Brown

Mathematics and Statistics

Hypothesis Testing
This worksheet is meant to provide an opportunity to practice doing hypothesis
testing in a structured way. It is meant to be done after you do the required reading.
Null and Alternative Hypothesis Practice
Remember from your reading that the null and alternative hypotheses represent
the two sides of an issue. One side may argue that some value for a population parameter
is correct, while the other side thinks its incorrect. (For instance, imagine that two
researchers argued over whether the average commute time for New Yorkers was or
wasnt 36 minutes.)
This disagreement can take one of two forms: Researcher A can say it is 36
minutes while Researcher B says it is not; or, Researcher A can say it is 36 minutes while
Researcher B says, specifically, that it must be either higher or lower. The first form is
what is called a two-tailed (or two-sided) hypothesis test, because if a number (like the
36) is simply incorrect, it may be either too high or too low. Thus there are two directions
it can go in, in order to be incorrect.
The second form of the disagreement is one-tailed (or one-sided) because the
issue is whether the difference is due to being wrong in some specific single direction.
Determine whether the following questions would be associated with one- or twotailed hypothesis tests:
1. Research is performed to determine if the unemployment rate was actually 8.3%
Two - tailed
2. A doctor monitored the group of test subjects to see whether they lost more body
fat than predicted.
One - tailed
3. Average Manhattan automobile speeds were recorded to investigate whether
gridlock is actually worse than last year.
One - tailed
4. Economists worry whether our society saves enough money. A study was
performed to determine if savings rates are different now compared to other
decades.
Two - tailed
Here are some examples of important word pairs that appear in hypothesis tests.
Try to classify whether they would go with one- or two-tailed hypothesis tests:
Is/Isnt
Bigger/Smaller
Faster/Slower
Correct/Incorrect

True/False
Equal To/Greater Than

Those in yellow are associated with two - tailed tests. The rest are one - tailed.

Brown
Mathematics and Statistics
Lets do an example. We will use the Empirical Rule. (The 68-95-99.7 rule.)
Since we will use the empirical rule, we do not need to worry about whether to use the Zcurve or t-curve. We will simply be using units of standard error.
The premise: A company manufactures tubing for the automotive industry. While
the tubing may be trimmed during installation if it is too long, it is useless if it is too
short. To minimize waste, it is determined that the average length must be close to 85
centimeters. A sample of 144 parts was taken from the production line. Their lengths
were measured, and the average of the sample was determined to be 85.11 centimeters.
The population is assumed to have a standard deviation, , of .6 centimeters.
Does the sample indicate that there is enough evidence to conclude that the
average length is significantly different from 85 centimeters? Use = .05.
1. Determine the Null and Alternative Hypotheses:
A. Decide: Is this a one-sided hypothesis test, or two-sided? Why?
Explain: Two - tailed Two tailed, because the question asks whether the
average length is significantly different than 85 cm.
B. The null hypothesis can be very easy: (Choose one)
HO: = __85__ centimeters
C. The alternative hypothesis will take a little thought. Remember, the alternative
hypothesis reflects what the sample data may prove:
HA: __85__ centimeters

Note: Three of the choices shown above would never be used for the alternative
hypothesis: , , =
2. Draw a curve on the next page and mark the value for , as well as the value that
separates the tail(s) (containing the ) area from the body of the curve. This is/these are
the Critical Value(s). You should mark your drawing there.
The critical value(s) can be found by taking 0, ____85_____, and both adding
and subtracting (1, 2, 3) units of standard error:
2*.05 = 85.10

Brown
Mathematics and Statistics

3. Ask: does the sample mean, 85.11 centimeters, fall into the tail(s)?
It falls into the tail, so we reject the null hypothesis (this is the specific response for
this question)
If it falls into the tail, we ______Reject the Null Hypothesis________.
If it does not fall into the tail, we ___Fail to Reject the Null________.
Conclusion: (For the actual example/question above)
There is evidence to support the conclusion that the mean length differs from 85
centimeters.
Additional Questions:
What is the P-value? P-value is the area in the tail beyond the test statistic. Remember: If
the P-value is smaller than alpha, we reject the null hypothesis.
Shouldnt the Critical Value be expressed as a Z-value, instead of simply a raw score?
It is most common to express it as a Z-value, and its better if you do so. The same with
the test statistic.
What is Type I Error? Type II Error? What would each one be in the context of this
question? Type I error is mistakenly rejecting the null hypothesis. Type II error is
mistakenly NOT rejecting it.
Type I error in this example would be to reject the null hypothesis, falsely. If we have an
error, it would be this type. If we had failed to reject the null, falsely, we would be
committing a type II error.
How would it affect our critical value if the sample size were different? For example, if it
were 64? Or 256? (Re-calculate and see.) When the sample is larger, our interval
becomes more narrow, so a given test statistic is more likely to result in the rejection of
the null hypothesis. The opposite happens with a smaller sample.