Math  /  Data & Statistics

QuestionI
A preparation SAT test score can be assumed normally distributed with a historical mean of 518 and known standard deviation 114. In a training program, 50 students had an average score of 550 on the preparatory test. Test whether there has been improvement over the historical average. Use a 5%5 \% significance level.
1 What is the P-VALUE from Table A2 for testing HO? See two entry formats below.
Note: Two formats possible: 1) Enter LT01 if P-value is less than 0.01 2) Enter XXX.XX AT LEAST ONE DIGIT BEFORE THE DECIMAL, TWO AFTER and round up. Thus, 134.784 is entered as 134.78,35.295134.78,35.295 is entered as 35.30,.274935.30, .2749 is entered as 0.27,.56500.27,-.5650 is entered as -0.57

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? Did the training program actually help students improve their SAT scores, or could the higher average just be random chance? Watch out! Don't mix up one-tailed and two-tailed tests!
We're only checking for *improvement* (a higher score), not just *any* difference.

STEP 2

1. Set up the hypothesis test
2. Calculate the test statistic
3. Find the p-value

STEP 3

Our *null hypothesis* (H0H_0) is that the training program didn't do anything special.
So, the average score is still the *historical mean* of μ=518\mu = 518.
Mathematically, we write H0:μ=518H_0: \mu = 518.

STEP 4

The *alternative hypothesis* (H1H_1) is what we're trying to prove: that the training program *did* improve scores.
So, the average score is now *greater than* the historical mean.
Mathematically, we write H1:μ>518H_1: \mu > 518.
This is a **one-tailed test** because we're only interested in scores being *higher*.

STEP 5

The *significance level*, often denoted by α\alpha, is how much evidence we need to reject the null hypothesis.
Here, α=0.05\alpha = 0.05 or 5%.
This means we're willing to accept a 5% chance of being wrong when we reject the null hypothesis.

STEP 6

Since we know the *population standard deviation* (σ=114\sigma = 114), we'll use a *z-test*.
The z-test is perfect for this situation!

STEP 7

The *z-score* tells us how many standard deviations the sample mean is away from the historical mean.
The formula is: z=xˉμσn z = \frac{\bar{x} - \mu}{\frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}} Where xˉ\bar{x} is the *sample mean* (xˉ=550\bar{x} = 550), μ\mu is the *population mean* under the null hypothesis (μ=518\mu = 518), σ\sigma is the *population standard deviation* (σ=114\sigma = 114), and nn is the *sample size* (n=50n = 50).

STEP 8

z=55051811450 z = \frac{550 - 518}{\frac{114}{\sqrt{50}}}

STEP 9

z=321147.071 z = \frac{32}{\frac{114}{7.071}} z=3216.124 z = \frac{32}{16.124}

STEP 10

z1.985 z \approx 1.985 So, our sample mean is almost **two standard deviations** above the historical mean!

STEP 11

The *p-value* is the probability of observing a sample mean as extreme as ours (or even more extreme) if the null hypothesis were true.
A small p-value means it's unlikely that the improvement happened by chance.

STEP 12

Since our *z-score* is 1.9851.985, we look up the corresponding p-value in a *z-table*.
We are performing a one-tailed test, so we look at the one-tailed probabilities.
The value for z=1.98z = 1.98 is 0.97610.9761.
The value for z=1.99z = 1.99 is 0.97670.9767.
Since our z-score is between these two, we can estimate our p-value by linear interpolation: 0.9761+(1.9851.98)(0.97670.9761)=0.9761+0.0050.0006=0.9761+0.000003=0.9764 0.9761 + (1.985 - 1.98) \cdot (0.9767 - 0.9761) = 0.9761 + 0.005 \cdot 0.0006 = 0.9761 + 0.000003 = 0.9764 Since we are looking for the probability of a value *greater* than our z-score, we subtract this value from 1: 10.9764=0.0236 1 - 0.9764 = 0.0236

STEP 13

Following the requested format, we round up to two decimal places: 0.02360.0236 becomes **0.03**.

STEP 14

The p-value is **0.03**.

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