MATH 2526 Chapter 8 Assignment

Q1: Calories in school lunches. India’s Mid-Day Meal scheme mandates that high
schools that are part of this scheme must serve lunches that contain at least 700
calories and 20 grams of protein. Suppose a nutritionist believes that the true mean
number of calories served at lunch at all high schools that are part of this scheme is
less than 700 calories.

a. Identify the parameter of interest.

b. Specify the null and alternative hypotheses for testing this claim.

c. Describe a Type I error in the words of the problem.

d. Describe a Type II error in the words of the problem.

(Q8.16)

Q2: In a test of the hypothesis H0: μ = 20 versus Ha: μ ≠ 20, a sample of n = 50

(Q8.27)

Q3: Speeding and young drivers. Psychologists conducted a survey of 258 student
drivers and their attitudes toward speeding and reported the results in the British
Journal of Educational Psychology (Vol. 80, 2010). One of the variables of interest
was the response to the question, “Are you confident that you can resist your
friends’ persuasion to drive faster?” Each response was measured on a 7-point
scale, from 1 = “definitely no” to 7 = “definitely yes.” The data were collected 5
months after the students had attended a safe-driver presentation. The psychologists
reported a sample mean response of 4.98 and a sample standard deviation of 1.62.
Suppose it is known that the true mean response of students who do not attend a
safe-driver presentation is m = 4.7.

a. Set up the null and alternative hypotheses for testing whether the true mean student-
driver response 5 months after a safe-driver presentation is larger than 4.7.

b. Calculate the test statistic for the hypothesis test.

c. Find the rejection region for the hypothesis test, using a = .05.
d. State the appropriate conclusion, in the words of the problem.

e. Do the test results indicate that the safe-driver presentation was effective in helping
students feel more confident that they can resist their friends’ persuasion to drive
faster? Explain.

f. The distribution of response scores (on a 7-point scale) for all student drivers is
unlikely to be normal. Does this impact the validity of the hypothesis test? Why
or why not?

(Q8.38)

Q4: Facial structure of CEOs. Refer to the Psychological Science (Vol. 22, 2011)
study on using a chief executive officer’s facial structure to predict a firm’s
financial performance, Exercise 7.21 (p. 353). Recall that the facial width-to-height
ratio (WHR) for each in a sample of 55 CEOs at publicly traded Fortune 500 firms
was determined. The sample resulted in x = 1.96 and s = .15. An analyst wants to
predict the financial performance of a Fortune 500 firm based on the value of the
true mean facial WHR of CEOs. The analyst wants to use the value of μ = 2.2. Do
you recommend he use this value? Conduct a test of hypothesis for μ to help you
answer the question. Specify all the elements of the test: H0 , Ha , test statistic, p-
value, α , and your conclusion.

(Q8.41)

Q5: Lobster trap placement. Refer to the Bulletin of Marine Science (Apr. 2010)
observational study of lobster trap placement by teams fishing for the red spiny
lobster in Baja California Sur, Mexico, Exercise 7.41 (p. 363). Trap spacing
measurements (in meters) for a sample of seven teams of red spiny lobster
fishermen are reproduced in the accompanying table. Let μ represent the average of
the trap spacing measurements for the population of red spiny lobster fishermen
fishing in Baja California Sur, Mexico. In Exercise 7.41 you computed the mean
and standard deviation of the sample measurements to be x = 89.9 meters and s =
11.6 meters, respectively. Suppose you want to determine if the true value of μ
differs from 95 meters.
a. Specify the null and alternative hypotheses for this test.

b. Since x = 89.9 is less than 95, a fisherman wants to reject the null hypothesis. What
are the problems with using such a decision rule?

c. Compute the value of the test statistic.

d. Find the approximate p-value of the test.

e. Select a value of α , the probability of a Type I error. Interpret this value in the
words of the problem.

f. Give the appropriate conclusion, based on the results of parts d and e. g. What
conditions must be satisfied for the test results to be valid?

h. Find a 95% confidence interval for μ. Does the interval support your conclusion in
part f?

(Q8.59)

Q6: Radon exposure in Egyptian tombs. Refer to the Radiation Protection Dosimetry
(Dec. 2010) study of radon exposure in Egyptian tombs, Exercise 7.39 (p.362). The
radon levels—measured in becquerels per cubic meter (Bq/m3)—in the inner
chambers of a sample of 12 tombs are listed in the table. For the safety of the
guards and visitors, the Egypt Tourism Authority (ETA) will temporarily close the
tombs if the true mean level of radon exposure in the tombs rises to 6,000 Bq/m3.
Consequently, the ETA wants to conduct a test to determine if the true mean level
of radon exposure in the tombs is less than 6,000 Bq/m3, using a Type I error
probability of .10. An SAS analysis of the data is shown. Specify all the elements of
the test: H0, Ha, test statistic, p-value, α , and your conclusion.
(Q8.64)

Q7: Paying for music downloads. If you use the Internet, have you ever paid to access
or download music? This was one of the questions of interest in a recent Pew
Internet and American Life Project Survey (Oct. 2010). In a representative sample
of 755 adults who use the Internet, 506 stated that they have paid to download
music. Let p represent the true proportion of all Internet-using adults who have paid
to download music.

a. Compute a point estimate of p.

b. Set up the null and alternative hypotheses for testing whether the true proportion of
all Internet-using adults who have paid to download music exceeds .7.

c. Compute the test statistic for part b.

d. Find the rejection region for the test if α = .01.

e. Find the p-value for the test.

f. Make the appropriate conclusion using the rejection region.

g. Make the appropriate conclusion using the p-value.

(Q8.80)

Q8: It is desired to test H0: μ = 60 against Ha: μ < 60, using α = .10. The population in
 question is uniformly distributed with standard deviation 22.5. A random sample of
size 81 will be drawn from the population.

a. Describe the (approximate) sampling distribution of x under the assumption that H0

b. Describe the (approximate) sampling distribution of x under the assumption that the
population mean is 55.

c. If m were really equal to 55, what is the probability that the hypothesis test would
lead the investigator to commit a Type II error?

d. What is the power of this test for detecting the alternative Ha: μ = 55?

(Q8.99)

Q9: Latex allergy in health care workers. Refer to the Current Allergy & Clinical
Immunology (Mar. 2004) study of n = 46 hospital employees who were diagnosed
with a latex allergy from exposure to the powder on latex gloves, presented in
Exercise 7.15 (p. 352). Recall that the number of latex gloves used per week by the
sampled workers is summarized as follows: x = 19.3 and s = 11.9. Let σ 2 represent
the variance in the number of latex gloves used per week by all hospital employees.
Consider testing H0: σ 2 = 100 against Ha: σ 2 ≠ 100.

a. Give the rejection region for the test at a significance level of α = .01.

b. Calculate the value of the test statistic.

c. Use the results from parts a and b to draw the appropriate conclusion.

(Q8.121)

Q10: Errors in medical tests. Medical tests have been developed to detect many
serious diseases. A medical test is designed to minimize the probability that it will
produce a “false positive” or a “false negative.” A false positive is a positive test
result for an individual who does not have the disease, whereas a false negative is a
negative test result for an individual who does have the disease.

a. If we treat a medical test for a disease as a statistical test of hypothesis, what are the
null and alternative hypotheses for the medical test?

b. What are the Type I and Type II errors for the test? Relate each to false positives
 and false negatives.

c. Which of these errors has graver consequences? Considering this error, is it more
important to minimize α or β ? Explain.

(Q8.150)

Optional Questions: Q8.13, Q8.15, Q8.20, Q8.29, Q8.45, Q8.48, Q8.50, Q8.61,
Q8.68, Q8.90, Q8.102, Q8.119, Q.122, Q8.143, Q8.154, Q8.157, Q8.159.c,