Solving Statistics Retour: 95% Confidence Interval & Hypothesis Test

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In summary, the conversation is about a person who hasn't touched statistics in a year and is now struggling to understand a question about constructing a 95 percent confidence interval for a laboratory's variance. They are also asked to test the hypothesis that the population mean is equal to 190 mg/dL. The person is feeling lost and depressed and is seeking help to understand the terminology and techniques needed for these questions.
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Mafer
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I haven't touch statistics for year and now I came back to find I am totally lost.
Here is one of the question that I wish to know how to solve it, in terms of steps, so that I can gain back memory about it.

Part 1:
In a test of a laboratory's measurement of serum cholesterol, 15 samples containing the same known amount (190 mg/dL) of serum cholesterol are submitted for measurement as part of a larger batch of samples, one sample each day over a three-week period. Suppose that the following daily values in mg/dL for serum cholesterol for these 15 samples were reported from the laboratory:

180, 190, 197, 199, 210, 187, 192, 199, 214, 237, 188, 197, 208, 220, 239

Assume that the variance for the measurement of serum cholesterol is supposed to be no larger than 100 mg/dL. Construct the 95 percent confidence interval for this laboratory's variance. Does 100 mg/dL fall within the confidence interval? What might be an explanation for the pattern shown in the reported values?

Part 2:
For the same data, test the hypothesis that the measuring process works - that is, test the hyposthesis that the population mean of the values measured by this process equals 190 versus the alternative hypothesis that the population mean is not equal to 190 mg/dL. Perform the test at the 0.02 significance level.

I know it is a bit too much, but I am really very very lost and depressed, help.
 
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These types of questions are straightforward, you just have to look up the appropriate technique (and get familiar with the terminology). According to
http://www.fmi.uni-sofia.bg/vesta/Virtual_Labs/interval/interval6.html :
let S^2 be the sample variance of normally distributed data
let [tex]\chi^2_{n,a}[/tex] be the number x such that if X has a [tex]\chi^2[/tex] distribution with n degrees of freedom , then P(X < x) = a.
then
[tex]\left(\frac{n-1}{\chi^2_{n-1,1-a/2}}S^2,\frac{n-1}{\chi^2_{n-1,a/2}}S^2\right)[/tex]
is a 1-a confidence interval for the distribution variance. You can calculate this interval numerically using a table for the [tex]\chi^2[/tex] distribution or some stats software.

In part 2, you need to use a one-sample t-test.

If these terms are unfamiliar to you, you just need to review your stats book and look up what you don't remember.
 
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1. What is a 95% confidence interval?

A 95% confidence interval is a range of values that is believed to contain the true population parameter with 95% certainty. In other words, if the same sample is taken multiple times, 95% of the intervals calculated from those samples would contain the true population parameter.

2. How is a 95% confidence interval calculated?

A 95% confidence interval is typically calculated using the sample mean, sample standard deviation, and the desired level of confidence. The formula for calculating the confidence interval is: sample mean ± (critical value * standard error), where the critical value is determined based on the desired confidence level and the sample size, and the standard error is calculated from the sample data.

3. What is a hypothesis test?

A hypothesis test is a statistical analysis used to determine whether there is a significant difference between two or more groups or variables. It involves formulating a null hypothesis, which states that there is no significant difference, and an alternative hypothesis, which states that there is a significant difference. The test then uses sample data to either reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis.

4. What is the purpose of a hypothesis test?

The purpose of a hypothesis test is to make an inference about a population based on a sample of data. It allows us to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis and support the alternative hypothesis. This helps us make decisions and draw conclusions about the population based on the sample data.

5. What is the difference between a one-tailed and two-tailed hypothesis test?

In a one-tailed hypothesis test, the alternative hypothesis is directional, meaning it states that there is a significant difference in a specific direction (e.g. the mean of group A is greater than the mean of group B). In a two-tailed hypothesis test, the alternative hypothesis is non-directional, meaning it states that there is a significant difference but does not specify the direction (e.g. the means of group A and group B are not equal). The choice of a one-tailed or two-tailed test depends on the research question and the specific hypothesis being tested.

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