A powder diet is tested on 49 people and a liquid diet is tested on 36 different people. Of interest is whether the liquid diet yields a higher mean weight loss than the powder diet. The powder diet group had an mean weight loss of 42 pounds with a standard deviation of 12 pounds. The liquid diet group had an mean weight loss of 45 pounds with a standard deviation of 14 pounds.

The mean number of English courses taken in a two–year time period by male and female college students is believed to be about the same. An experiment is conducted and data are collected from 29 males and 16 females. The males took an average of 3 English courses with a standard deviation of 0.8. The females took an average of 4 English courses with a standard deviation of 1.0. Are the means statistically the same?

A study is done to determine if students in the California state university system take longer to graduate, on average, than students enrolled in private universities. 100 students from both the California state university system and private universities are surveyed. Suppose that from years of research, it is known that the population standard deviations are 1.5811 years and 1 year, respectively. The following data are collected. The California state university system students took on average 4.5 years with a standard deviation of 0.8. The private university students took on average 4.1 years with a standard deviation of 0.3.

A new SAT study course is tested on 12 individuals. Pre-course and post-course scores are recorded. Of interest is the mean increase in SAT scores. The following data are collected:

A recent drug survey showed an increase in use of drugs and alcohol among local high school seniors as compared to the national percent. Suppose that a survey of 100 local seniors and 100 national seniors is conducted to see if the proportion of drug and alcohol use is higher locally than nationally. Locally, 65 seniors reported using drugs or alcohol within the past month, while 60 national seniors reported using them.

A student at a four-year college claims that mean enrollment at four–year colleges is higher than at two–year colleges in the United States. Two surveys are conducted. Of the 35 two–year colleges surveyed, the mean enrollment was 5068 with a standard deviation of 4777. Of the 35 four-year colleges surveyed, the mean enrollment was 5466 with a standard deviation of 8191. (Source: Microsoft Bookshelf)

A study was conducted by the U.S. Army to see if applying antiperspirant to soldiers’ feet for a few days before a major hike would help cut down on the number of blisters soldiers had on their feet. In the experiment, for three nights before they went on a 13-mile hike, a group of 328 West Point cadets put an alcohol-based antiperspirant on their feet. A “control group” of 339 soldiers put on a similar, but inactive, preparation on their feet. On the day of the hike, the temperature reached 83° F. At the end of the hike, 21% of the soldiers who had used the antiperspirant and 48% of the control group had developed foot blisters. Conduct a hypothesis test to see if the proportion of soldiers using the antiperspirant was significantly lower than the control group. (Source: U.S. Army study reported in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatologists)

We are interested in whether the proportions of female suicide victims for ages 15 to 24 are the same for the white and the black races in the United States. We randomly pick one year, 1992, to compare the races. The number of suicides estimated in the United States in 1992 for white females is 4930. 580 were aged 15 to 24. The estimate for black females is 330. 40 were aged 15 to 24. We will let female suicide victims be our population. (Source: the National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)

At Rachel’s 11th birthday party, 8 girls were timed to see how long (in seconds) they could hold their breath in a relaxed position. After a two-minute rest, they timed themselves while jumping. The girls thought that the mean difference between their jumping and relaxed times would be 0. Test their hypothesis.

Elizabeth Mjelde, an art history professor, was interested in whether the value from the Golden Ratio formula, larger+smaller dimensionlarger dimensionlarger+smaller dimensionlarger dimension size 12{ left ( { {l"arg"e+ ital "small"} over {l"arg"e} } right )} {}was the same in the Whitney Exhibit for works from 1900 – 1919 as for works from 1920 – 1942. 37 early works were sampled. They averaged 1.74 with a standard deviation of 0.11. 65 of the later works were sampled. They averaged 1.746 with a standard deviation of 0.1064. Do you think that there is a significant difference in the Golden Ratio calculation? (Source: data from Whitney Exhibit on loan to San Jose Museum of Art)

One of the questions in a study of marital satisfaction of dual–career couples was to rate the statement, “I’m pleased with the way we divide the responsibilities for childcare.” The ratings went from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). Below are ten of the paired responses for husbands and wives. Conduct a hypothesis test to see if the mean difference in the husband’s versus the wife’s satisfaction level is negative (meaning that, within the partnership, the husband is happier than the wife).

Ten individuals went on a low–fat diet for 12 weeks to lower their cholesterol. Evaluate the data below. Do you think that their cholesterol levels were significantly lowered?

Mean entry level salaries for college graduates with mechanical engineering degrees and electrical engineering degrees are believed to be approximately the same. (Source: http:// www.graduatingengineer.com). A recruiting office thinks that the mean mechanical engineering salary is actually lower than the mean electrical engineering salary. The recruiting office randomly surveys 50 entry level mechanical engineers and 60 entry level electrical engineers. Their mean salaries were $46,100 and $46,700, respectively. Their standard deviations were $3450 and $4210, respectively. Conduct a hypothesis test to determine if you agree that the mean entry level mechanical engineering salary is lower than the mean entry level electrical engineering salary.

A recent year was randomly picked from 1985 to the present. In that year, there were 2051 Hispanic students at Cabrillo College out of a total of 12,328 students. At Lake Tahoe College, there were 321 Hispanic students out of a total of 2441 students. In general, do you think that the percent of Hispanic students at the two colleges is basically the same or different? (Source: Chancellor’s Office, California Community Colleges, November 1994)

Eight runners were convinced that the mean difference in their individual times for running one mile versus race walking one mile was at most 2 minutes. Below are their times. Do you agree that the mean difference is at most 2 minutes?

Marketing companies have collected data implying that teenage girls use more ring tones on their cellular phones than teenage boys do. In one particular study of 40 randomly chosen teenage girls and boys (20 of each) with cellular phones, the mean number of ring tones for the girls was 3.2 with a standard deviation of 1.5. The mean for the boys was 1.7 with a standard deviation of 0.8. Conduct a hypothesis test to determine if the means are approximately the same or if the girls’ mean is higher than the boys’ mean.

While her husband spent 2½ hours picking out new speakers, a statistician decided to determine whether the percent of men who enjoy shopping for electronic equipment is higher than the percent of women who enjoy shopping for electronic equipment. The population was Saturday afternoon shoppers. Out of 67 men, 24 said they enjoyed the activity. 8 of the 24 women surveyed claimed to enjoy the activity. Interpret the results of the survey.

We are interested in whether children’s educational computer software costs less, on average, than children’s entertainment software. 36 educational software titles were randomly picked from a catalog. The mean cost was $31.14 with a standard deviation of $4.69. 35 entertainment software titles were randomly picked from the same catalog. The mean cost was $33.86 with a standard deviation of $10.87. Decide whether children’s educational software costs less, on average, than children’s entertainment software. (Source: Educational Resources, December catalog)

Parents of teenage boys often complain that auto insurance costs more, on average, for teenage boys than for teenage girls. A group of concerned parents examines a random sample of insurance bills. The mean annual cost for 36 teenage boys was $679. For 23 teenage girls, it was $559. From past years, it is known that the population standard deviation for each group is $180. Determine whether or not you believe that the mean cost for auto insurance for teenage boys is greater than that for teenage girls.

A group of transfer bound students wondered if they will spend the same mean amount on texts and supplies each year at their four-year university as they have at their community college. They conducted a random survey of 54 students at their community college and 66 students at their local four-year university. The sample means were $947 and $1011, respectively. The population standard deviations are known to be $254 and $87, respectively. Conduct a hypothesis test to determine if the means are statistically the same.

Joan Nguyen recently claimed that the proportion of college–age males with at least one pierced ear is as high as the proportion of college–age females. She conducted a survey in her classes. Out of 107 males, 20 had at least one pierced ear. Out of 92 females, 47 had at least one pierced ear. Do you believe that the proportion of males has reached the proportion of females?

Some manufacturers claim that non-hybrid sedan cars have a lower mean miles per gallon (mpg) than hybrid ones. Suppose that consumers test 21 hybrid sedans and get a mean of 31 mpg with a standard deviation of 7 mpg. Thirty-one non-hybrid sedans get a mean of 22 mpg with a standard deviation of 4 mpg. Suppose that the population standard deviations are known to be 6 and 3, respectively. Conduct a hypothesis test to the manufacturers claim.

Using the data from Lap 1 only, conduct a hypothesis test to determine if the mean time for completing a lap in races is the same as it is in practices.

Repeat the test in Exercise 33, but use Lap 5 data this time.

Repeat the test in Exercise 33, but this time combine the data from Laps 1 and 5.

In 2 – 3 complete sentences, explain in detail how you might use Terri Vogel’s data to answer the following question. “Does Terri Vogel drive faster in races than she does in practices?”

Is the proportion of race laps Terri completes slower than 130 seconds less than the proportion of practice laps she completes slower than 135 seconds?

"To Breakfast or Not to Breakfast?" by Richard Ayore

In the American society, birthdays are one of those days that everyone looks forward to. People of different ages and peer groups gather to mark the 18th, 20th, … birthdays. During this time, one looks back to see what he or she had achieved for the past year, and also focuses ahead for more to come.

If, by any chance, I am invited to one of these parties, my experience is always different. Instead of dancing around with my friends while the music is booming, I get carried away by memories of my family back home in Kenya. I remember the good times I had with my brothers and sister while we did our daily routine.

Every morning, I remember we went to the shamba (garden) to weed our crops. I remember one day arguing with my brother as to why he always remained behind just to join us an hour later. In his defense, he said that he preferred waiting for breakfast before he came to weed. He said, “This is why I always work more hours than you guys!”

And so, to prove his wrong or right, we decided to give it a try. One day we went to work as usual without breakfast, and recorded the time we could work before getting tired and stopping. On the next day, we all ate breakfast before going to work. We recorded how long we worked again before getting tired and stopping. Of interest was our mean increase in work time. Though not sure, my brother insisted that it is more than two hours. Using the data below, solve our problem.

The appropriate hypotheses are:

If the pp -value is 0.0062 what is the conclusion (use α = 0.05 α = 0.05 size 12{α=5%} {} )?

Lesley E. Tan investigated the relationship between left-handedness and right-handedness and motor competence in preschool children. Random samples of 41 left-handers and 41 right-handers were given several tests of motor skills to determine if there is evidence of a difference between the children based on this experiment. The experiment produced the means and standard deviations shown below. Determine the appropriate test and best distribution to use for that test.

The distribution for the test is

If α=0.05α=0.05 size 12{a=0 "." "05"} {}, the pp size 12{p} {}-value and the conclusion are

The exact distribution for the hypothesis test is:

If the level of significance is 0.05, the conclusion is:

This is:

An appropriate null hypothesis is:

The pp size 12{p} {}-value is 0.0022. At a 1% level of significance, the appropriate conclusion is

This is:

The correct decision is:

An appropriate alternate hypothesis for the hypothesis test is:

A concluding statement is: