Formula for the t Test – For Testing the Difference Between Two Means – Independent Samples

Variances are assumed to be unequal

( X́ 1 − X́ 2 )−(μ1−μ 2)
t=
s21 s22
√ +
n1 n2
Where the degrees of freedom are equal to the smaller of n 1-1 or n2-1.

Assumptions for the t Test for Two Independent Means when σ1 and σ2 are unknown
1. The samples are random samples.
2. The sample data are independent of one another.
3. When the sample sizes are less than 30, the populations must be normally or approximately
normally distributed.

PROBLEM #1:

Farm Sizes

The average size of a farm in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, is 191 acres. The average size of a farm in
Greece County, Pennsylvania, is 199 acres. Assume the data were obtained from two samples with
standard deviations of 38 and 12 acres, respectively, and sample sizes of 8 and 10, respectively. Can it be
concluded at α = 0.05 that the average size of the farms in the two counties is different? Assume the
populations are normally distributed.

SOLUTION:

Step 1. State the hypotheses and identify the claim for the means.

H0: µ1 = µ2 and H1: µ1 ≠ µ2

Step 2. Find the critical values.

Since the test is two-tailed , since α = 0.05, and since the variances are unequal, the degrees of freedom
are the smaller of n1 – 1 or n2 – 1. In this case, the degrees of freedom are 8 – 1 = 7. Hence, from Table F,
the critical values are +2.365 and -2.365.

Step 3. Compute the test value. Since the variances are unequal, use the first formula.

( X́ 1 − X́ 2 )−( μ1−μ 2) (191−199 )−0

t= = =−0.57
s21 s22 382 122
√ +
n1 n2 √ +
8 10

Step 4. Make the decision.

Do not reject the null hypothesis, since -0.57 > -2.365.

Step 5. Summarize the results.

There is not enough evidence to support the claim that the average size of the farms is different.

EXERCISES:

1. Bestseller Books. The mean for the number of weeks 15 New York Times hard-cover fiction
books spent on the bestseller is 22 weeks. The standard deviation is 6.17 weeks. The mean for
the number of weeks 15 New York Times hard-cover nonfiction books spent on the list is 28
weeks. The standard deviation is 13.2 weeks. At α = 0.10, can we conclude that there is a
difference in the mean times for the number of weeks the books were on the bestseller lists?
2. Tax-Exempt Properties. A tax collector wishes to see if the mean values of the tax-exempt
properties are different for two cities. The values of the tax-exempt properties for the two
samples are shown. The data are given in million dollars. At α = 0.05, is there enough evidence
to support the tax collector’s claim that the means are different?

City A City B
113 22 14 8 82 11 5 15
25 23 23 30 295 50 12 9
44 11 19 7 12 68 81 2
31 19 5 2 20 16 4 5

3. Noise Levels in Hospitals. The mean noise level of 20 areas designated as “casualty doors” was
63.1 Dba, and the standard deviation is 4.1 Dba. The mean noise level for 24 areas designated as
operating theaters was 56.3 Dba, and the standard deviation was 7.5 Dba. At α = 0.05, can it be
concluded that there is a difference in the means?
4. Ages of Gamblers. The mean age of a sample of 25 people who were playing the slot machines
is 48.7 years, and the standard deviation is 6.8 years. The mean age of a sample of 35 people
who were playing roulette is 55.3 with a standard deviation of 3.2 years. Can it be concluded at
α = 0.05 that the mean age of those playing the slot machine is less than those playing roulette?
 5. Carbohydrates in Candies. The number of grams of carbohydrates contained in 1 -ounce
servings of randomly selected chocolate and nonchocolate candy is listed here. Is there
sufficient evidence to conclude that the difference in the means is significant? Use α = 0.10.
Chocolate: 29 25 17 36 41 25 32 29
38 34 24 27 29
Nonchocolate: 41 41 37 29 30 38 39 10
29 55 29
6. Teacher Salaries. A researcher claims that the mean of the salaries of elementary school
teachers is greater than the mean of the salaries of secondary school teachers in a large school
district. The mean of the salaries of a sample of 26 elementary school teachers is $48 256, and
the sample standard deviation is $3 912.40. The mean of the salaries of a sample of 24
secondary school teachers is $45 633. The standard deviation is $5 533. At α = 0.05, can it be
concluded that the mean of the salaries of the elementary school teachers is greater than the
mean of the salaries of the secondary school teachers? Use the p-value method.
7. Weights of Running Shoes. The weights in ounces of a sample of running shoes for men and
women are shown. Test the claim that the means are different. Use the P-value method with a
0.05.

Men Women
10.4 12.6 10.6 10.2 8.8
11.1 14.7 9.6 9.5 9.5
10.8 12.9 10.1 11.2 9.3
11.7 13.3 9.4 10.3 9.5
12.8 14.5 9.8 10.3 11.0
8. Weights of Vacuum Cleaners Upright vacuum cleaners have either a hard body type or a soft
body type. Shown are the weights in pounds of a sample of each type. At α = 0.05, can it be
concluded that the means of the weights are different?

Hard body types Soft body types

21 17 17 20 24 13 11 13
16 17 15 20 12 15
23 16 17 17
13 15 16 18
18

11. Hours Spent Watching Television. According to Nielsen Media Research, children (ages 2–11) spend
an average of 21 hours 30 minutes watching television per week while teens (ages 12–17) spend an
average of 20 hours 40 minutes. Based on the sample statistics obtained below, is there sufficient
evidence to conclude a difference in average television watching times between the two groups? Use α
= 0.01.

Children Teens
Sample mean 22.45 18.50
Sample variance 16.4 18.2
Sample size 15 15
12. NFL Salaries. An agent claims that there is no difference between the pay of safeties and linebackers
in the NFL. A survey of 15 safeties found an average salary of $501,580, and a survey of 15 linebackers
found an average salary of $513,360. If the standard deviation in the first sample is $20,000 and the
standard deviation in the second sample is $18,000, is the agent correct? Use α = 0.05.

16. Hockey’s Highest Scorers. The number of points held by a sample of the NHL’s highest scorers for
both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference is shown below. At a 0.05, can it be
concluded that there is a difference in means based on these data?

Eastern Conference Western Conference

83 60 75 58 77 59 72 58
78 59 70 58 37 57 66 55
62 61 59 61