 − 𝛼),is called the
confidence coefficient. When multiplied by 100%, the confidence coefficient yields
the confidence level that was studied when constructing confidence intervals.
 The confidence coefficient, (1 − 𝛼), is the probability that you will not reject
the null hypothesis, Ho, when it is true and should not be rejected. The confidence
level of a hypothesis test is (1 − 𝛼) - 100%.

In terms of hypothesis-testing methodology, the confidence coefficient

represents the probability of concluding that the value of the parameter as
specified in the null hypothesis is plausible when it is true.
The 𝜷 Risk The probability of committing a Type II error is denoted by 𝜷 (the
lowercase Greek letter beta). Unlike a Type I error, which you control by the
selection of 𝛼, the probability of making a Type II error depends on the difference
between the hypothesized and actual values of the population parameter.
Because large differences are easier to find than small ones, if the difference
between the hypothesized and actual values of the population parameter is large,
𝜷 is small. For example, if the population mean is 330 grams, there is a small chance
(𝜷) that you will conclude that the mean has not changed from 368. However, if
the difference between the hypothesized and actual values of the parameter is
small, 𝜷 is large. For example, if the population mean is actually 367 grams, there is
a large chance (𝜷) that you will conclude that the mean is still 368 grams.

The Power of a Test The complement of the probability of a Type II error, (1 - 𝜷), is
called the power of a statistical test.

The power of a statistical test, (1 - 𝜷), is the probability that you will reject the null
hypothesis when it is false and should be rejected.

Risks in Decision Making: A Delicate Balance

Table illustrates the results of the two possible decisions (do not reject H0 or
reject H0) that you can make in any hypothesis test. You can make a correct
decision or make one of two types of errors.

THE SIX-STEP METHOD OF HYPOTHESIS TESTING

1. State the null hypothesis, H0, and the alternative hypothesis, Ha
2. Choose the level of significance, 𝛼, and the sample size, n. The level of significance
is based on the relative importance of the risks of committing Type I and Type II errors in the
problem.
3. Determine the appropriate test statistic and sampling distribution.
4. Determine the critical values that divide the rejection and non-rejection regions.
5. Collect the sample data and compute the value of the test statistic.
6. Make the statistical decision and state the managerial conclusion. If the test
statistic falls into the non-rejection region, you do not reject the null hypothesis, H0. If the
test statistic falls into the rejection region, you reject the null hypothesis. The managerial
conclusion is written in the context of the real-world problem.

Test Statistics

Now that you have been introduced to hypothesis-testing methodology, we

will take the different test of Statistics.
Z TEST OF HYPOTHESIS FOR THE MEAN (𝜎 KNOWN)

When the standard deviation, 𝛔, is known, you use the Z test if the population
is normally distributed. If the population is not normally distributed, you can still use
the Z test if the sample size is large enough. Z-test statistic for determining the
difference between the sample mean, 𝑿 ̅ ,and the population mean, μ , when the
standard deviation, 𝛔, is known.
The Z-test is given by
̅ −𝜇
𝑿
𝑍= 𝜎
√𝑛

The numerator measures how far (in an absolute sense) the observed sample
mean, 𝑿 ̅ , is from the hypothesized mean, μ . The denominator is the standard error
of the mean, so Z represents the difference between 𝑿 ̅ and μ in standard error units.

Critical values of Z
Significance Level
0.10 0.05 0.025 0.01
Test type
One tailed test 1.28 1.645 1.96 2.33

Two tailed test 1.645 1.96 2.33 2.58

Example 1
You are the manager of a fast-food restaurant. You want to determine
whether the population. From past experience, you can assume that the
population is normally distributed with a population standard deviation of 1.2
minutes. You select a sample of 25 orders during a one-hour period. The sample
mean is 5.1 minutes. Determine whether there is evidence at the 0.05 level of
significance that the population mean waiting time to place an order has changed
in the past month from its previous population mean value of 4.5 minutes.

SOLUTION
Step 1 The null hypothesis is that the population mean has not changed from its
previous value of 4.5 minutes:
Ho: 𝜇 = 4.5
The alternative hypothesis is the opposite of the null hypothesis. Because the null
hypothesis is that the population mean is 4.5 minutes, the alternative hypothesis is
that the population mean is not 4.5 minutes:
H1: 𝜇 ≠ 4.5
Step 2 You have selected a sample of n = 25. The level of significance is 0.05 (that
is, 𝛼 = 0.05).
Step 3 Because 𝛔 is known, you use the normal distribution and the Z test statistic.
Step 4 Because = 0.05, the critical values of the Z test statistic are -1.96 and +1.96.
The rejection region is Z < -1.96 or Z > +1.96. The non-rejection region is
-1.96 < Z < +1.96.
Step 5 You collect the sample data and compute 𝑿 ̅ = 5.1. Compute the test
statistic:
̅−𝜇
𝑿 5.1 − 4.5
𝑍= 𝜎 = = 2.50
1.2
√𝑛 √25
Step 6 Because Z = 2.50 > 1.96, you reject the null hypothesis. You conclude that
there is evidence that the population mean waiting time to place an order has
changed from its previous value of 4.5 minutes. The mean waiting time for
customers is longer now than it was last month.

The p-Value Approach to Hypothesis Testing

Most modern software, computes the p-value when performing a

test of hypothesis.

The p-value is the probability of getting a test statistic equal to or more

extreme than the sample result, given that the null hypothesis, Ho, is true. The p-
value, often referred to as the observed level of significance, is the smallest level at
which Ho can be rejected.

The decision rules for rejecting H0 in the p-value approach are

* If the p-value is greater than or equal to 𝜶, do not reject the null hypothesis.
* If the p-value is less than , reject the null hypothesis.

Example:
Using the example 1 above.
Step 1 The null hypothesis is that the population mean has not changed from
its previous value of 4.5 minutes:
Ho: 𝜇 = 4.5
The alternative hypothesis is the opposite of the null hypothesis. Because the
null hypothesis is that the population mean is 4.5 minutes, the alternative
hypothesis is that the population mean is not 4.5 minutes:
Ha: 𝜇 ≠ 4.5
Step 2 You have selected a sample of n = 25. The level of significance is 0.05
(that is, 𝛼 = 0.05).
Step 3 Because 𝝈 is known, you use the normal distribution and the Z test
statistic.
Step 4 (this step is omitted for this method)
. Step 5 You collect the sample data and compute 𝑿 ̅ = 5.1. Compute the
test statistic:
̅−𝜇
𝑿 5.1 − 4.5
𝑍= 𝜎 = = 2.50
1.2
√𝑛 √25
To find the probability of getting a test statistic Z that is equal to or more
extreme than 2.50 standard deviation units from the center of a standardized
normal distribution, you compute the probability of a Z value greater than
2.50 along with the probability of a Z value less than 2.50. From Table of areas
under the normal curve, the probability of a Z value below 2.50 is 0.0062 or
P(Z<2.50)=0.0062. The probability of a value below +2.50 is 0.9938. Therefore,
the probability of a value above +2.50 is 1 -0.9938 = 0.0062. Thus, the p-value
for this two-tail test is 0.0062 + 0.0062 = 0.0124.

Step 6 Because the p-value = 0.0124 < = 0.05, you reject the null hypothesis.
You conclude that there is evidence that the population mean waiting time
to place an order has changed from its previous value of 4.5 minutes. The
mean waiting time for customers is longer now than it was last month.

ONE-TAIL TESTS
A ONE-TAIL TEST FOR THE MEAN
A company that manufactures chocolate bars is particularly concerned that
the mean weight of a chocolate bar not be greater than 6.03 ounces. Past
experience allows you to assume that the standard deviation is 0.02 ounces. A
sample of 50 chocolate bars is selected, and the sample mean is 6.034 ounces.
Using the level of significance 𝛼 = 0.01, is there evidence that the population mean
weight of the chocolate bars is greater than 6.03 ounces?

SOLUTION (Using the critical value approach)

Step 1 The null hypothesis. There is no sufficient evidence that the population mean
weight of chocolate bars is greater than 6.03 ounces. H0: 𝜇 ≤ 6.031
The Alternative hypothesis. There is sufficient evidence that the population
mean weight of chocolate bars is greater than 6.03 ounces. H0: 𝜇 > 6.031
Step 2 You have selected a sample size of n = 50. You decide to use + = 0.01.
Step 3 Because 𝝈 is known, you use the normal distribution and the Z test statistic.
Step 4 The rejection region is entirely contained in the upper tail of the sampling
distribution of the mean because you want to reject Ho only when the sample
mean is significantly greater than 6.03 ounces. Because the entire rejection region
is in the upper tail of the standardized normal distribution and contains an area of
0.01, the critical value of the Z test statistic is 2.33.
The decision rule is
Reject Ho: if Z > 2.33;
otherwise, do not reject Ho.
Step 5 You select a sample of 50 chocolate bars, and the sample mean weight is 6.034
ounces. Using n = 50, 𝑿
̅ = 6.034, 𝝈 = 0.02, and
̅ −𝜇
𝑿 6.034 − 6.031
𝑍= 𝜎 = = 1.1414
0.02
√𝑛 √50

Step 6 Because Z = 1.414 < 2.33, you do not reject the null hypothesis. There is insufficient
evidence to conclude that the population mean weight is greater than 6.03 ounces.

t- TEST OF HYPOTHESIS FOR THE MEAN (𝛔 UNKNOWN)

In most hypothesis-testing situations concerning the population mean , you
do not know the population standard deviation, 𝛔. Instead, you use the sample
standard deviation, S. If you assume that the population is normally distributed, the
sampling distribution of the mean follows a t- distribution with n - 1 degrees of
freedom. If the population is not normally distributed, you can still use the t- test if
the sample size is large enough.
The equation
̅ −𝜇
𝑿
𝑡= 𝑠
√𝑛
where the test statistic t follows a t distribution having n-1 degrees of freedom

defines the test statistic t for determining the difference between the sample
mean, 𝛍 , and the population mean, 𝛔 , when the sample standard deviation, S, is
used.

Example:
 The weight of Lechon manok is said to be 168 lbs. To determine if this is true,
a random sample of 25 lechon manok is taken and resulted in an average of
172.50 and a sample standard deviation of 15.40. (Assume the population
distribution is normal). Test the appropriate hypotheses at  = 0.05.

Solution
Step one The null hypothesis is
Ho: 𝜇 = 168
The alternative hypothesis is:
Ha: 𝜇 ≠ 168
Step 2 You have selected a sample of n = 25 and Then 𝛼 = 0.05.
Step 3 Because 𝝈 is known, you use the normal distribution and the t- test statistic.
Step 4 For a given sample size, n, the test statistic t follows a t distribution with n- 1
degrees of freedom. The critical values of the t distribution with 25-1=24 degrees
of freedom are found in t-table ±t24,0.025 = ± 2.0639
The alternative hypothesis, Ha, : 𝜇 ≠ 168 two-tailed. Thus, the area in the rejection
region of the t distribution s left (lower) tail is 0.025, and the area in the rejection
region of the t distribution s right (upper) tail is also 0.025.

. Step 5. Compute the test statistic:

̅ −𝜇
𝑿 172.50 − 168
𝑡= 𝜎 = = 1.46
15.40
√𝑛 √25

Step 6 Because,2.0639 < t = 1.46< 2.2010, you do not reject Ho. You have insufficient
evidence to conclude that the true mean insufficient evidence that true mean
cost is different than168.

/2=.025 /2=.025

Reject H0 Do not reject H0 Reject H0

t
-t 24,0.025
24,0.025
-2.0639 2.0639
1.46

Z TEST OF HYPOTHESIS FOR THE PROPORTION

In some situations, you want to test a hypothesis about the proportion of
successes in the population,𝜋, rather than testing the population mean. To begin,
you select a random sample and compute the sample proportion, p = X/n. You
then compare the value of this statistic to the hypothesized value of the parameter,
𝜋, in order to decide whether to reject the null hypothesis.
If the number of successes (X) and the number of failures (n- X) are each at
least five, the sampling distribution of a proportion approximately follows a normal
distribution. You use the Z test for the proportion given in Equation below to perform
the hypothesis test for the difference between the sample proportion, p, and the
hypothesized population proportion, 𝜋 .
 𝒑−𝜋
𝑍=
√𝜋(1 − 𝜋)
𝑛

or
𝑿 − 𝑛𝜋
𝑍=
√𝑛𝜋(1 − 𝜋)

where:
𝑋 Number of successes in the sample
𝑝= =
𝑛 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒
p= sample proportion of successes
𝜋= hypothesized proportion of successes in the population
and the test statistic Z approximately follows a standardized normal
distribution.
Example
A fast-food chain has developed a new process to ensure that orders at
the drive-through are filled correctly. The previous process filled orders correctly
85% of the time. Based on a sample of 100 orders using the new process, 94 were
filled correctly. At the 0.01 level of significance, can you conclude that the new
process has increased the proportion of orders filled correctly?

SOLUTION
Step1 The null and alternative hypotheses are
H0: 𝜋 ≤ 0.85 (that is, the proportion of orders filled correctly is less than
or equal to 0.85)
H1: 𝜋 > 0.85 (that is, the proportion of orders filled correctly is greater
than 0.85)
Step 2 You have selected a sample of n = 100. The level of significance is 0.01
(that is, 𝛼 = 0.01).
Step 3 Because = 0.01, one tailed the critical values of the Z test statistic is 2.33 The
rejection region is Z < 2.33
Step 4 Compute the test statistic:
𝑋 94
𝑝= = = 0.94
𝑛 100

𝒑−𝜋 0.94 − 0.85 0.09

𝑍= = = = 2.52
0.0357
√𝜋(1 − 𝜋) √0.85(1 − 0.85)
𝑛 100

Step 6 Because Z = 2.52> 2.33 , you reject the null hypothesis. You have evidence
that the new process has increased the proportion of correct orders above 0.85.

Comparing two sample means (𝝈 𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏)

𝑋̅1 − 𝑋̅2 − (𝜇1 − 𝜋2 )
𝑍=
1 1
𝜎√𝑛 + 𝑛
1 2

Where 𝑋̅1- mean of the first sample

 𝑋̅2 - mean of the second sample
 - population standard deviation

𝑛1 - number of items in first sample

𝑛2 -number of items in the second sample

Comparing two sample means (𝝈 𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏)

Formula
𝑋̅1 − 𝑋̅2 − (𝜇1 − 𝜇2 )
𝑡=
(𝑛1 − 1)𝑠1 2 + (𝑛2 − 1)𝑠2 2 1 1
√ (𝑛 + 𝑛 )
𝑛1 + 𝑛2 − 2 1 2

Where: 𝑋̅1- mean of the first sample

𝑋̅2 - mean of the second sample
𝑛1 - number of items in first sample
𝑛2 -number of items in the second sample
𝑠1 - standard deviation of the first sample

𝑠2 - standard deviation of the second sample

Example:
A researcher wishes to find out whether or not there is significant difference
between the daily allowances of male and female student in his school. By
random sampling, he took sample of 239 female students and took sample of
209 male students. These students were found to have a mean of Php 142.00
and Php 148.00 respectively. The total population of students in that school has
a standard deviation of Php 40. Is there a significance difference between the
two samples at 0.0 I level of significance?

SOLUTION
Step 1 The null hypothesis
there no significance difference between the daily allowances
of male and female
The alternative hypothesis
there is significance difference between the daily allowances of
male and female

Step 2. The sample selected is 𝑛1 = 239 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛2 = 209. The level of

significance is 0.01 (that is, 𝛼 = 0.01).

Step 3 Because 𝛔=80 is known, you use the normal distribution and the Z test
statistic.
Step 4 Because = 0.01, the critical values of the Z test statistic are 2.58
The rejection region is Z < -2.58 or Z > +2.58. The non-rejection region is
-2.58 < Z < +2.58
Step 5 You collect the sample data and compute 𝑿 ̅ = 5.1. Compute the test
statistic:
𝑋̅1 − 𝑋̅2 − (𝜇1 − 𝜇2 ) 148 − 142 − 0 6
𝑍= = = = 0.79
1 1 1 1 7.6
𝜎√𝑛 + 𝑛 80√239 + 209
1 2
 Step 6 Because -2.58< Z = 0.79 < +2.58, do not reject the null hypothesis. You
conclude there no significance difference between the daily allowances of
male and female. This says that the weekly allowance of male and female
is statistically the same.

Example:

A researcher wishes to test whether or not the modular method of teaching is more
effective than the Traditional Method. She picks two classes of approximately
equal intelligence (verified trough an administered lQ test) she gathers a sample of
18 students to whom she uses the Modular method and another sample of 14
students to whom she uses the traditional method. After the experiment, an
objective test revealed that the first group got a mean score of 28.6 with standard
deviation of 5.9, while the second group got a mean score of 21. 7, with standard
deviation of 4.6. Based on the results of the administered test, can we say that the
case method is more effective than the traditional method?

Solution
Step one The null hypothesis is:
the modular method of teaching is as effective as the Traditional
Method
The alternative hypothesis is:
the modular method of teaching is more effective than the Traditional
Method

Step 2 The sample selected is 𝑛1 = 18 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛2 = 14. The level of significance is 0.05
(that is, 𝛼 = 0.05).

Step 3 Because 𝝈 is unknown, you use the normal distribution and the t- test statistic.

Step 4 For a given sample size, n, the test statistic t follows a t distribution with n- 1
degrees of freedom. The critical values of the t distribution with 18 + 14 − 2 = 30.
degrees of freedom are found in t-table ±t30,0.05 = ± 1.645

. Step 5. Compute the test statistic:

𝑋̅1 − 𝑋̅2 − (𝜇1 − 𝜇2 ) 28.6 − 21.7 − 0

𝑡= =
(𝑛1 − 1)𝑠1 2 + (𝑛2 − 1)𝑠2 2 1 1 2 2
√ (𝑛 + 𝑛 ) √(18 − 1)5.9 + (14 − 1)4.6 ( 1 + 1 )
𝑛1 + 𝑛2 − 2 1 2 18 + 14 − 2 18 14

6.9 6.9 6.9

𝑡= = = = 3.59
√3.67 1.92
√591.77 + 275.08 (0.127)
30
Step 6 Because t=3.59>1.645 reject the null hypothesis, so the modular method of
teaching is more effective than the Traditional Method.

Exercises: test the hypothesis of the following

1. A physiologist has the hypothesis that hormone X is important in producing

sexual behaviour. To investigate this hypothesis, 20 male rats were randomly
sampled and then randomly assigned to two groups. The animals in group 1
were injected with hormone X and then were placed in individual housing
with a sexually receptive female. The animals in group 2 were given similar
 treatment except they were injected with a placebo solution. The number of
mating’s were counted over a 20-minute period. The results are shown
below.

Hormone X 8 10 12 6 6 7 9 8 7 11
Placebo 5 6 3 4 7 8 6 5 4 8

2. You are interested in determining whether an experimental birth control pill

has the side effect of changing blood pressure. You randomly sample ten
women from the city in which you live. You give five of them a placebo for a
month and then measure their diastolic blood pressure. Then you switch them
to the birth control pill for a month and again measure their blood pressure.
The other five women receive the same treatment except they are given the
birth control pill first for a month, followed by the placebo for a month. The
blood pressure readings are shown here. Note that to safeguard the women
from unwanted pregnancy, another means of birth control that does not
interact with the pill was used for the duration of the experiment.

Subject 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Birth control:
Diastolic Blood 108 76 69 78 74 85 79 78 80 81
no Pill
Pressure
Placebo 102 68 66 71 76 80 82 79 78 85

Critical Values of t Distribution



0.10 0.05 0.025 0.01 -0.005
1 3.078 6.314. 12.706 31.821 63.657
2. 1.886 2.920 4.303 6.965 9:925
3 1.638 2.353 3.182 4.541 5.841
4 1.533 2.132 2.776 3.747 4.604
5 1.476 2.015 2.571 3.365 4.032

6 1.440 1.943 2.447 3.143 3.707

7 1.415 1.895 2.365 2.998 3.499
8 1.397 1.860 2.306 2.896 3.355
9 1.383 1.833 2.262 2-.821 3.250
10 1.372 1.812 2.228 2.764 3.169

11 1.363 1.796 2.201 2.718 3.106

12 1.356 1.782 2.179 2.681 3.055
13 1.350 1.771 2.160 2.650 3.012
14 1.345 1.761 2.145 2.624 2.977
15 1.341 1.753 2.131 2.602 2.947

16 1.:331 1.746 2.120 2.583 2.921

17 1.333 1.740 2.110 2.567 2.898
18 1.33 1.734 2.101 2.552 2.078
19 1.328 1.729 2093 2.539 2.861
20 1.325 1.725 2.086 2.528 2.845

21 1.323 1.721 2-080 2.518 2.831

22 1.321 1.717 2.074 2.508 2.819
23 1.319 1.714 2.069 2.500 2.807
24 1.318 1.711 2.064 2.492 2.797
25 1.316 1.708 2.060 2.485 2.787

26 1.315 1.706 2.056 2.479 2.779

27 1.314 1.703 2.052 2.473 2.771
28 1.313 1.701 2.048 2.467 2.763
29 1.311 1.699 2.045 2.462 2.756
inf. 1.282 1.645 1.960 2,326 2.576