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Study Guide

Unit 5 Estimation and Tests of Hypotheses for Two or More Populations

In Unit 4, we began a discussion of the field of statistical inference through problems involving
confidence interval estimates and hypotheses tests about the mean and proportion for a single
population.

In Unit 5, we extend our consideration of statistical inference to confidence interval estimates and
hypotheses tests involving the mean and proportion for two or more populations.We also examine other
common tests of hypotheses, including tests for experiments with more than two categories, tests about
contingency tables, and tests about the variance and standard deviation of a single population.

After completing Unit 5, you will be able to construct confidence interval estimates and conduct tests of
hypotheses that can apply to a wide range of real-world situations. As an example, if you are an owner
of a chain of retail clothing stores, you might compare the average dollar sales per square foot of retail
space achieved at each of your different store locations. Or, you may be part of a medical research team
comparing the proportion of patients that respond positively to alternative treatments for a serious
disease. As a counselor at a large university, you might need to test the effectiveness of a new
examination writing strategy on a cohort of freshman students. As a criminologist you may want to see
if there is a relation between gender and attitudes towards capital punishment.

Unit 5 of Mathematics 215 consists of the sections listed below.

5-1 Inferences about the Difference between Two Population Means for Independent Samples: σ1
and σ2 Unknown but Equal
5-2 Inferences about the Difference between Two Population Means for Paired Samples
5-3 Inferences about the Difference between Two Population Proportions for Large and
Independent Samples
5-4 Goodness-of-Fit Tests
5-5 Tests for Independence and Homogeneity
5-6 Inferences about the Population Variance
5-7 Analysis of Variance

The unit also contains a self test (with solutions) and instructions for the fifth assignment.

Section 5-1 Inferences about the Difference between Two

Population Means for Independent Samples: σ1 and σ2 Unknown
but Equal
Objectives

After completing the readings and exercises for this section, you should be able to

1. define, and use in context, the key terms listed below.

 independent sample versus dependent samples
 sampling distribution of x̄ 1  x̄ 2
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2. construct a confidence interval for the difference between two population means based on
independent samples, with σ1 and σ2 unknown but equal.
3. use the critical value approach to perform a hypothesis test about the difference between two
population means based on independent samples, with σ1 and σ2 unknown but equal.

Reading

Remember that you must be prepared to read the material twice—first for a general overview of topics,
and a second time to concentrate on the terms and examples presented.

Read the introduction to Chapter 10, “Estimation and Hypothesis Testing: Two Populations,” and
Sections 10.1 and 10.2, pages 462-478. Omit all of the subsections titled “Using the p-Value to Make a
Decision.” Note also that we will not cover Section 10.3 in this course.

Exercises

Remember to show your work as you develop your answers.

Solutions are provided in the Student Solutions Manual. Remember, it is very important that you make a
concerted effort to answer each question independently before you refer to the solutions. If your answers
differ from those provided and you cannot understand why, do not hesitate to contact your tutor for
assistance.

Complete Exercises 10.17, 10.23, 10.25, 10.27, 10.29 and 10.31 on pages 478-480.

Note: For hypotheses tests, use the critical value approach.

Section 5-2 Inferences about the Difference between Two

Population Means for Paired Samples
Objectives

After completing the readings and exercises for this section, you should be able to

1. define, and use in context, the term “paired samples” (or “matched samples”).
2. construct confidence interval estimates for the difference between two population means for
paired samples.
3. use the critical value approach to perform hypothesis tests about the difference between two
population means based on paired samples.
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Reading

Read Section 10.4 on pages 487-494. Omit all of the subsections titled “Using the p-Value to Make a
Decision.”

Exercises

Complete Exercises 10.53, 10.55 and 10.57 on pages 495-496. For hypotheses tests, use the critical
value approach.

Solutions are provided in the Student Solutions Manual.

Section 5-3 Inferences about the Difference between Two

Population Proportions for Large and Independent Samples
Objectives

After completing the readings and exercises for this section, you should be able to

p1  
1. define, and use in context, the concept of “sampling distribution of  p 2.”
2. construct confidence interval estimates for the difference between two population proportions for
large and independent samples.
3. use the critical value approach to perform hypothesis tests about the difference between two
population proportions based on large and independent samples.

Reading

Read Section 10.5 on pages 496-504. Omit all of the subsections titled “Using the p-Value to Make a
Decision.”

Exercises

Complete each of the exercises listed below.

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Note: For hypotheses tests, use the critical value approach.

 Exercises 10.61, 10.63, 10.69(a), 10.69(b), 10.73 and 10.75 on pages 504-506. For hypotheses
tests, use the critical value approach only.
 Supplementary Exercises 10.79, 10.87, 10.89(a), 10.89(b) and 10.91(a) and 10.91(b) on
pages 507-509. For hypotheses tests, use the critical value approach only.

Solutions are provided in the Student Solutions Manual.

Then, do Questions 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 in the “Self-Review Test” on pages 511-512.

Optional Extra Practice

Follow the “Read, Study & Practice” link on your course home page. The link will open in a new
window. Choose the chapter of interest. Optional practice exercises with solutions may be found at the
end of the Resources for each chapter.

Section 5-4 Goodness-of-Fit Tests

Objectives

After completing the readings and exercises for this section, you should be able to

1. define, and use in context, the key terms listed below.

 chi-square distribution
 multinomial experiment
 observed frequency
 expected frequency
2. use the critical value approach to perform hypotheses tests about goodness-of-fit

Reading

Read the introduction to Chapter 11, “Chi-square Tests,” and Sections 11.1 and 11.2, pages 521-531.

Exercises

Complete Exercises 11.3, 11.5 and 11.7 on page 524, and Exercises 11.13, 11.15, 11.17 and 11.21 on
pages 532-533.
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Solutions are provided in the Student Solutions Manual.

Section 5-5 Tests for Independence and Homogeneity

Objectives

After completing the readings and exercises for this section, you should be able to

1. define the term “contingency table,” and use contingency tables to solve problems.
2. use the critical value approach to perform hypotheses tests about the independence of two
attributes of a population.
3. Use the critical value approach to perform hypotheses tests about the homogeneity of two or more
populations.

Reading

Read Section 11.3 on pages 534-542.

Exercises

Complete Exercises 11.25, 11.29, 11.33, 11.35 and 11.39 on pages 543-546.

Solutions are provided in the Student Solutions Manual.

Section 5-6 Inferences about the Population Variance

Objectives

After completing the readings and exercises for this section, you should be able to

1. construct a confidence interval for the population variance, σ 2 or for the population standard
deviation, σ.
2. use the critical value approach to perform a hypothesis test for the population variance, σ 2 or for
the population standard deviation, σ .
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Reading

Read Section 11.4 on pages 546-551.

Exercises

Complete Exercises 11.41, 11.43, 11.45, 11.47 and 11.49 on pages 551-552.

Solutions are provided in the Student Solutions Manual.

Then, do Questions 1-13 in the “Self-Review Test” on pages 559-560.

Optional Extra Practice

Follow the “Read, Study & Practice” link on your course home page. The link will open in a new
window. Choose the chapter of interest. Optional practice exercises with solutions may be found at the
end of the Resources for each chapter.

Section 5-7 Analysis of Variance

Objectives

After completing the readings and exercises for this section, you should be able to

1. define, and use in context, the key terms listed below.

 F distribution
 one-way ANOVA
2. use the critical value approach to perform a one-way ANOVA test.

Reading

Read the introduction to Chapter 12, “Analysis of Variance,” and Sections 12.1 and 12.2, pages 566-
577.

Exercises
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Complete each of the exercises listed below.

 Exercises 12.7 and 12.9 on page 569

 Exercises 12.11, 12.13, 12.15, 12.17 and 12.21 on pages 577-580

Solutions are provided in the Student Solutions Manual.

Then, do Questions 1-10 in the “Self-Review Test” on pages 585-586.

Optional Extra Practice

Follow the “Read, Study & Practice” link on your course home page. The link will open in a new
window. Choose the chapter of interest. Optional practice exercises with solutions may be found at the
end of the Resources for each chapter.

Unit 5 Self Test

1. In a random sample of 2200 males, 1628 males indicated that they exercise regularly every
week. In an independent random sample of 2000 females, 1200 females indicated that they
exercise regularly every week.
a. Construct a 96% confidence interval for the difference in the proportion of the male
population and the proportion of the female population that exercises regularly. Keep
your middle work to four decimal places and your final answer to two decimal places.
b. Conduct a test of hypothesis at the 2% level of significance to determine whether the
proportion of the male population that exercises regularly exceeds the proportion of the
female population that exercises regularly. Use the critical value approach. Keep your
work to four decimal places.
2. A large fast-food chain has a quality standard for the standard deviation of the waiting times
of its customers. The waiting time refers to the period between the time that the customer first
stands in line and the time the customer gets his or her meal. The quality standard is that the
standard deviation of population waiting times is at most one minute.
The waiting times, in minutes, experienced by a sample of six randomly selected customers
of the fast-food chain are listed below.
4.5, 8, 6, 6.5, 7, 5
a. Compute the sample standard deviation of the waiting times. Keep all of your work to
four decimal places.
b. Construct a 99% confidence interval for the population variance and standard deviation
of waiting times. Assume the population of waiting times is normally distributed. Keep
all of your work to four decimal places.
c. At the 1% level of significance, test whether the fast food chain is meeting its quality
standard, based on the sample of six waiting times. Keep your work to four decimal
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places.
3. A consumer agency is investigating the performance of two new brands of golf drivers—
Brand A and Brand B—that have recently been advertised on television. In the ads, each
brand claims to out-perform the other, in terms of driving distance. To test these claims, a
sample of seven regular golfers was randomly selected. Each golfer played a round of golf
using Brand A as the driver throughout. A week later, under identical playing conditions,
each golfer played a round of golf, on the same golf course, using Brand B as the driver
throughout the round.
The table below matches, for each golfer, the best driving distance, in yards, achieved using
Brand A with the best distance achieved using Brand B.
Golfer
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Brand A 180 265 226 197 244 232 266
Brand B 188 268 230 195 250 237 275
a. Construct a 98% confidence interval for the true population mean difference in driving
distance achieved using each of the two brands of golf drivers. Assume that the
population of paired differences has a normal distribution. Keep all of your work to four
decimal places.
b. Using the critical value approach, test at the 5% level of significance whether the two
brands of golf drivers differ in terms of driving distance achieved. Assume that the
population of paired differences has a normal distribution. Keep your work to four
decimal places.
4. All students entering Grade 10 in a Canadian province are required to take a mathematics
achievement examination. In past years, male students taking this examination achieved
higher scores, on average, than did female students. This year, a random sample of 36 male
students recorded a mean sample score of 68 with a sample standard deviation of 10, while a
random sample of 36 females recorded a mean sample score of 64 with a sample standard
deviation of 8. Assume that the population of male student scores has the same standard
deviation as the population of female student scores.
At the 1% significance level, test whether, in the current year, the population of Grade 10
males achieved higher math scores, on average, than the population of Grade 10 female
students. Keep your work to four decimal places.
5. Many people believe that, for the identical crime, criminal defendants who plead guilty tend
to get lighter sentences than those who plead not guilty and are subsequently convicted. To
test this belief, a criminologist selects a random sample of 1000 defendants who received
sentences for an identical criminal charge, and constructs the contingency table below. At the
2.5% level of significance, test the claim that the sentence (sent to prison or not sent to
prison) is independent of the plea. Keep all of your work to four decimal places.
Guilty Plea Not Guilty Plea
Sent to prison 400 60
Not sent to prison 500 40

6. A research project was designed to compare the lengths of time, in hours, that three different
drugs—RestEasy, PainLess and Relaxabit—provide pain relief following wisdom tooth
surgery. The project consisted of randomly administering each of the three drug brands to
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four subjects who had just undergone wisdom tooth surgery. The sample results are described
in the table below. If the necessary assumptions are satisfied (i.e., three normally distributed
populations, etc.), can it be concluded, at the 5% level of significance, that there is no
significant difference in the mean hours of pain relief provided by the three drugs? Use the
critical value approach. Keep all of your work to four decimal places.
RestEasy PainLess Relaxabit
8 6 10
6 7 9
5 4 8
4 3 7
7. The distribution of all the votes registered in a large Canadian riding for the 2005 federal
election is described in the table below. This is hypothetical data. Keep all of your work to
four decimal places.
Political Party Percentage of Votes Cast
Conservative 42%
Liberals 38%
New Democrats 12%
Other 8%
In 2006, a random sample of 100 randomly selected Canadians from the same large riding (all
of whom voted in the 2005 election) provided the following distribution of voting intentions
for the next election.
Number of Canadians Planning to Vote
Political Party for each Party in the Next Election
Conservative 44
Liberals 35
New Democrats 10
Other 11
At the 1% level of significance, test the hypothesis that the percentage distribution of
intended votes in 2006 differs from the distribution registered in 2005, for the large riding
described above. Keep your work to four decimal places.

Access the solutions from your course home page.