Lesson 2
Forms of Test Statistic
for the Population
Mean
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to
● correctly determine the appropriate form of test
statistic to be used in hypothesis testing, and
● correctly use the Central Limit Theorem to
determine the appropriate form of test statistic in
hypothesis testing when the population distribution
is unknown or not normal.
Essential Questions
● How will you relate the -statistic and -statistic?
● How does a sample size affect the shape of a
-distribution?
Warm Up!
Let’s recall the concept of null and alternative hypotheses by
working as a class on the following short online exercise.
(Click the link to access the exercise.)
Salman, Khan. “Writing null and alternative hypotheses.”
Khan Academy. Retrieved 27 August 2019 from
https://bit.ly/2zpiCBO.
Guide Questions
● What is the importance of identifying the null and
alternative hypotheses on a population mean?
● In what ways can you write the null and alternative
hypotheses on a population mean?
Learn about It!
Test Statistic
1 a random variable that is used in a hypothesis test
Example:
The test statistic used in a -test is the -statistic.
Learn about It!
-statistic
2 the test statistic used in a hypothesis test for the population mean when the
population standard deviation is known and (a) the population is normal OR (b)
the sample size is sufficiently large, usually greater than or equal to 30
Due to the Central Limit Theorem, we can still use the
-statistic even when the population distribution is unknown
or not normal.
Learn about It!
The -statistic is given by
where is the sample mean, is the hypothesized population
mean, is the population standard deviation, and is the
sample size. The -statistic is used in the -test for population
mean.
Learn about It!
Example:
A head teacher claims that the mean IQ of students in their
school is above average. The mean population IQ is 150 with
a standard deviation of 13. A random sample of 30 of their
students have an average IQ of 151. Is there enough evidence
to support the head teacher’s claim?
In this case, the -statistic should be used since the population
standard deviation is known and the sample size is
sufficiently large.
Learn about It!
-statistic
3 the test statistic used in a hypothesis test for the population mean when the
population standard deviation is unknown and when the sample size is small,
usually less than 30
Learn about It!
The -statistic is given by
where is the sample mean, is the hypothesized population
mean, is the sample standard deviation, and is the sample
size. The -statistic is used in the -test for population mean.
Learn about It!
Example:
A head teacher claims that the mean IQ of students in their
school is above average. The mean population IQ is normally
distributed with a mean of 150. A random sample of 10 of
their students have an average IQ of 151. Is there enough
evidence to support the head teacher’s claim?
In this case, the -statistic should be used since the population
standard deviation is unknown and the sample size is less
than 30.
Try It!
Example 1: The owner of a car rental agency claims that the
mileage of their cars is normally distributed with a mean of
8 000. A sample of seven of their cars has an average mileage
of 6 490. What test statistic should be used in this case?
Try It!
Solution:
Since the sample size is less than 30 and the population
standard deviation is unknown, the appropriate form of test
statistic is the -statistic.
Try It!
Example 2: A car manufacturer claims that the gas
consumption of their new model is 25 km/L with a standard
deviation of 5 km/L. A simple random sample of 64 cars of
this model is chosen and found out to have a mean gas
consumption of 27.5 km/L. What test statistic should be used
in this case?
Try It!
Solution:
The sample size is greater than 30 and the population
standard deviation is known. Thus, the appropriate form of
test statistic is the -statistic.
Let’s Practice!
Individual Practice:
1. A telecommunications company claims that households
receive an average of 35 telephone calls per month. To test
the claim, a researcher surveyed 31 households and found
out that the average number of calls was 32.8. The
standard deviation of the sample was 7 calls. What test
statistic should be used in this case?
Let’s Practice!
Individual Practice:
2. In a certain population, it is claimed that the mean
number of years of education is 13.2, while the standard
deviation is 2.95 years. A random sample of 60 people is
drawn from this population, and the sample mean is
13.87 years. What are the hypotheses and test statistic to
be used in this case?
Let’s Practice!
Group Practice: To be done in groups of three
A cold medicine bears a label indicating the presence of 600
mg of acetaminophen per fluid ounce. A researcher claims
that each fluid ounce of the medicine contains less than 600
mg. He randomly selected 65 1-oz samples and found out
that the mean acetaminophen content was 589 mg, while the
standard deviation was 21 mg. What are the hypotheses and
test statistic to be used in this case?
Key Points
Test Statistic
1 a random variable that is used in a hypothesis test
-statistic
2 the test statistic used in a hypothesis test for the population mean when the
population standard deviation is known and (a) the population is normal OR (b)
the sample size is sufficiently large, usually greater than or equal to 30
-statistic
3 the test statistic used in a hypothesis test for the population mean when the
population standard deviation is unknown and when the sample size is small,
usually less than 30
Synthesis
● When do we use the -statistic? -statistic?
● How does sample size affect your acceptance of a poll
survey result?
● How does the test statistic affect the rejection of the null
hypothesis?
