Exercises 1–5 refer to the sample data in the following table, which summarizes the last digits of the heights (cm) of 300 randomly selected subjects (from Data Set 1 “Body Data” in Appendix B). Assume that we want to use a 0.05 significance level to test the claim that the data are from a population having the property that the last digits are all equally likely.

Last Digit

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Frequency

30

35

24

25

35

36

37

27

27

24

Is the hypothesis test left-tailed, right-tailed, or two-tailed?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The given hypothesis test is right-tailed.

Step by step solution

01

Given information

The last digits of the heights of a sample of people are tabulated along with their respective frequencies.

02

Tail of the test

The goodness of fit test is always a right-tailed test.

The chi-square test statistic in a goodness of fit test is as follows:

\({\chi ^2} = \sum {\frac{{{{\left( {O - E} \right)}^2}}}{E}} \)

Here, if the difference between the observed and the expected frequency is large, the value of the test statistic will shift towards the right side of the curve, and hence, a conclusion can be drawn on whether the null hypothesis should be rejected or not as the observed frequencies do not fit well with the expected frequencies.

Moreover, if the difference between the observed and the expected frequencies is small, it will imply that the given distribution fits well with the expected distribution, and the test statistic value will shift towards the left side of the curve. Thus, the possibility of rejection of the null hypothesis will get diminished on the left tail of the curve.

Therefore, to make a decision about the possible rejection of the null hypothesis, the right tail of the curve is utilized.

Here, the hypothesis test to test the claim that the given digits occur equally frequently is a goodness of fit test.

Thus, the given hypothesis is a right-tailed test.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

In a clinical trial of the effectiveness of echinacea for preventing

colds, the results in the table below were obtained (based on data from “An Evaluation of Echinacea Angustifoliain Experimental Rhinovirus Infections,” by Turner et al., NewEngland Journal of Medicine,Vol. 353, No. 4). Use a 0.05 significance level to test the claim that getting a cold is independent of the treatment group. What do the results suggest about the

effectiveness of echinacea as a prevention against colds?

Treatment Group


Placebo

Echinacea:

20% Extract

Echinacea:

60% Extract

Got a Cold

88

48

42

Did Not Get a Cold

15

4

10

A study of seat belt users andnonusers yielded the randomly selected sample data summarized in the given table (based on data from “What Kinds of People Do Not Use Seat Belts?” by Helsing and Comstock, American Journal of Public Health,Vol. 67, No. 11). Test the claim that the amount of smoking is independent of seat belt use. A plausible theory is that people who smoke more are lessconcerned about their health and safety and are therefore less inclined to wear seat belts. Is this theory supported by the sample data?

Number of Cigarettes Smoked per Day

0

1-14

15-34

35 and over

Wear Seat Belts

175

20

42

6

Don't Wear Seat Belts

149

17

41

9

Critical Thinking: Was Allstate wrong? The Allstate insurance company once issued a press release listing zodiac signs along with the corresponding numbers of automobile crashes, as shown in the first and last columns in the table below. In the original press release, Allstate included comments such as one stating that Virgos are worried and shy, and they were involved in 211,650 accidents, making them the worst offenders. Allstate quickly issued an apology and retraction. In a press release, Allstate included this: “Astrological signs have absolutely no role in how we base coverage and set rates. Rating by astrology would not be actuarially sound.”

Analyzing the Results The original Allstate press release did not include the lengths (days) of the different zodiac signs. The preceding table lists those lengths in the third column. A reasonable explanation for the different numbers of crashes is that they should be proportional to the lengths of the zodiac signs. For example, people are born under the Capricorn sign on 29 days out of the 365 days in the year, so they are expected to have 29/365 of the total number of crashes. Use the methods of this chapter to determine whether this appears to explain the results in the table. Write a brief report of your findings.

Zodiac sign

Dates

Length(days)

Crashes

Capricorn

Jan.18-Feb. 15

29

128,005

Aquarius

Feb.16-March 11

24

106,878

Pisces

March 12-April 16

36

172,030

Aries

April 17-May 13

27

112,402

Taurus

May 14-June 19

37

177,503

Gemini

June 20-July 20

31

136,904

Cancer

July21-Aug.9

20

101,539

Leo

Aug.10-Sep.15

37

179,657

Virgo

Sep.16-Oct.30

45

211,650

Libra

Oct.31-Nov 22

23

110,592

Scorpio

Nov. 23-Nov. 28

6

26,833

Ophiuchus

Nov.29-Dec.17

19

83,234

Sagittarius

Dec.18-Jan.17

31

154,477

Benford’s Law. According to Benford’s law, a variety of different data sets include numbers with leading (first) digits that follow the distribution shown in the table below. In Exercises 21–24, test for goodness-of-fit with the distribution described by Benford’s law.

Leading Digits

Benford's Law: Distributuon of leading digits

1

30.10%

2

17.60%

3

12.50%

4

9.70%

5

7.90%

6

6.70%

7

5.80%

8

5.10%

9

4.60%

Author’s Computer Files The author recorded the leading digits of the sizes of the electronic document files for the current edition of this book. The leading digits have frequencies of 55, 25, 17, 24, 18, 12, 12, 3, and 4 (corresponding to the leading digits of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively). Using a 0.05 significance level, test for goodness-of-fit with Benford’s law.

Chocolate and Happiness Use the results from part (b) of Cumulative Review Exercise 2 to test the claim that when asked, more than 80% of women say that chocolate makes them happier. Use a 0.01 significance level.

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