Statistics and Probability

Quarter 4 – Module 2: Identifying

Parameters for Testing in Given
Real-Life Problems

What I Need to Know

In the previous module, you were introduced to what hypothesis
testing is and other terms related to it. You were able to determine the null
and alternative hypothesis in given statistical hypotheses. You also learned
to identify the steps used in hypothesis testing.

With this module, you will learn how to identify the parameter to be
tested in a statistical hypothesis. The first step in hypothesis testing,
defining the parameter, will be given emphasis in this module.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. define the parameters used in statistical analysis; and

2. identify the parameter to be tested in a real-life problem.

What I Know

Directions: Choose the best answer to the given questions or statements.

Write the letter of your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following population parameters is used as symbol for the

mean or average population?
A. 𝜎 B. 𝜇 C. 𝜌 D. 𝑥

2. Which of the following statements best describes a parameter?

A. It describes the sample. C. It describes the hypothesis.
B. It describes the researcher. D. It describes the population.

3. A researcher estimates that the average height of buildings in a large city

is at least 700 feet. Based on the given data, which is the parameter?
A. the researcher C. buildings in the large city
B. at least 700 feet D. the average height of the building
4. The average height of a 1-year old child is 29 inches. What is the
parameter?
A. a one-year old child
B. the mean height of 33 inches
C. the average height of 29 inches
D. a random sample of 30 children who are 1-year old
5. Which is the parameter in the given situation below? “The average age of
10 college students is 24 years.”
A. 24 years C. age of the college students
B. 10 college students D. the average age of 24 years

6. A parameter is...
A. a numerical value summarizing the sample data
B. a planned activity with results yielding a set of data
C. a numerical value that summarizes all the data of an entire
population
D. the set of values collected from the variable from each of the elements
that belongs to the sample

7. Which of the following is a parameter?

A. 𝑆𝑥 B. 𝑥̅ C. 𝑝̂ D. µ

8. Which of the following symbols represents population standard

deviation?
A. 𝑝 B. 𝜎 C. 𝑝̂ C. µ

9. SWS survey was trying to see if people in the Philippines thought the
pollution was too high. Which choice best represents a parameter?
A. all people in the Philippines
B. 500 randomly selected residents of the Philippine
C. 71% of the residents surveyed who thought the pollution was too high
D. percentage of all people in the Philippines who thought the pollution
was too high

10. A research conducted on a certain company last year showed that 25% of
the employees would rather drink coffee than soft drinks during break
time. Which choice best represents a parameter?
A. 25 employees C. the percentage of employee
B. all employees D. coffee rather than soft drinks

11. What is the parameter in the problem that follows?

A fast food outlet claims that the mean waiting time in line is less than
1.9 minutes. A random sample of 20 customers has a mean of 1.7
minutes with a standard deviation of 0.8 minute. Test the fast food
outlet's claim at α = 0.05.
A. mean of 1.7 minutes
B. the level of significance of 0.05
C. random sample of 20 costumers
D. the mean waiting time of line less than 1.9 minutes
 12. A councilor is concerned about the percentage of city residents who
express disapproval of her performance. Her political committee pays for
a newspaper ad, hoping to keep her disapproval rating below 21%. What
is the parameter?
A. average of all residents
B. disapproval rating below 21%
C. political committee paying a newspaper ad
D. percentage of city residents who express disapproval

13. A motorcycle manufacturer advertises that its new subcompact models

get 47 mpg. If μ is the mileage of these cars, what kind of parameter is
used?
A. mean C. proportion
B. variance D. standard deviation

14. Three percent (3%) of cars of a certain model have needed new engines
after being driven between 0 and 80 miles. The manufacturer hopes
that redesigning one of the engine's components has solved this
problem. What kind of parameter is illustrated in the problem?
A. mean C. proportion
B. variance D. standard deviation

15. A random sample of 101 bottles of cologne showed an average content of

4 oz. It is known that the population standard deviation of the contents
is 0.22 oz. In this problem, translate the parameter into symbols.
A. µ = 4 B. 𝜎 = 101 C. µ = 0.22 D. 𝜎 = 0.22

Lesson Identifying Parameters for Testing

1 in Given Real-Life Problems

Inferential statistics makes use of sample data to make an inference and

conclusion about a population. The main activities of inferential statistics
are using sample data (1) to estimate a population parameter and (2) to test
a hypothesis or claim about a population parameter. But before you test a
hypothesis, you should understand first what parameter is and how to
identify it in each real-life problem.

For instance, you might be interested in the average age of your section
where you belong and found the average age was 17. Do you think this is an
example of parameter? To be able to answer this question, read and
understand this module.
 What’s In

Activity 1. Choose Wisely!

Directions: Choose the best answer and write the letter of your choice on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. The ____________ in a set of data is the sum of the values divided by the
total number of values.
A. mean B. range C. variance D. standard deviation

2. The ____________ is the middle value of a data set when it is arranged

from smallest to largest.
A. mean B. median C. variance D. standard deviation

3. The ________ is the item of data that appears most frequently in a set of
data.
A. mean B. mode C. median D. standard deviation

4. The measurement that shows how data are spread above and below the
mean is the _____.
A. mean B. range C. variance D. standard deviation

5. Mean, median, and mode are examples of measures of _____.

A. variation B. data sets C. statistics D. central tendency

Check the student’s level of readiness for the next topic.

If the student did not answer most of the item, you may
provide another review activity on the concepts related to
quantitative statistics.
 What’s New

Activity 2: Grouping!
Directions: Group the following symbols into two. Place the first group
inside Box A and the second group in Box B.
ഥ
𝒙 𝒑 𝒔 𝒔𝟐 ෝ
𝒑 𝝁 𝝈 𝝈𝟐
A B

Guide Questions:
1. What are the symbols that you placed in Box A? Box B?
2. How did you categorize each symbol or notation?
3. What mathematical principle did you consider in answering the
activity?
4. Which symbols seemed to be familiar to you and which are not?

What Is It

Parameters in statistics are important component of any statistical

analysis. In simple words, a parameter is any numerical quantity that
characterizes a given population or some of its aspects. This means the
parameter tells us something about the whole population.
However, the numerical measure that is calculated from the sample is
called statistic. Statistic is a known number and a variable that depends on
the portion of the population.
A parameter denotes the true value that would be obtained if a census
rather than a sample was undertaken.
Examples of parameters are the measures of central tendency. These
tell us how the data behave on an average basis. For
example, mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency that
give us an idea about where the data concentrate. Meanwhile, standard
deviation tells us how the data are spread from the central tendency, i.e.
whether the distribution is wide or narrow. Such parameters are often very
useful in analysis.
In the normal distribution, there are two parameters that can
characterize a distribution - the mean and standard deviation. By varying
these two parameters, you can get different kinds of normal distribution.
 Different symbols are used to denote parameters. Based on Activity 2,
symbols are grouped as indicated in the table below.
Measure Statistic Parameter
𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝑥̅ (x-bar) 𝜇 (myu)
𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑠2 𝜎 2 (sigma squared)
𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑠 𝜎 (sigma)
𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑝̂ (p hat) 𝑝

Mean and standard deviation

are two common parameters.

Identifying Parameter to be Tested

Illustrative Examples:
1. The average height of adult Filipinos 20 years and older is 163 cm for
males.
Parameter: the average height of adult Filipinos 20 years and older
In hypothesis testing, the parameter will be translated into symbols such
as 𝛍 = 𝟏𝟔𝟑 where 𝛍 is the symbol for mean/average and 163 is the value
that pertains to the average height.

2. A Grade 11 researcher reported that the average allowance of Senior High

School students is ₱100. A sample of 40 students has mean allowance of
₱120. At 𝛼 = 0.01 test, it was the claimed that the students had allowance
of ₱ 100. The standard deviation of the population is ₱50.
Parameters: the average allowance of Senior High School students is
₱100 or 𝝁 = ₱𝟏𝟎𝟎

In this claim, there are different parameters used but the parameter
to be tested in this hypothesis would be the average allowance of Senior
High School students since it relates to the population, not in sample.
Statistical hypothesis is a conjecture about the population parameter that’s
why you will look for the population mean, population standard deviation, or
population proportion but not sample mean.

3. According to a survey, 63% of the parents are willing to spend extra

money for their children’s health and education matters.
Parameter: the percentage/proportion of parents willing to spend
extra money in their children’s health and education matter or 𝒑 =
𝟎. 𝟔𝟑

To identify the parameters to be tested:

1. Just look for mean/average, standard deviation, variance,
and proportion of population.
2. Determine the value that pertains to the given parameter,
then translate them in symbols for hypothesis testing.
 What’s More

Activity 3. Translate It!

Directions: Determine the notation of the given parameter, inequality
symbol, or value of the parameter.

Notation Symbols Value

Parameter (µ, 𝜎, 𝑝, 𝜎 2 ) (=, ≠, <,
>, ≤, ≥)
1. Average salary of Polytechnic University of
the Philippines (PUP) graduates is at most ≤
₱324,000. _____ _____
2. The standard deviation of adults riding a
bus is 1.5. _____ = _____
3. Filipino employers offer a mean of 15 days
of paid vacation for sick leave. _____ _____ 15
4. Survival rate of breast cancer in the
Philippines is below 50%. _____ _____ .50
5. Mean number of vehicles in households is
at most 1.9 personal vehicles. µ _____ _____

Activity 4-5. What Is Your Parameter?

Directions: Determine the parameter to be tested in each situation by

writing your answer on a separate sheet of paper. Translate it into symbols.

1. The television habits of children were observed and found out that the
standard deviation is 12.4 hours per week.
2. A newspaper article stated that students in the country take an average
of 4 years to finish their undergraduate degrees. Suppose that you
believe the mean time is longer, you conducted survey on 49 students.
The result obtained a sample mean of 5 with a sample standard deviation
of 1.2.
3. According to DOLE, registered nurses in government earned an average
monthly salary of ₱9,700. For that same year, a survey was conducted on
41 registered nurses to determine if the mean salary is higher than the
previous survey. The sample average was ₱10,000 with a sample
standard deviation of ₱2,500.
4. Records of the Department of Health (DOH) revealed that 14.7% of the
country's Filipino smokers have maintained their habit of smoking.
 What I Have Learned

Answer the following questions?

1. What is a parameter?
________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the two commonly used parameters? What are their symbols or
notations?
________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the other notations used as parameters?
________________________________________________________________________
4. To identify the parameter to be tested in a claim/hypothesis, what are
the concepts to consider?
________________________________________________________________________

What I Can Do

List down five (5) different real-life situations where hypothesis testing can
be done. Identify the parameter to be tested in each situation.
1. ________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________

Assessment

Directions: Choose the best answer to the given questions or statements.

Write the letter of your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. The numerical measure that describes the certain characteristics of a

population is called ______________.
A. sample B. statistics C. parameter D. population

2. What are the two common parameters of normal distribution?

A. 𝜇 and 𝜎 B. 𝜎 and 𝑝 C. 𝑝 and 𝜇 D. 𝑝̂ and 𝑝
 3. Anna wants to estimate the average shower time of teenagers. From the
sample of 50 teenagers, she found out that it takes 5 minutes for
teenagers to shower. What is the parameter?
A. sample of 50 teenagers C. average shower time of teenagers
B. 50 teenagers in 5 minutes D. took 5 minutes for teenagers to shower

4. What kind of parameter is applied in the given situation? “The mean

height of all Grade 11 students is 170 cm.”
A. mean B. variance C. proportion D. standard deviation

5. An education official wants to estimate the proportion of adults aged 18

and above who had read at least one book during the previous year. A
random sample of 1,006 adults aged 18 or older is obtained, and 835 of
those adults had read at least one book during the previous year.
Determine the parameter in the situation.
A. The parameter is the 835 adults.
B. The parameter is the average of adults aged 18 and above.
C. The parameter is the proportion of adults who had read at least one
book during the previous year.
D. The parameter is the random sample of 1,006 adults 18 and above
who had read a book in the previous year.

6. Which of following denotes the true value that would be obtained if a

census rather than a sample was undertaken?
A. sample B. statistic C. parameter D. population

7. Which of following is NOT a parameter?

A. 𝜎 B. Σ C. µ D. 𝑝

8. Which of the following symbols is used for population variance?

A. Σ B. 𝜎 2 C. 𝜎 D. µ
9. A study claims that the mean survival time for a certain cancer patient
treated immediately with chemotherapy and radiation is 24 months.
Which is the parameter?
A. 24 months
B. study claims on cancer
C. mean survival time for a certain cancer patient
D. mean survival time of 24 months with chemotherapy and radiation

10. What is the parameter to be tested in this claim? As stated by a

company’s shipping department, the number of shipping errors per
million shipments has a standard deviation of 2.7.
A. million shipments C. number of shipping errors
B. standard deviation of 2.7 D. company shipping department

11. A researcher claims that the mean monthly consumption of coffee per
person is more than 19 cups. In a sample of 60 randomly selected
people, the mean monthly consumption was 20. The standard deviation
 of the sample was 4 cups. Which is the parameter to be tested in this
claim?
A. sample of 60 randomly selected people
B. mean consumption of 60 selected people
C. the mean consumption of coffee per person
D. the standard deviation of the sample which was 4 cups

12. A certified public accountant (CPA) claims that more than 30% of all
accountants advertise. What kind of parameter is used in this claim?
A. mean B. variance C. proportion D. standard deviation

13. The average baptismal cost includes 50 guests. A random sample of 32

baptismal during the past year in the National Capital Region has a
mean of 53 guests and a standard deviation of 10. Which is the
parameter?
A. the mean of 53 guests C. a random sample of 32 baptismal
B. the standard deviation of 10 D. the average baptismal cost including
50 guests
14. Powder milk is packed in 1-kilogram bag. An inspector from Department
of Trade and Industry (DTI) suspects that bags may not contain 1
kilogram. A sample of 40 bags produces a mean of 0.96 kilograms and
standard deviation of 0.12 kilogram. In this problem, 0.96 kilogram is
_______.
A. variance C. population mean
B. sample mean D. standard deviation

15. In symbols, what is the parameter in the given claim below?

In 2018, DepEd reported that the proportion of Grade 10 completers who
proceeded to Grade 11 is 93%.
A. 𝑝 = 0.93 B. 𝜎 = 0.93 C. µ = 0.93 D. 𝑥̅ = 0.93

Additional Activities

Activity 6. Parameter Plus!

Directions: Determine the parameter to be tested in the given problems

below.

1. An electric lamps manufacturer is testing a new method of producing

lamps that will be considered acceptable in a normal population with an
average life of 2,600 hours and a standard deviation equal to 350. A
sample of 80 lamps produced by this method has an average life of 2,630
hours. Can the hypothesis of validity for the new manufacturing process
be accepted with a risk equal to or less than 5%?

2. A car dealer claims that the average price of Honda Vios is at least
₱662,000.00. A client suspected that the claim is incorrect and found
 -Assessment
-What's More (Activities 3 and 4-5)
Please answer the following:
What I Know What's In
1. B 10. C Activity 1 Additional Activities
2. D 11. D 1. A
2. B Activity 6
3. D 12. D 3. B
4. C 13. A 1. average life of
4. D
2,600 hours (µ)
5. D 14. C 5. D
6. C 15. D 2. average price of
7. D What's New Honda Vios is at
8. B Activity 2 least ₱662,000.00
A or B and vice versa (µ)
9. D
{𝑥,
ഥ 𝑠2 , 𝑠, 𝑝ො }
{𝜇, 𝜎 2 , 𝜎, 𝑝}
Answer Key
evidence to reject the dealer’s claim at 𝛼 = 0.05?
₱640,000.00 and standard deviation of ₱ 24,000.00. Is there enough
that random sample of 15 similar vehicles has the mean price of