At Rachel’s 11^th birthday party, eight 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 zero. Test their hypothesis.

Mean entry-level salaries for college graduates with mechanical engineering degrees and electrical engineering degrees are believed to be approximately the same. 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 💲3,450 and 💲4,210, 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.

Marketing companies have collected data implying that teenage girls use more ringtones 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 ringtones 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.

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 10.83, but use Lap 5 data this time.

Repeat the test in Exercise 10.83, but this time combine the data from Laps 1 and 5.

In two to three 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?”

The exact distribution for the hypothesis test is:

1. the normal distribution
2. the Student’s t-distribution
3. the uniform distribution
4. the exponential distribution

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

1. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the W Division teams score fewer goals, on average, than the E teams
2. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the W Division teams score more goals, on average, than the E teams.
3. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the W teams score fewer goals, on average, than the E teams score.
4. Unable to determine

Suppose a statistics instructor believes that there is no significant difference between the mean class scores of statistics day students on Exam 2 and statistics night students on Exam 2. She takes random samples from each of the populations. The mean and standard deviation for 35 statistics day students were 75.86 and 16.91. The mean and standard deviation for 37 statistics night students were 75.41 and 19.73. The “day” subscript refers to the statistics day students. The “night” subscript refers to the statistics night students. A concluding statement is:

1. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that statistics night students’ mean on Exam 2 is better than the statistics day students’ mean on Exam 2.
2. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the statistics day students’ mean on Exam 2 is better than the statistics night students’ mean on Exam 2.
3. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference between the means of the statistics day students and night students on Exam 2.
4. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference between the means of the statistics day students and night students on Exam 2.

Researchers interviewed street prostitutes in Canada and the United States. The mean age of the 100 Canadian prostitutes upon entering prostitution was 18 with a standard deviation of six. The mean age of the 130 United States prostitutes upon entering prostitution was 20 with a standard deviation of eight. Is the mean age of entering prostitution in Canada lower than the mean age in the United States? Test at a 1% significance level.

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 a mean weight loss of 42 pounds with a standard deviation of 12 pounds. The liquid diet group had a mean weight loss of 45 pounds with a standard deviation of 14 pounds.

Suppose a statistics instructor believes that there is no significant difference between the mean class scores of statistics day students on Exam 2 and statistics night students on Exam 2. She takes random samples from each of the populations. The mean and standard deviation for 35 statistics day students were 75.86 and 16.91, respectively. The mean and standard deviation for 37 statistics night students were 75.41 and 19.73. The “day” subscript refers to the statistics day students. The “night” subscript refers to the statistics night students. An appropriate alternative hypothesis for the hypothesis test is:

1. μ_day > μ_night
2. μ_day < μ_night
3. μ_day = μ_night
4. μ_day ≠ μ_night

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 💲1,011, 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.

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 seven mpg. Thirty-one non-hybrid sedans get a mean of 22 mpg with a standard deviation of four mpg. Suppose that the population standard deviations are known to be six and three, respectively. Conduct a hypothesis test to evaluate the manufacturers’ claim.

A baseball fan wanted to know if there is a difference between the number of games played in a World Series when the American League won the series versus when the National League won the series. From 1922 to 2012, the population standard deviation of games won by the American League was 1.14, and the population standard deviation of games won by the National League was 1.11. Of 19 randomly selected World Series games won by the American League, the mean number of games won was 5.76. The mean number of 17 randomly selected games won by the National League was 5.42. Conduct a hypothesis test.

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 one (strongly agree) to five (strongly disagree). [link] contains 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).

Elizabeth Mjelde, an art history professor, was interested in whether the value from the Golden Ratio formula, [latex]\left(\frac{\text{larger + smaller dimension}}{\text{larger dimension}}\right)[/latex] was the same in the Whitney Exhibit for works from 1900 to 1919 as for works from 1920 to 1942. Thirty-seven early works were sampled, averaging 1.74 with a standard deviation of 0.11. Sixty-five of the later works were sampled, averaging 1.746 with a standard deviation of 0.1064. Do you think that there is a significant difference in the Golden Ratio calculation?

A recent year was randomly picked from 1985 to the present. In that year, there were 2,051 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 2,441 students. In general, do you think that the percent of Hispanic students at the two colleges is basically the same or different?

This is:

1. a test of two proportions
2. a test of two independent means
3. a test of a single mean
4. a test of matched pairs.

An appropriate null hypothesis is:

1. p₂₀₁₁ ≤ p₂₀₁₀
2. p₂₀₁₁ ≥ p₂₀₁₀
3. μ₂₀₁₁ ≤ μ₂₀₁₀
4. p₂₀₁₁ > p₂₀₁₀

The p-value is 0.0022. At a 1% level of significance, the appropriate conclusion is

1. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the proportion of people in the United States in 2011 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease is less than the proportion of people in the United States in 2010 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease.
2. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the proportion of people in the United States in 2011 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease is more than the proportion of people in the United States in 2010 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease.
3. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the proportion of people in the United States in 2011 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease is less than the proportion of people in the United States in 2010 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease.
4. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the proportion of people in the United States in 2011 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease is more than the proportion of people in the United States in 2010 who contracted neuroinvasive West Nile disease.

Researchers conducted a study to find out if there is a difference in the use of eReaders by different age groups. Randomly selected participants were divided into two age groups. In the 16- to 29-year-old group, 7% of the 628 surveyed use eReaders, while 11% of the 2,309 participants 30 years old and older use eReaders.

Adults aged 18 years old and older were randomly selected for a survey on obesity. Adults are considered obese if their body mass index (BMI) is at least 30. The researchers wanted to determine if the proportion of women who are obese in the south is less than the proportion of southern men who are obese. The results are shown in [link]. Test at the 1% level of significance.

Two computer users were discussing tablet computers. A higher proportion of people ages 16 to 29 use tablets than the proportion of people age 30 and older. [link] details the number of tablet owners for each age group. Test at the 1% level of significance.

A group of friends debated whether more men use smartphones than women. They consulted a research study of smartphone use among adults. The results of the survey indicate that of the 973 men randomly sampled, 379 use smartphones. For women, 404 of the 1,304 who were randomly sampled use smartphones. Test at the 5% level of significance.

While her husband spent 2½ hours picking out new speakers, a statistician decided to determine whether the percentage of men who enjoy shopping for electronic equipment is higher than the percentage of women who enjoy shopping for electronic equipment. The population was Saturday afternoon shoppers. Out of 67 men, 24 said they enjoyed the activity. Eight 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. Thirty-six educational software titles were randomly picked from a catalog. The mean cost was 💲31.14 with a standard deviation of 💲4.69. Thirty-five 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.

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?

Use the data sets found in [link] to answer this exercise. 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 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 has 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 him 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 was more than two hours. Using the data in [link], solve our problem.