Statistics Independent Study

More Two-Sample t Tests

Study Sheet

Page 1 of 2

Questions for Study

1. Write a null and an alternative hypothesis for each of the following. Be sure to state
each hypothesis in the context of the problem.
A.

A weight-loss clinic conducts a study to prove that its program is more

effective at reducing weight than the leading diet pill. Researchers
randomly assign people to two groups. Group one participates in the clinic's
program, and group two takes the leading diet pill. After a specified period
of time, researchers measure each person's weight loss.

B.

A high school wants to know if there's a difference between the number of

graduates that attend local colleges and the number of graduates that go to
out-of-state colleges.

C.

A university thinks students are taking longer to complete their degrees

now than they did ten years ago. To test this, researchers take a random
sample of graduates from ten years ago (sample 1) and a random sample
of this year's graduates (sample 2) and record the number of months it
took each student to complete their degree.

D.

A science class designs an experiment to test parachute fabric. Students

make two parachutes of equal size, one from fabric A and one from fabric
B, and attach them to identical sand-filled pouches. The pouches are
dropped from the top floor of the school and a student records the time it
takes each pouch to land. The students think fabric A will give a longer
mean descent time than fabric B.

2. A science class designs a parachute experiment where the null hypothesis is

H0 : 1 = 2 (there's no difference between the mean descent time of parachutes
made of fabric A and those made out of fabric B), and the alternative hypothesis is
H a : 1 > 2 (the parachutes made out of fabric A have a longer descent time than
those made out of fabric B). A test of the two fabrics results in the following descent
times (in seconds):
Fabric A: (5.4, 4.7, 5.3, 5.5, 5.3, 4.8, 5.1, 5.2, 4.9, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 4.9,
5.6, 5.3, 5.4)
Fabric B: (4.5, 4.5, 4.4, 4.6, 4.9, 5.1, 4.7, 4.8, 4.2, 4.3, 4.6, 4.7, 4.6, 4.7, 4.6, 4.8,
4.5)
A. How would you test these hypotheses, and what are the conditions
necessary to use this test? Does this situation meet these conditions?
B. Using the conservative method, calculate your degrees of freedom, k, for
this test by hand. (Don't use your calculator, and don't pool.)
C. Calculate your test statistic and P-value.
D. State a conclusion for the hypothesis H 0 : 1 = 2 , H a : 1 > 2 using
= .01.

Statistics Independent Study

More Two-Sample t Tests
Study Sheet

Page 2 of 2

E. Suppose the students don't have a theory about which fabric will produce
longer descent times
they just want to test whether there's a difference.
What would their null and alternative hypotheses be?
F. Construct a 99% confidence interval that tests this hypothesis.
G. State a conclusion for the two-sided test, H 0 : 1 = 2 and H a : 1 2 ,
based on the 99% confidence interval (.3172, .7628).

_____________
Copyright 2000 Apex Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of
registered users only. No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without
the express written permission of Apex Learning, Inc.