LESSON 4.

2
The t - Distribution
Learning Competencies

1. Illustrate & construct the t-

distribution
2. Identify regions under the t-
distribution corresponding to
different t-values
 t-Distribution
 The t-test is used to
determine the significance of
the difference between the
means of two sets
 It is a method of testing

hypotheses about the mean

of two small samples
 Concept...
 Inthe case of limited samples
or a number of samples less
than 30 taken from a
randomly distributed
population, it is wise to use
the so-called t-distribution
 Concept...
 It
is a family of curves on the
degrees of freedom. The t-
distribution curve is flatter
than the normal curve but it
approaches the normal
distribution as the sample
size increases.
 Concept...
 William S. Gosset was an
English Statistician who
developed the t-distribution,
which is used instead of z-
distribution for doing
inferential statistics on the
population mean when the
population standard deviation
is unknown and the
 Formula...
X  
t
s
n

s - is the estimated sample standard

deviation
x - sample mean; μ = population
mean;
n = sample size
 Degrees of Freedom...
df = n - 1
 ...is
simply a measure of
how many values can vary
in a sample statistics. It
could also mean the
number of independent
observations in a set of
data.
 Characteristics
1. It is a bell-shaped curve symmetrical
about the mean
2. The mean of the distribution is equal
to 0 and is located at the center of
the distribution.
3. The curve is asymptotic to the x-
axis.

4. The variance of the distribution is

equal to v = df/(df - 2) which is
greater than 1
How to use the t-table?

Area under the curve

comes from the top
line.
Degrees of Freedom
from the side

Value in the middle is

the T value or t critical
value
 Lets Practice
A. Find the degrees of freedom
given the following sample
size.
1. n = 29
2. n = 15
3. n = 10
4. n = 5
 Lets Practice
B. Find the variance given the
following degrees of freedom
1. 9
2. 12
3. 10
4. 5
5. 20
 Let’s Practice
C. Find the critical value given
the following sample size and
confidence limit.
1. n = 10 @ 90%
2. n = 20 @ 70%
 Formative Assessment
A. Find the degrees of freedom
given the following sample
size.
1. 30

2. 25

3. 20

4. 10
 Formative Assessment
B. Find the variance given the
following sample size.
1. 15
2. 26
3. 11
4. 18
5. 33
 Formative Assessment
C. Find the critical value given
the following sample size and
confidence limit.
1. n = 13 @ 95%
2. n = 25 @ 60%
3. n = 30 @ 99%
4. n = 18 @ 85%
5. n = 10 @ 95%
 Formative Assessment
C. Find the critical value given
the following sample size and
confidence limit.
1. n = 13 @ 95%
2. n = 25 @ 60%
3. n = 30 @ 99%
4. n = 18 @ 85%
5. n = 10 @ 95%
 Lets Do the Problem
1. Find the value of t α/2 for a 95%
confidence limit when the sample
size is 25.

Solution:
with 95% confidence interval,
α = 0.05 and α/2 = 0.025, df = 24
locate the intersection = 2.064
 Lets Do the Problem
2. Find the variance of the t-
distribution with 20 degrees of
freedom.

v = df = 20 = 20 ≈ 1.11
df -2 20-2 18
 Lets Do the Problem
3. Find the value of t α/2 for a 90%
confidence interval when the
sample size is 25 .
4. Find the value of t α/2 for a 98%
confidence interval when the
sample size is 30 .
5. Compute the variance of the t-
distribution with 40 degrees of
freedom
 Summary of Differences
z-test t-test
σ is known σ is unknown
n ≥ 30 σ n < 30
X   X  
z  t 
 s
n n

Used z-table for Used t-table for

critical value critical value
Review
1. What is the formula in
using the t- test ?
X 
t
s
n
2. When will the t-test be
used in analysing data?
3. What is the degree of
freedom if the sample
size is 20?

df = 20 – 1 = 19
4. Find the value of t α/2
for 85% confidence
limit when the sample
size is 17.
1.512
5. Find the variance if the
degrees of freedom is 19?

V = df/(df-2)
V = 19/17
V = 1.12
6. Find the variance if the
sample size is 23?

V = df/(df-2)
V = 22/20
V = 1.1
7. Identify the given.

A random sample of 10 observations

from a large populations has a mean of 18
and a standard deviation of 0.8. Can we
conclude that at α = 0.05 that the population
mean is significantly below 20.
8. Identify the test needed?

t-test or z-test

A random sample of 10 observations from a

large populations has a mean of 18 and a
standard deviation of 0.8. Can we conclude
that at α = 0.05 that the population mean is
significantly below 20.
 Problem Solving
1. A random sample of 25 observations
from a large population has a mean of
22 and a standard deviation of 2.8.
Can we conclude that at α = 0.05 that the
population mean is significantly below 20.
Solution: n = 25; x = 22; s = 2.8; u = 20; df = 24
α /2 = 0.025 ; t critical-value = 2.064
X
t t = 22 – 20 = 2/0.56 = 3.57
s
n 2.8/5
 Problem Solving
2. The average weight of Grade 11
students according to a recent survey
report is less than 60 cm coming from
random sample of 25 students with a
standard deviation of 15.55cm. Using a
95% confidence level, what is the
probability that the average weight of
the whole grade 11 students is greater
than 70 cm.

n = ___ u = ___ x = ___ s = _____

 Answer
n = 25 , df = 24 u = 70 x = 60 s = 15.55

t critical -value = 2.064

t = x - μ = 60 - 70 = - 10/3.11 = - 3. 215
s/√n 15.55/√25
 Problem Solving
3. It was announced that average price of
a kilo of pork liempo in Metro Manila is
Php 210. However a sample of 20 prices
randomly collected from different
markets showed an average of PHp 200
and with a standard deviation of Php
9.50. Using a/2 of 0.05 , is there
sufficient evidence to conclude that the
average price of pork liempo in Metro
Manila is more than Php 210?
u= ___ n=___ df= ____ x=___ s=___
u= 210 df = 19 n=20 x=200
s=9.50

t critical value =1.729

t = x - μ = 200 - 210 = -4.708

s/√n 9.5/√20
 Problem Solving
4. It was announced that average bill by
a small community in Tawi-Tawi in their
electricity consumption was 250 pesos
per month. However a sample of 10
families randomly collected showed an
average of 200 pesos and with a
standard deviation of Php 10.00. Using
a/2 of 0.05 , is there sufficient evidence
to conclude that the average electricity
bill in Tawi Tawi is more than Php 250?
u= ___ n=___ x=___ s= ____
 Problem Solving

5. A random sample of 20 observations

from a large populations has a mean of
18 and a standard deviation of 2.4. Can
we conclude that at 95% confidence level
that the population mean is significantly below
20.
Written Output 4.2 (1 whole)
Identify if the given problem can be solved
using a z-test or a t-test. If it is a t-test, solve
the problem.

In solving the problem, identify the following

a. Given ( sample mean, population mean,
sample standard deviation, sample size,
degrees of freedom, alpha/2)
b. t critical value
c. t computed value
1. Suppose you put up a company that
has developed vitamins that is
supposed to increase EQ. You know
that the standard deviation of EQ in the
general population is 20. You test your
vitamins on 40 patients and obtain a
mean EQ of 95.44. Using an alpha
value of 0.05, is this EQ significantly
different than the population mean of
100?
2. The average heart rate for Germans
is 70 beats/minute. A group of 27
individuals participated in an aerobics
fitness program to lower their heart
rate. After six months the group was
evaluated to identify if the program
had significantly slowed their heart
rate. The mean heart rate for the group
was 68 beats/minute with standard
deviation of 6.2. Using α/2 = 0.005 was
the aerobics program effective in
lowering heart rate?
3. A random sample of 20 observations
from a large populations has a mean of
16 and a standard deviation of 2. Can
we conclude that at 99.9% confidence
level that the population mean is significantly
above 18.
4. A random sample of 20 observations
from a large populations has a mean of
22. Can we conclude that at 90%
confidence level that the population mean is
significantly above 18 when the standard
deviation is 10?.
4. The population of all verbal GRE
scores are known to have a standard
deviation of 8.5. The UW Psychology
department hopes to receive
applicants with a verbal GRE scores
over 210. This year, the mean verbal
GRE scores for the 42 applicants was
212.79. Using a value of α = 0.05 is
this new mean significantly greater
than the desired mean of 210?
2. A random sample of 25 observations
from a large populations has a mean of
12. Can we conclude that at 90%
confidence level that the population mean is
significantly above 18 if its standard
deviation is 1.8.
3. The heart rates of 40 patients in an
ICU have mean 95.3beats/min and
standard deviation 16.9 beats/min. Are
heart rates from ICU patients unusual
given normal heart rate has mean of
72 beats/min with a significance of .01?
Quiz 4.2
A. Find the critical value given the following
sample size and confidence limit.
1. n = 22 @ 95%
2. n = 17 @ 60%
3. n = 9 @ 99%

B. Find the variance given the following

sample size.
4. 27
5. 18
 C. Solve using t-test
The Math Coordinator of a certain school
would like to estimate how long would it take
to complete the test she has prepared for the
entrance exam. She assumes that the time
taken to complete a problem in Math test is
normally distributed. A sample size of 20 was
taken, and a sample mean and standard
deviation were found to be 3.8 and 0.42
respectively. Estimate the mean time taken to
complete a problem using 85% & 95%
confidence interval if the population mean is
4.8.
A. Find the critical value given the following
sample size and confidence limit.
1. n = 15 @ 95%
2. n = 20 @ 60%
3. n = 10 @ 99%

B. Find the variance given the following

sample size.
4. 29
5. 11
 C. Teacher Almira would like to estimate how
long would it take to complete the test she has
prepared for the entrance exam. She
assumes that the time taken to complete a
problem in Statistics test is normally
distributed. A sample size of 25 was taken,
and a sample mean and standard deviation
were found to be 4.8 and 0.57 respectively.
Estimate the mean time taken to complete a
problem using 90% & 98% confidence interval
if the population mean is 5.0.