Testing Hypotheses about Means and Proportions

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around hypothesis testing related to proportions, specifically concerning the claim that fewer than 30% of Thunder Bay households receive home delivery of the newspaper. Participants are analyzing data from a sample of 390 households, where 95 reported having home delivery, and are tasked with determining the appropriate statistical test and hypotheses to evaluate this claim.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the formulation of null and alternative hypotheses, with some confusion regarding their correct representation in the context of the claim. There are attempts to clarify the use of test statistics and the calculation of standard deviation. Questions arise about the interpretation of results and the implications of the sample data.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing exploration of the correct hypotheses and the calculations involved in hypothesis testing. Some participants have provided guidance on the formulation of hypotheses and the calculation of proportions, while others are still seeking clarity on specific steps and interpretations.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of a homework assignment, which includes specific requirements for hypothesis testing and the use of a defined alpha level. There is also a noted confusion regarding the definitions of null and alternative hypotheses in the context of the problem.

Sharp005
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Homework Statement


Hello Everyone!

I am having trouble with one of my questions it goes:

It is claimed that fewer than 30% of Thunder Bay households have home delivery of the newspaper. To test this claim, a random sample of 390 Thunder Bay households reveals that only 95 get the paper delivered. Using an alpha value of 0.01, what conclusion can be reached about the claim? (Test Statistic z* or t*)

Homework Equations


t* or z*= x-Mu/S/sqrt(n)

The Attempt at a Solution


I think:
H0: P=0.3
H1: P not equal to 0.3

I am pretty sure I am doing t* because the sample size is greater than 30, but the formula we are to us is x-Mu/S/sqrt(n)
x=95
Mu=0.3
S=?
n=390 (I'm not sure if those are right either)
I don't know how to find the standard deviation (s) I tried using S= sqrt[(np)(1-p)] where n=390 and p=30% (0.3) but my final answer is 9.05, and when I plug it into the first formula I get a large number 206.7 and I don't think that is right.

I just don't know how to find standard deviation for this equation and what to do after I solve the equation
Thanks!
 
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Sharp005 said:

Homework Statement


Hello Everyone!

I am having trouble with one of my questions it goes:

It is claimed that fewer than 30% of Thunder Bay households have home delivery of the newspaper. To test this claim, a random sample of 390 Thunder Bay households reveals that only 95 get the paper delivered. Using an alpha value of 0.01, what conclusion can be reached about the claim? (Test Statistic z* or t*)

Homework Equations


t* or z*= x-Mu/S/sqrt(n)
You need parentheses. The right side you wrote isn't what you meant, and would be interpreted as
$$x - \frac{\frac{\mu}{S}}{\sqrt{n}}$$
Sharp005 said:

The Attempt at a Solution


I think:
H0: P=0.3
H1: P not equal to 0.3
No. From your problem description, the claim is that "fewer than 30% of Thunder Bay households" get the newspaper at their home.
How should you write H0 and H1 to account for that?
Getting the null and alternate hypotheses right will also help you determine whether to use a one-tailed test or two-tailed test.
Sharp005 said:
I am pretty sure I am doing t* because the sample size is greater than 30, but the formula we are to us is x-Mu/S/sqrt(n)
x=95
Mu=0.3
S=?
n=390 (I'm not sure if those are right either)
I don't know how to find the standard deviation (s) I tried using S= sqrt[(np)(1-p)] where n=390 and p=30% (0.3) but my final answer is 9.05, and when I plug it into the first formula I get a large number 206.7 and I don't think that is right.

I just don't know how to find standard deviation for this equation and what to do after I solve the equation
Thanks!
 
Sharp005 said:

Homework Statement


Hello Everyone!

I am having trouble with one of my questions it goes:

It is claimed that fewer than 30% of Thunder Bay households have home delivery of the newspaper. To test this claim, a random sample of 390 Thunder Bay households reveals that only 95 get the paper delivered. Using an alpha value of 0.01, what conclusion can be reached about the claim? (Test Statistic z* or t*)

Homework Equations


t* or z*= x-Mu/S/sqrt(n)

The Attempt at a Solution


I think:
H0: P=0.3
H1: P not equal to 0.3

I am pretty sure I am doing t* because the sample size is greater than 30, but the formula we are to us is x-Mu/S/sqrt(n)
x=95
Mu=0.3
S=?
n=390 (I'm not sure if those are right either)
I don't know how to find the standard deviation (s) I tried using S= sqrt[(np)(1-p)] where n=390 and p=30% (0.3) but my final answer is 9.05, and when I plug it into the first formula I get a large number 206.7 and I don't think that is right.

I just don't know how to find standard deviation for this equation and what to do after I solve the equation
Thanks!

The test statistic is

z = \frac{\hat{p} - p_0}{\sqrt{\frac{p_0\,(1-p_0)}{n} }}
(See, eg., https://onlinecourses.science.psu.edu/stat200/node/53 ) Here, ##p_0## is the ##p## value in the null hypothesis, ##\hat{p}## is the observed ##p## and ##n## is the sample size: ##p_0 = 0.3, n = 390## in your case.

Note: you are trying to test against the alternative that ##p > 0.3##, so the null hypotheses is that ##p = 0.3##. If the observed ##p## is ##\leq 0.3## you do not want to reject the null hyposthesis, and if the observed ##p## is only slightly greater than 0.3, you still want to accept the null hypothesis (since random fluctuations could take an true ##p## slightly less than 0.3 into an observed ##p## slightly more than 0.3---no surpises there). However, if the observed ##p## is substantially greater than 0.3 you would be inclined to say the true ##p## is also, probably, greater than 0.3. So, you devise a critical threshold ##p_c## and reject the null hypothesis if the observed ##p## is ##\hat{p} > p_c##. You want to keep the probability of incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis low.
 
Ray Vickson said:
The test statistic is

z = \frac{\hat{p} - p_0}{\sqrt{\frac{p_0\,(1-p_0)}{n} }}
(See, eg., https://onlinecourses.science.psu.edu/stat200/node/53 ) Here, ##p_0## is the ##p## value in the null hypothesis, ##\hat{p}## is the observed ##p## and ##n## is the sample size: ##p_0 = 0.3, n = 390## in your case.

Note: you are trying to test against the alternative that ##p > 0.3##, so the null hypotheses is that ##p = 0.3##. If the observed ##p## is ##\leq 0.3## you do not want to reject the null hyposthesis, and if the observed ##p## is only slightly greater than 0.3, you still want to accept the null hypothesis (since random fluctuations could take an true ##p## slightly less than 0.3 into an observed ##p## slightly more than 0.3---no surpises there). However, if the observed ##p## is substantially greater than 0.3 you would be inclined to say the true ##p## is also, probably, greater than 0.3. So, you devise a critical threshold ##p_c## and reject the null hypothesis if the observed ##p## is ##\hat{p} > p_c##. You want to keep the probability of incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis low.
Thanks, I looked on the site you provided, and I understand everything more! I am still unsure how to find the p^ for the equation, is it 95?
equation
 
Sharp005 said:
Thanks, I looked on the site you provided, and I understand everything more! I am still unsure how to find the p^ for the equation, is it 95?
equation

You tell me. I purposely did not tell you what it is in your case; just remember: it is a proportion.
 
Ray Vickson said:
You tell me. I purposely did not tell you what it is in your case; just remember: it is a proportion.
Oh! ok I think I got it, I divided 95 by 390 to find my p^ and got ~0.244 and my final answer was -2.14 and on the Z table it is 0.4920
thanks for your help!
 
Ray Vickson said:
You tell me. I purposely did not tell you what it is in your case; just remember: it is a proportion.

Now would I accept the null or is there another step I am missing?
 
Sharp005 said:
Now would I accept the null or is there another step I am missing?
What do you have for your null and alternate hypotheses? They were wrong in your first post. Also what is your calculation for z?
 
Mark44 said:
What do you have for your null and alternate hypotheses? They were wrong in your first post. Also what is your calculation for z?

Ho: P=>0.3
H1: P<0.3
 
  • #10
Sharp005 said:
It is claimed that fewer than 30% of Thunder Bay households have home delivery of the newspaper.

Sharp005 said:
Ho: P=>0.3
H1: P<0.3
You have them backwards. "Fewer than" means strictly less than. The first sentence I quoted is the null hypothesis.
 
  • #11
Mark44 said:
You have them backwards. "Fewer than" means strictly less than. The first sentence I quoted is the null hypothesis.

Ok so
Ho: P<0.3 and H1: P=>0.3
 
  • #12
Sharp005 said:
Ok so
Ho: P<0.3 and H1: P=>0.3

It is not usual in statistics to deal with a "composite" null hypothesis, such as H0: p <= 0.3. The problem is that you have no idea what number <= 0.3 you are supposed to use in the test quantity z (or whatever). That is why a null hypothesis would almost always be stated as a single value, such as H0: p = 0.3. Of course, the alternative H1: p > 0.3 is certainly composite in this case.
 

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