MATH 1281 – Statistical Inference
University of the People
Math Assignment Unit 4
Part 1 (a)
Hypotheses
Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no difference in the average scores of students in the reading and
writing exams.
H0: μread = μwrite
Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is a difference in the average scores of students in the
reading and writing exams.
H1: μread ≠ μwrite
Part 1 (b)
Conditions for the Test
To perform a hypothesis test for the difference in means, we need to check the following
conditions:
Randomness: The data should come from a random sample. The problem states that a
random sample of 250 students was examined, satisfying this condition.
Independence: The observations should be independent of each other. Given that the
students are a random sample, we assume independence.
Normality: The distribution of the differences in scores should be approximately normal.
The histogram provided shows a roughly symmetric distribution with no severe skewness
or outliers, indicating the normality condition is reasonably met.
Part 1 (c)
Calculations
Average Observed Difference and Standard Deviation:
Calculate the t-test statistic:
Calculate the Degrees of Freedom (df):
Df = n−1 = 250−1 = 249
Conclusion with p-value:
Given p-value = 0.39
Since the p-value (0.39) is greater than the typical significance level of 0.05, we fail to reject the
null hypothesis.
Conclusion: There is no significant evidence to suggest that there is a difference in the average
scores of students in the reading and writing exams.
Part 1 (d)
Type of Error
Type II Error (β): This is the error we might have made, which means failing to reject the null
hypothesis when it is actually false. In this context, it means concluding that there is no
difference in average scores when there actually is a difference.
Part 1 (e)
Confidence Interval
Based on the hypothesis test results and the p-value, we would expect the confidence interval for
the average difference between the reading and writing scores to include 0. This is because
failing to reject the null hypothesis indicates that 0 is a plausible value for the difference in
means.
Part 2
Analysis of Fuel Efficiency Differences Between Manual and Automatic Transmissions
Summary Statistics:
Manual transmission: mean (xˉM) = 19.85 mpg, standard deviation (sM) = 4.51 mpg, sample size
(nM) = 26
Automatic transmission: mean (xˉA) = 16.12 mpg, standard deviation (sA) = 3.58 mpg, sample
size (nA) = 25
(1) Stating the Hypotheses:
Null Hypothesis (H0): μM =μA (There is no difference in the mean fuel efficiency between
manual and automatic transmissions.)
Alternative Hypothesis (HA): μM ≠ μA (There is a difference in the mean fuel efficiency between
manual and automatic transmissions.)
(2) Calculating the T-Statistic:
To calculate the T-statistic, we use the formula for the difference of two means:
First, computing the standard error (SE):
Now, computing the T-statistic:
(3) Calculating the Degrees of Freedom
Using the formula for degrees of freedom for two samples:
Plugging in the values:
(4) Conclusion Based on the p-value
Given the p-value of 0.0029, which is less than the typical significance level of 0.05, we reject
the null hypothesis.
Conclusion
Since the p-value is 0.0029, which is less than 0.05, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude
that there is strong evidence to suggest that there is a difference in the average fuel efficiency
between cars with manual and automatic transmissions.
References
Diez, D. M., Barr, C. D., & Çetinkaya-Rundel, M. (2019). OpenIntro Statistics - Fourth Edition.
Open Textbook Library. Retrieved from
https://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/~iruczins/teaching/books/2019.openintro.statistics.pdf
