Hypothesis Testing

with One Sample

Introduction to
Hypothesis
Testing
 Hypothesis Tests
A hypothesis test is a process that uses sample
statistics to test a claim about the value of a
population parameter.
If a manufacturer of rechargeable batteries
claims that the batteries they produce are good
for an average of at least 1,000 charges, a
sample would be taken to test this claim.

A verbal statement, or claim, about a population

parameter is called a statistical hypothesis.
To test the average of 1000 hours, a pair of
hypotheses are stated – one that represents the
claim and the other, its complement. When one
of these hypotheses is false, the other must be
true.
 Stating a Hypothesis
“H subzero” or “H naught”
A null hypothesis H0 is a statistical hypothesis that
contains a statement of equality such as , =, or .
“H sub-a”

A alternative hypothesis Ha is the complement of the

null hypothesis. It is a statement that must be true if
H0 is false and contains a statement of inequality such
as >, , or <.
To write the null and alternative hypotheses,
translate the claim made about the population
parameter from a verbal statement to a
mathematical statement.
 Stating a Hypothesis
Example:
Write the claim as a mathematical sentence. State
the null and alternative hypotheses and identify which
represents the claim.
A manufacturer claims that its rechargeable
batteries have an average life of at least 1,000
charges.
  1000
Condition of
H0:   1000 (Claim)
equality
Ha:  < 1000
Complement of
the null
hypothesis
 Stating a Hypothesis
Example:
Write the claim as a mathematical sentence. State
the null and alternative hypotheses and identify which
represents the claim.
Statesville college claims that 94% of their
graduates find employment within six months of
graduation.
p = 0.94
Condition of
H0: p = 0.94 (Claim)
equality
Ha: p  0.94
Complement of
the null
hypothesis
 Types of Errors
No matter which hypothesis represents the claim,
always begin the hypothesis test assuming that the
null hypothesis is true.

At the end of the test, one of two decisions will be

made:
1. reject the null hypothesis, or
2. fail to reject the null hypothesis.
A type I error occurs if the null hypothesis is
rejected when it is true.
A type II error occurs if the null hypothesis is not
rejected when it is false.
 Types of Errors

Actual Truth of H0
Decision H0 is true H0 is false

Do not reject H0 Correct Type II Error

Decision
Reject H0 Type I Error Correct
Decision
 Types of Errors
Example:
Statesville college claims that 94% of their graduates
find employment within six months of graduation.
What will a type I or type II error be?
H0: p = 0.94 (Claim)
Ha: p  0.94
A type I error is rejecting the null when it is true.
The population proportion is actually 0.94, but is
rejected. (We believe it is not 0.94.)
A type II error is failing to reject the null when it is
false.
The population proportion is not 0.94, but is not
rejected. (We believe it is 0.94.)
 Level of Significance
In a hypothesis test, the level of significance is
your maximum allowable probability of making a
type I error. It is denoted by , the lowercase Greek
letter alpha.
Hypothesis tests
are based on .

The probability of making a type II error is denoted by

, the
Bylowercase
setting theGreek
level letter beta.
of significance at a small
value, you are saying that you want the
probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis to
be small.
Commonly used levels of significance:
 = 0.10  = 0.05  = 0.01
 Statistical Tests
After stating the null and alternative hypotheses and
specifying the level of significance, a random sample
is taken from the population and sample statistics are
calculated.
The statistic that is compared with the parameter
in the null hypothesis is called the test statistic.

Population Test Standardized test

parameter statistic statistic
μ x z (n  30)
t (n < 30)
p p̂ z
2 s2 X2
 P-values
If the null hypothesis is true, a P-value (or
probability value) of a hypothesis test is the
probability of obtaining a sample statistic with a value
as extreme or more extreme than the one determined
from the sample data.
The P-value of a hypothesis test depends on the nature
of the test.

There are three types of hypothesis tests – a left-,

right-, or two-tailed test. The type of test depends on
the region of the sampling distribution that favors a
rejection of H0. This region is indicated by the
alternative hypothesis.
 Left-tailed Test
1. If the alternative hypothesis contains the less-than
inequality symbol (<), the hypothesis test is a left-
tailed test.
H0: μ  k
H a: μ < k

P is the area
to the left of
the test
statistic.
z
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Test
statistic
 Right-tailed Test
2. If the alternative hypothesis contains the greater-
than symbol (>), the hypothesis test is a right-
tailed test.
H0: μ  k
H a: μ > k

P is the area
to the right of
the test
statistic.

z
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Test
statistic
 Two-tailed Test
3. If the alternative hypothesis contains the not-
equal-to symbol (), the hypothesis test is a two-
1
tailed test. In a two-tailed test, each
2 tail has an
area ofk P.
H0: μ =
H a: μ  k
P is twice the
P is twice the area to the
area to the left right of the
of the negative positive test
test statistic. statistic.

z
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Test Test
statistic statistic
Identifying Types of Tests
Example:
For each claim, state H0 and Ha. Then determine whether
the hypothesis test is a left-tailed, right-tailed, or two-
tailed
a.) A test.
cigarette manufacturer claims that less than one-
eighth of the US adult population smokes
cigarettes.
H0: p  0.125
Ha: p < 0.125 Left-tailed test
(Claim)
b.) A local telephone company claims that the
average length of a phone call is 8 minutes.
H0: μ = 8 (Claim)
Ha: μ  8 Two-tailed test
 Making a Decision
Decision Rule Based on P-value
To use a P-value to make a conclusion in a hypothesis
test, compare the P-value with .
1. If P  , then reject H0.
2. If P > , then fail to reject H0.

Claim
Decision Claim is H0 Claim is Ha
There is enough evidence There is enough evidence
Reject H0 to reject the claim. to support the claim.
There is not enough There is not enough
Do not reject H0 evidence to reject the evidence to support the
claim. claim.
 Interpreting a Decision
Example:
You perform a hypothesis test for the following claim.
How should you interpret your decision if you reject H0?
If you fail to reject H0?
H0: (Claim) A cigarette manufacturer claims that
less than one-eighth of the US adult population
smokes cigarettes.
If H0 is rejected, you should conclude “there is sufficient
evidence to indicate that the manufacturer’s claim is false.”
If you fail to reject H0, you should conclude “there is not
sufficient evidence to indicate that the manufacturer’s claim
is false.”
 Steps for Hypothesis
Testing
1. State the claim mathematically and verbally. Identify
the null and alternative hypotheses.
H0: ? Ha: ? This sampling
distribution is based on
the assumption that H0
2. Specify the level of significance. is true.
=?
3. Determine the
standardized sampling z
0
distribution and draw its
graph.
4. Calculate the test statistic z
and its standardized value. 0
Add it to your sketch. Test statistic

Continued.
 Steps for Hypothesis
Testing
5. Find the P-value.
6. Use the following decision rule.
Is the P-value less than
or equal to the level of No Fail to reject H0.
significance?

Yes

Reject H0.

7. Write a statement to interpret the decision in the

context of the original claim.

These steps apply to left-tailed, right-tailed,

and two-tailed tests.
 Hypothesis
Testing for the
Mean (Large
Samples)
 Using P-values to Make a
Decision
Decision Rule Based on P-value
To use a P-value to make a conclusion in a hypothesis
test, compare the P-value with .
1. If P  , then reject H0.
2. If P > , then fail to reject H0.

Recall that when the sample size is at least 30, the

sampling distribution for the sample mean is
normal.
 Using P-values to Make a
Decision
Example:
The P-value for a hypothesis test is P = 0.0256.
What is your decision if the level of significance is
a.) 0.05,

b.) 0.01?

a.) Because 0.0256 is < 0.05, you should reject the

null hypothesis.

b.) Because 0.0256 is > 0.01, you should fail to

reject the null hypothesis.
 Finding the P-value
After determining the hypothesis test’s standardized
test statistic and the test statistic’s corresponding
area, do one of the following to find the P-value.
a. For a left-tailed test, P = (Area in left tail).
b. For a right-tailed test, P = (Area in right tail).
c. For a two-tailed test, P = 2(Area in tail of test
statistic).
Example:
The test statistic for a right-tailed test is z = 1.56. Find the P-
value.
P-value = 0.0594 The area to the right of z = 1.56
is 1 – .9406 = 0.0594.
0 1.56 z
 Finding the P-value
Example:
The test statistic for a two-tailed test is z = 2.63.
Find the P-value.

0.0043
z
2.63 0

The area to the left of z = 2.63 is 0.0043.

The P-value is 2(0.0043) = 0.0086
Using P-values for a z-Test
The z-test for the mean is a statistical test for a
population mean. The z-test can be used when the
population is normal and  is known, or for any
population when the sample size n is at least 30.

x
The test statistic is the sample mean and the
standardized test statistic is z.

x μ σ
z standard error σx
σ n n
When n  30, the sample standard deviation s can be
substituted for .
Using P-values for a z-Test
Using P-values for a z-Test for a Mean μ
In Words In Symbols
1. State the claim mathematically State H0 and Ha.
and verbally. Identify the null
and alternative hypotheses.
2. Specify the level of Identify .
significance. x μ
z
3. Determine the standardized σ n
test statistic.
Use Table 4 in
4. Find the area that corresponds Appendix B.
to z.
Continued.
Using P-values for a z-Test
Using P-values for a z-Test for a Mean μ
In Words In Symbols
5. Find the P-value.
a. For a left-tailed test, P = (Area in left tail).
b. For a right-tailed test, P = (Area in right tail).
c. For a two-tailed test, P = 2(Area in tail of test statistic).

6. Make a decision to reject or fail Reject H0 if P-

to reject the null hypothesis. value is less than
7. Interpret the decision in the or equal to .
context of the original claim. Otherwise, fail to
reject H0.
 Hypothesis Testing with P-
values
Example:
A manufacturer claims that its rechargeable
batteries are good for an average of more than
1,000 charges. A random sample of 100 batteries
has a mean life of 1002 charges and a standard
deviation of 14. Is there enough evidence to
support this claim at  = 0.01?
H0:   1000 Ha:  > 1000 (Claim)
The level of significance is  =
0.01.
The standardized test statistic is
x  μ 1002  1000
z 
σ n 14 100
1.43
Continued.
Hypothesis Testing with P-
values
Example continued:
A manufacturer claims that its rechargeable
batteries are good for an average of more than
1,000 charges. A random sample of 100 batteries
has a mean life of 1002 charges and a standard
deviation of 14. Is there enough evidence to
support
H :   1000
0 H :=
this claim at > 0.01?
1000 (Claim)
a

z 1.43
The area to the right of P-value is greater than
z = 1.43 is P = 0.0764.  = 0.01, fail to reject H0.
0 1.43 z

At the 1% level of significance, there is not enough

evidence to support the claim that the rechargeable battery
has an average life of at least 1000 charges.
Rejection Regions and Critical
Values
A rejection region (or critical region) of the
sampling distribution is the range of values for which
the null hypothesis is not probable. If a test statistic
falls in this region, the null hypothesis is rejected. A
critical value z0 separates the rejection region from
the nonrejection region.
Example:
Find the critical value and rejection region for a right tailed
test with  = 0.01.

 = 0.01 The rejection region is to the

z
right of z0 = 2.575.
0 2.575
Rejection Regions and Critical
Values
Finding Critical Values in a Normal Distribution
1. Specify the level of significance .
2. Decide whether the test is left-, right-, or two-tailed.
3. Find the critical value(s) z0. If the hypothesis test is
a. left-tailed, find the z-score that corresponds to
an area of ,
b. right-tailed, find the z-score that corresponds to
an area of 1 – ,
1
c. two-tailed, find the z-score that corresponds2 to
 and 112 – .
4. Sketch the standard normal distribution. Draw a
vertical line at each critical value and shade the
rejection region(s).
 Rejection Regions for a z-
Test
Decision Rule Based on Rejection Region
To use a rejection region to conduct a hypothesis test,
calculate the standardized test statistic, z. If the
standardized test statistic
1. is in the rejection region, then reject H0.
2. is not in the rejection region, then fail to reject H0.
Fail to reject Ho. Fail to reject Ho.

Reject Ho. Reject Ho.

z z
z < z0 z0 0 0 z0 z > z0
Fail to reject Ho.
Left-Tailed Test Right-Tailed Test
Reject Ho. Reject Ho.
z
z < z0 z0 0 z0 z > z0
Two-Tailed Test
Rejection Regions for a z-
Test
Using Rejection Regions for a z-Test for a
Mean μ
In Words In Symbols
1. State the claim mathematically State H0 and Ha.
and verbally. Identify the null
and alternative hypotheses.
2. Specify the level of Identify .
significance.
3. Sketch the sampling
Use Table 4 in
distribution.
Appendix B.
4. Determine the critical value(s).
5. Determine the rejection
regions(s). Continued.
Rejection Regions for a z-
Test
Using Rejection Regions for a z-Test for a
Mean μ
In Words In Symbols
x μ
6. Find the standardized test z or if n 30
σ
statistic. n
use σ s.

7. Make a decision to reject or fail If z is in the

to reject the null hypothesis. rejection region,
reject H0.
Otherwise, fail to
8. Interpret the decision in the reject H0.
context of the original claim.
 Testing with Rejection
Regions
Example:
A local telephone company claims that the average
length of a phone call is 8 minutes. In a random
sample of 58 phone calls, the sample mean was 7.8
minutes and the standard deviation was 0.5
minutes. Is there enough evidence to support this
claim at  = 0.05?
H0:  = 8 (Claim) Ha:   8
The level of significance is  =
0.05.

0.025 0.025
z
z0 = 1.96 0 z0 = 1.96

Continued.
 Testing with Rejection
Regions
Example continued:
A local telephone company claims that the average
length of a phone call is 8 minutes. In a random
sample of 58 phone calls, the sample mean was 7.8
minutes and the standard deviation was 0.5
minutes. Is there enough evidence to support this
Hclaim at (Claim)
0:  = 8
= 0.05? Ha:   8
The standardized test statistic is The test statistic falls
x μ 7.8  8 in the rejection
z 
σ n 0.5 58 region, so H0 is
 3.05. rejected.
z
z0 = 1.96 0 z0 = 1.96

At the 5% level of significance, there is enough evidence to

reject the claim that the average length of a phone call is 8
minutes.
 Hypothesis
Testing for the
Mean (Small
Samples)
 Critical Values in a t-
Distribution
Finding Critical Values in a t-Distribution
1. Identify the level of significance .
2. Identify the degrees of freedom d.f. = n – 1.
3. Find the critical value(s) using t-Table in the row
with n – 1 degrees of freedom. If the hypothesis
test is
a. left-tailed, use “One Tail,  ” column with a
negative sign,
b. right-tailed, use “One Tail,  ” column with a
positive sign,
c. two-tailed, use “Two Tails,  ” column with a
negative and a positive sign.
Finding Critical Values for t
Example:
Find the critical value t0 for a right-tailed test given  =
0.01 and n = 24.

The degrees of freedom are d.f. = n – 1 = 24 – 1 = 23.

To find the critical value, use t-Table with d.f. = 23 and

0.01 in the “One Tail,  “ column. Because the test is a
right-tail test, the critical value is positive.
t0 = 2.500
Finding Critical Values for t
Example:
Find the critical values t0 and t0 for a two-tailed test
given  = 0.10 and n = 12.

The degrees of freedom are d.f. = n – 1 = 12 – 1 = 11.

To find the critical value, use Table 5 with d.f. = 11

and 0.10 in the “Two Tail,  “ column. Because the
test is a two-tail test, one critical value is negative and
one is positive.
t0 =  1.796 and t0 = 1.796
 t-Test for a Mean μ (n < 30, 
Unknown)
The t-test for the mean is a statistical test for a
population mean. The t-test can be used when the
population is normal or nearly normal,  is unknown,
and n < 30.
x
The test statistic is the sample mean and the
standardized test statistic is t.

x μ
t
s n

The degrees of freedom are d.f. = n – 1 .

 t-Test for a Mean μ (n < 30, 
Unknown)
Using the t-Test for a Mean μ (Small Sample)
In Words In Symbols
1. State the claim mathematically State H0 and Ha.
and verbally. Identify the null
and alternative hypotheses.
2. Specify the level of Identify .
significance.
d.f. = n – 1.
3. Identify the degrees of freedom
and sketch the sampling
distribution.
Use t-Table
4. Determine any critical values.
5. Determine any rejection
Continued.
region(s).
 t-Test for a Mean μ (n < 30, 
Unknown)
Using the t-Test for a Mean μ (Small Sample)
In Words In Symbols
6. Find the standardized test x μ
t
statistic. s
n

7. Make a decision to reject or fail If t is in the

to reject the null hypothesis. rejection region,
reject H0.
Otherwise, fail to
8. Interpret the decision in the reject H0.
context of the original claim.
 Testing μ Using Critical
Values
Example:
A local telephone company claims that the average
length of a phone call is 8 minutes. In a random
sample of 18 phone calls, the sample mean was 7.8
minutes and the standard deviation was 0.5
minutes. Is there enough evidence to support this
claim at  = 0.05?
H0:  = 8 (Claim) Ha:   8
The level of significance is  =
0.05.
The test is a two-tailed test.
Degrees of freedom are d.f. = 18 – 1 = 17.

The critical values are t0 = 2.110 and t0 =

Continued.
2.110
 Testing μ Using Critical
Values
Example continued:
A local telephone company claims that the average
length of a phone call is 8 minutes. In a random
sample of 18 phone calls, the sample mean was 7.8
minutes and the standard deviation was 0.5
minutes. Is there enough evidence to support this
Hclaim at (Claim)
0:  = 8
= 0.05? Ha:   8
The standardized test statistic is The test statistic falls
x μ 7.8  8 in the nonrejection
t 
s n 0.5 18 region, so H0 is not
 1.70. rejected.
z
z0 = 2.110 0 z0 = 2.110

At the 5% level of significance, there is not enough evidence to

reject the claim that the average length of a phone call is 8
minutes.
 Testing μ Using P-values
Example:
A manufacturer claims that its rechargeable
batteries have an average life greater than 1,000
charges. A random sample of 10 batteries has a
mean life of 1002 charges and a standard deviation
of 14. Is there enough evidence to support this
Hclaim at  = 0.01?
0:   1000 Ha:  > 1000
The level of significance is (Claim)
=
0.01.
The degrees of freedom are d.f. = n – 1 = 10 – 1 = 9.
The standardized test statistic is
x  μ 1002  1000
t 
s n 14 10
0.45 Continued.
 Testing μ Using P-values
Example continued:
A manufacturer claims that its rechargeable
batteries have an average life greater than 1,000
charges. A random sample of 10 batteries has a
mean life of 1002 charges and a standard deviation
of 14. Is there enough evidence to support this
claim
H at  = 0.01?
0:   1000
Ha:  > 1000 (Claim)
t 0.45 Using the d.f. = 9 row from Table 5, you can
determine that P is greater than  = 0.25 and is
therefore also greater than the 0.01 significance
0 0.45 z level. H0 would fail to be rejected.
At the 1% level of significance, there is not enough
evidence to support the claim that the rechargeable battery
has an average life of at least 1000 charges.
§ 7.4
Hypothesis
Testing for
Proportions
 z-Test for a Population
Proportion
The z-test for a population is a statistical test for a
population proportion. The z-test can be used when a
binomial distribution is given such that np  5 and nq
 5.
The test statistic is the sample proportion
p̂ and the
standardized test statistic is z.

pˆ  μ pˆ p p
z  ˆ
σ pˆ pq n
 Hypothesis Test for
Proportions
Using a z-Test for a Proportion p
Verify that np  5 and nq  5.
In Words In Symbols
1. State the claim mathematically State H0 and Ha.
and verbally. Identify the null
and alternative hypotheses.
2. Specify the level of Identify .
significance.
3. Sketch the sampling
Use Table 4 in
distribution.
Appendix B.
4. Determine any critical values.

Continued.
 Hypothesis Test for
Proportions
Using a z-Test for a Proportion p
Verify that np  5 and nq  5.
In Words In Symbols
5. Determine any rejection
regions. p̂  p
z
6. Find the standardized test pq n
statistic.
If z is in the
7. Make a decision to reject or fail rejection region,
to reject the null hypothesis. reject H0.
Otherwise, fail to
8. Interpret the decision in the
reject H0.
context of the original claim.
 Hypothesis Test for
Proportions
Example:
Statesville college claims that more than 94% of
their graduates find employment within six months
of graduation. In a sample of 500 randomly
selected graduates, 475 of them were employed.
Is there enough evidence to support the college’s
claim at a 1% level of significance?

Verify that the products np and nq are at least 5.

np = (500)(0.94) = 470 and nq = (500)(0.06)
= 30
H0: p  0.94 Ha: p > 0.94
(Claim)
Continued.
 Hypothesis Test for
Proportions
Example continued:
Statesville college claims that more than 94% of
their graduates find employment within six months
of graduation. In a sample of 500 randomly
selected graduates, 475 of them were employed.
Is there enough evidence to support the college’s
claim at a 1% level of significance?
H0: p  0.94 Ha: p > 0.94 (Claim)
Because the test is a right-tailed test and  = 0.01, the
critical value is 2.33. p̂  p  0.95  0.94
z
pq n (0.94)(0.06) 500
0.94 Test statistic
0 2.33 z
Continued.
 Hypothesis Test for
Proportions
Example continued:
Statesville college claims that more than 94% of
their graduates find employment within six months
of graduation. In a sample of 500 randomly
selected graduates, 475 of them were employed.
Is there enough evidence to support the college’s
claim at a 1% level of significance?
H0: p  0.94 Ha: p > 0.94 (Claim)

The test statistic falls

0 2.33 z in the nonrejection
z 0.94 region, so H0 is not
rejected.
At the 1% level of significance, there is not enough
evidence to support the college’s claim.
 Hypothesis Test for
Proportions
Example:
A cigarette manufacturer claims that one-eighth of
the US adult population smokes cigarettes. In a
random sample of 100 adults, 5 are cigarette
smokers. Test the manufacturer's claim at  =
0.05.
Verify that the products np and nq are at least 5.
np = (100)(0.125) = 12.5 and nq = (100)(0.875)
= 87.5
H0: p = 0.125 (Claim) Ha: p  0.125

Because the test is a two-tailed test and  = 0.05,

the critical values are ± 1.96.
Continued.
 Hypothesis Test for
Proportions
Example continued:
A cigarette manufacturer claims that one-eighth of
the US adult population smokes cigarettes. In a
random sample of 100 adults, 5 are cigarettes
smokers. Test the manufacturer's claim at  = 0.05.
H0: p = 0.125 (Claim) Ha: p  0.125

2.27 The test statistic

z is
z
p̂  p  0.05  0.125
z0 = 1.96 0 z0 = 1.96
pq n (0.125)(0.875) 100
 2.27 Reject H0.
At the 5% level of significance, there is enough
evidence to reject the claim that one-eighth of the
population smokes.
§ 7.5
Hypothesis
Testing for
Variance and
Standard
Deviation
 Critical Values for the χ2-
Test
Finding Critical Values for the χ2-Distribution
1. Specify the level of significance .
2. Determine the degrees of freedom d.f. = n – 1.
3. The critical values for the χ2-distribution are found in
Table 6 of Appendix B. To find the critical value(s)
for a
a. right-tailed test, use the value that corresponds
to d.f. and .
b. left-tailed test, use the value that corresponds to
. use the values that corresponds
d.f. and 1 –test,
c. two-tailed
1 1
to d.f. and
2
 and d.f. 2 1 – .
and
Finding Critical Values for the
χ2
Example:
Find the critical value for a left-tailed test when n =
19 and  = 0.05.
There are 18 d.f. The area to the right of the
critical value is 1 –  = 1 – 0.05 = 0.95.
From Table 6, the critical value is χ20 = 9.390.

Example:
Find the critical value for a two-tailed test when n =
26 and  = 0.01.
There are 25 d.f. The areas to the right of the
1 1
critical values
2
are  = 0.005
2
and 1 –  = 0.995.
From Table 6, the critical values are χ2L = 10.520
and χ2R = 46.928.
 The Chi-Square Test
The χ2-test for a variance or standard deviation
is a statistical test for a population variance or
standard deviation. The χ2-test can be used when the
population is normal.

The test statistic is s2 and the standardized test

statistic
2 (n  1)s 2
χ 
σ2
follows a chi-square distribution with degrees of
freedom d.f. = n – 1.
 The Chi-Square Test
Using the χ2-Test for a Variance or Standard
Deviation
In Words In Symbols
1. State the claim mathematically State H0 and Ha.
and verbally. Identify the null
and alternative hypotheses.
2. Specify the level of Identify .
significance.
d.f. = n – 1
3. Determine the degrees of
freedom and sketch the
sampling distribution.
Use Table 6 in
4. Determine any critical values. Appendix B.
Continued.
 The Chi-Square Test
Using the χ2-Test for a Variance or Standard
Deviation
In Words In Symbols
5. Determine any rejection
regions.
2 (n  1)s 2
χ 
6. Find the standardized test σ2
statistic.
If χ2 is in the
7. Make a decision to reject or fail rejection region,
to reject the null hypothesis. reject H0.
Otherwise, fail to
reject H0.
8. Interpret the decision in the
context of the original claim.
 Hypothesis Test for Standard
Deviation
Example:
A college professor claims that the standard
deviation for students taking a statistics test is less
than 30. 10 tests are randomly selected and the
standard deviation is found to be 28.8. Test this
professor’s claim at the  = 0.01 level.
H0:   30 Ha:  < 30 (Claim)
This is a left-tailed test with d.f.= 9 and  = 0.01.

 0.01

X2
Continued.
 Hypothesis Test for Standard
Deviation
Example continued:
A college professor claims that the standard
deviation for students taking a statistics test is less
than 30. 10 tests are randomly selected and the
standard deviation is found to be 28.8. Test this
professor’s claim at the  = 0.01 level.
H0:   30 Ha:  < 30 (Claim)

χ =
2  0.01 2 (n  1)s 2 (10  1)(28.8)2
0 χ  2

σ 302
2.088 8.29
X2
X 2
0 = 2.088 Fail to reject H0.
At the 1% level of significance, there is not enough
evidence to support the professor’s claim.
 Hypothesis Test for
Variance
Example:
A local balloon company claims that the variance for
the time its helium balloons will stay afloat is 5 hours.
A disgruntled customer wants to test this claim. She
randomly selects 23 customers and finds that the
variance of the sample is 4.5 seconds. At  = 0.05,
does she have enough evidence to reject the
company’s claim?
H0: 2 = 5 (Claim) Ha: 2  5
This is a two-tailed test with d.f.= 22 and  = 0.05.

1 1
 0.025  0.025
2 2
X2
X
2
L X2
R Continued.
 Hypothesis Test for
Variance
Example continued:
A local balloon company claims that the variance for
the time its helium balloons will stay afloat is 5 hours.
A disgruntled customer wants to test this claim. She
randomly selects 23 customers and finds that the
variance of the sample is 4.5 seconds. At  = 0.05,
does she have enough evidence to reject the
company’s claim?
H0: 2 = 5 (Claim) Ha: 2  5

The critical values are χ2L = 10.982 and χ2R =

36.781.
1 1
 0.025  0.025
2 2
X2
10.982 36.781 Continued.
 Hypothesis Test for
Variance
Example continued:
A local balloon company claims that the variance for
the time one of its helium balloons will stay afloat is 5
hours. A disgruntled customer wants to test this claim.
She randomly selects 23 customers and finds that the
variance of the sample is 4.5 seconds. At  = 0.05,
does she have enough evidence to reject the
company’s claim?
H0: 2 = 5 (Claim) Ha: 2  5
2 (n  1)s 2 (23  1)(4.5)
χ   19.8 Fail to reject H0.
σ2 5

19.8 At  = 0.05, there is not enough

evidence to reject the claim that
X2
10.982 36.781 the variance of the float time is 5
hours.