2.05e Hypothesis test for normal mean: known variance

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WJEC Unit 4 Specimen Q4
11 marks Moderate -0.3
4. Automatic coin counting machines sort, count and batch coins. A particular brand of these machines rejects \(2 p\) coins that are less than 6.12 grams or greater than 8.12 grams.
  1. The histogram represents the distribution of the weight of UK 2p coins supplied by the Royal Mint. This distribution has mean 7.12 grams and standard deviation 0.357 grams. \begin{figure}[h]
    \captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Weight of UK two pence coins} \includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{b35e94ab-a426-4fca-9ecb-c659e0143ed7-3_602_969_664_589}
    \end{figure} Explain why the weight of 2 p coins can be modelled using a normal distribution.
  2. Assume the distribution of the weight of \(2 p\) coins is normally distributed. Calculate the proportion of \(2 p\) coins that are rejected by this brand of coin counting machine.
  3. A manager suspects that a large batch of \(2 p\) coins is counterfeit. A random sample of 30 of the suspect coins is selected. Each of the coins in the sample is weighed. The results are shown in the summary statistics table.
    Summary statistics
    Mean
    Standard
    deviation
    Minimum
    Lower
    quartile
    Median
    Upper
    quartile
    Maximum
    6.890.2966.456.636.887.087.48
    i) What assumption must be made about the weights of coins in this batch in order to conduct a test of significance on the sample mean? State, with a reason, whether you think this assumption is reasonable.
    ii) Assuming the population standard deviation is 0.357 grams, test at the \(1 \%\) significance level whether the mean weight of the \(2 p\) coins in this batch is less than 7.12 grams.
WJEC Unit 4 2023 June Q3
Standard +0.2
The continuous random variable \(X\) is uniformly distributed over the interval \([ 1 , d ]\). a) The 90 th percentile of \(X\) is 19 . Find the value of \(d\).
b) Calculate the mean and standard deviation of \(X\).
\(\mathbf { 0 }\)\(\mathbf { 4 } \quad\) A bakery produces large loaves with masses, in grams, that are normally distributed
with mean \(\mu\) and variance \(\sigma ^ { 2 }\). It is found that \(11 \%\) of the large loaves weigh more than 805 g and that \(20 \%\) of the large loaves weigh less than 795 g .
a) Find the values of \(\mu\) and \(\sigma\). The bakery also produces small loaves with masses, in grams, that are normally distributed with mean 400 and standard deviation 9 . Following a change of management at the bakery, a customer suspects that the mean mass of the small loaves has decreased. The customer weighs the next 15 small loaves that he purchases and calculates their mean mass to be 397 g .
b) Perform a hypothesis test at the \(5 \%\) significance level to investigate the customer's suspicion, assuming the standard deviation, in grams, is still 9.
c) State another assumption you have made in part (b). 5 A medical researcher is investigating possible links between diet and a particular disease. She selects a random sample of 22 countries and records the average daily calorie intake per capita from sugar and the percentage of the population who suffer from this disease. \begin{figure}[h]
\captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Sugar consumption and rate of disease} \includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{9c111615-42d5-4804-8eb3-c20fe8d9faee-05_654_1264_591_461}
\end{figure} There are 22 data points and the product moment correlation coefficient is \(0 \cdot 893\).
a) Stating your hypotheses clearly, show that these data could be used to suggest that there is a link between the disease and sugar consumption. The medical researcher realises that her data is from the year 2000. She repeats her investigation with a random sample of 13 countries using new data from the year 2020. She produces the following graph. \begin{figure}[h]
\captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Sugar consumption and rate of disease} \includegraphics[alt={},max width=\textwidth]{9c111615-42d5-4804-8eb3-c20fe8d9faee-05_700_1273_1763_461}
\end{figure} b) How should the researcher interpret the new data in the light of the data from 2000? \section*{Section B: Differential Equations and Mechanics}
06
A particle \(P\) moves on a horizontal plane, where \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are unit vectors in directions east and north respectively. At time \(t\) seconds, the position vector of \(P\) is given by \(\mathbf { r }\) metres, where $$\mathbf { r } = \left( t ^ { 3 } - 7 t ^ { 2 } \right) \mathbf { i } + \left( 2 t ^ { 2 } - 15 t + 11 \right) \mathbf { j }$$ a) i) Find an expression for the velocity vector of \(P\) at time \(t \mathrm {~s}\).
ii) Determine the value of \(t\) when \(P\) is moving north-east and hence write down the velocity of \(P\) at this value of \(t\).
b) Find the acceleration vector of \(P\) when \(t = 7\).
\(\mathbf { 0 }\)\(\mathbf { 7 } \quad\) A rod \(A B\), of mass 20 kg and length 3.2 m , is resting horizontally in equilibrium on two
smooth supports at points \(X\) and \(Y\), where \(A X = 0.4 \mathrm {~m}\) and \(A Y = 2.4 \mathrm {~m}\). A particle of mass 8 kg is attached to the rod at a point \(C\), where \(B C = 0.2 \mathrm {~m}\). The reaction of the support at \(Y\) is four times the reaction of the support at \(X\). You may not assume that the rod \(A B\) is uniform.
a) i) Find the magnitude of each of the reaction forces exerted on the rod at \(X\) and \(Y\).
ii) Show that the weight of the rod acts at the midpoint of \(A B\).
b) Is it now possible to determine whether the rod is uniform or non-uniform? Give a reason for your answer. A boy kicks a ball from a point \(O\) on horizontal ground towards a vertical wall \(A B\). The initial speed of the ball is \(23 \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 1 }\) in a direction that is \(18 ^ { \circ }\) above the horizontal. The diagram below shows a window \(C D\) in the wall \(A B\), such that \(B D = 1.1 \mathrm {~m}\) and \(B C = 2 \cdot 2 \mathrm {~m}\). The horizontal distance from \(O\) to \(B\) is 8 m . \includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}, center]{9c111615-42d5-4804-8eb3-c20fe8d9faee-07_567_1540_605_274} You may assume that the window will break if the ball strikes it with a speed of at least \(21 \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 1 }\).
a) Show that the ball strikes the window and determine whether or not the window breaks.
b) Give one reason why your answer to part (a) may be unreliable. The diagram below shows a wooden crate of mass 35 kg being pushed on a rough horizontal floor, by a force of magnitude 380 N inclined at an angle of \(30 ^ { \circ }\) below the horizontal. The crate, which may be modelled as a particle, is moving at a constant speed. \includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}, center]{9c111615-42d5-4804-8eb3-c20fe8d9faee-08_394_665_573_701}
a) The coefficient of friction between the crate and the floor is \(\mu\). Show that $$\mu = \frac { 190 \sqrt { 3 } } { 533 } .$$ Suppose instead that the crate is pulled with the same force of 380 N inclined at an angle of \(30 ^ { \circ }\) above the horizontal, as shown in the diagram below. \includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}, center]{9c111615-42d5-4804-8eb3-c20fe8d9faee-08_392_663_1425_701}
b) Without carrying out any further calculations, explain why the crate will no longer move at a constant speed.
CAIE S2 2024 November Q5
6 marks Moderate -0.3
The lengths, in centimetres, of worms of a certain kind are normally distributed with mean \(\mu\) and standard deviation \(2.3\). An article in a magazine states that the value of \(\mu\) is \(12.7\). A scientist wishes to test whether this value is correct. He measures the lengths, \(x\) cm, of a random sample of \(50\) worms of this kind and finds that \(\sum x = 597.1\). He plans to carry out a test, at the \(1\%\) significance level, of whether the true value of \(\mu\) is different from \(12.7\).
  1. State, with a reason, whether he should use a one-tailed or a two-tailed test. [1]
  2. Carry out the test. [5]
CAIE S2 2002 November Q3
7 marks Standard +0.3
From previous years' observations, the lengths of salmon in a river were found to be normally distributed with mean 65 cm. A researcher suspects that pollution in water is restricting growth. To test this theory, she measures the length \(x\) cm of a random sample of \(n\) salmon and calculates that \(\bar{x} = 64.3\) and \(s = 4.9\), where \(s^2\) is the unbiased estimate of the population variance. She then carries out an appropriate hypothesis test.
  1. Her test statistic \(z\) has a value of \(-1.807\) correct to 3 decimal places. Calculate the value of \(n\). [3]
  2. Using this test statistic, carry out the hypothesis test at the 5% level of significance and state what her conclusion should be. [4]
AQA S2 2010 June Q1
9 marks Moderate -0.3
Judith, the village postmistress, believes that, since moving the post office counter into the local pharmacy, the mean daily number of customers that she serves has increased from \(79\). In order to investigate her belief, she counts the number of customers that she serves on \(12\) randomly selected days, with the following results. \(88 \quad 81 \quad 84 \quad 89 \quad 90 \quad 77 \quad 72 \quad 80 \quad 82 \quad 81 \quad 75 \quad 85\) Stating a necessary distributional assumption, test Judith's belief at the \(5\%\) level of significance. [9 marks]
OCR MEI S2 2007 January Q2
18 marks Moderate -0.3
  1. A farmer grows Brussels sprouts. The diameter of sprouts in a particular batch, measured in mm, is Normally distributed with mean 28 and variance 16. Sprouts that are between 24 mm and 33 mm in diameter are sold to a supermarket.
    1. Find the probability that the diameter of a randomly selected sprout will be within this range. [4]
    2. The farmer sells the sprouts in this range to the supermarket for 10 pence per kilogram. The farmer sells sprouts under 24 mm in diameter to a frozen food factory for 5 pence per kilogram. Sprouts over 33 mm in diameter are thrown away. Estimate the total income received by the farmer for the batch, which weighs 25 500 kg. [3]
    3. By harvesting sprouts earlier, the mean diameter for another batch can be reduced to \(k\) mm. Find the value of \(k\) for which only 5\% of the sprouts will be above 33 mm in diameter. You may assume that the variance is still 16. [3]
  2. The farmer also grows onions. The weight in kilograms of the onions is Normally distributed with mean 0.155 and variance 0.005. He is trying out a new variety, which he hopes will yield a higher mean weight. In order to test this, he takes a random sample of 25 onions of the new variety and finds that their total weight is 4.77 kg. You should assume that the weight in kilograms of the new variety is Normally distributed with variance 0.005.
    1. Write down suitable null and alternative hypotheses for the test in terms of \(\mu\). State the meaning of \(\mu\) in this case. [2]
    2. Carry out the test at the 1\% level. [6]
OCR H240/02 2020 November Q12
6 marks Moderate -0.3
In the past, the time for Jeff's journey to work had mean 45.7 minutes and standard deviation 5.6 minutes. This year he is trying a new route. In order to test whether the new route has reduced his journey time, Jeff finds the mean time for a random sample of 30 journeys using the new route. He carries out a hypothesis test at the 2.5% significance level. Jeff assumes that, for the new route, the journey time has a normal distribution with standard deviation 5.6 minutes.
  1. State appropriate null and alternative hypotheses for the test. [2]
  2. Determine the rejection region for the test. [4]
OCR H240/02 2023 June Q9
6 marks Easy -1.2
A school contains 500 students in years 7 to 11 and 250 students in years 12 and 13. A random sample of 20 students is selected to represent the school at a parents' evening. The number of students in the sample who are from years 12 and 13 is denoted by \(X\).
  1. State a suitable binomial model for \(X\). [1]
Use your model to answer the following.
    1. Write down an expression for \(\text{P}(X = x)\). [1]
    2. State, in set notation, the values of \(x\) for which your expression is valid. [1]
  1. Find \(\text{P}(5 \leqslant X \leqslant 9)\). [2]
  2. State one disadvantage of using a random sample in this context. [1]
OCR H240/02 2023 June Q10
8 marks Standard +0.3
The mass, in kilograms, of a species of fish in the UK has population mean 4.2 and standard deviation 0.25. An environmentalist believes that the fish in a particular river are smaller, on average, than those in other rivers in the UK. A random sample of 100 fish of this species, taken from the river, has sample mean 4.16 kg. Stating a necessary assumption, test at the 5% significance level whether the environmentalist is correct. [8]
AQA Paper 3 2018 June Q18
8 marks Moderate -0.3
In a region of England, the government decides to use an advertising campaign to encourage people to eat more healthily. Before the campaign, the mean consumption of chocolate per person per week was known to be 66.5g, with a standard deviation of 21.2g
  1. After the campaign, the first 750 available people from this region were surveyed to find out their average consumption of chocolate.
    1. State the sampling method used to collect the survey. [1 mark]
    2. Explain why this sample should not be used to conduct a hypothesis test. [1 mark]
  2. A second sample of 750 people revealed that the mean consumption of chocolate per person per week was 65.4g Investigate, at the 10% level of significance, whether the advertising campaign has decreased the mean consumption of chocolate per person per week. Assume that an appropriate sampling method was used and that the consumption of chocolate is normally distributed with an unchanged standard deviation. [6 marks]
AQA Paper 3 2019 June Q16
10 marks Moderate -0.3
  1. The graph below shows the amount of salt, in grams, purchased per person per week in England between 2001–02 and 2014, based upon the Large Data Set. \includegraphics{figure_16a} Meera and Gemma are arguing about what this graph shows. Meera believes that the amount of salt consumed by people decreased greatly during this period. Gemma says that this is not the case. Using your knowledge of the Large Data Set, give two reasons why Gemma may be correct. [2 marks]
  2. It is known that the mean amount of sugar purchased per person in England in 2014 was 78.9 grams, with a standard deviation of 25.0 grams. In 2018, a sample of 918 people had a mean of 80.4 grams of sugar purchased per person. Investigate, at the 5\% level of significance, whether the mean amount of sugar purchased per person in England has changed between 2014 and 2018. Assume that the survey data is a random sample taken from a normal distribution and that the standard deviation has remained the same. [6 marks]
  3. Another test is performed to determine whether the mean amount of fat purchased per person has changed between 2014 and 2018. At the 10\% significance level, the null hypothesis is rejected. With reference to the 10\% significance level, explain why it is not necessarily true that there has been a change. [2 marks]
AQA Paper 3 2020 June Q14
7 marks Moderate -0.3
It is known that a hospital has a mean waiting time of 4 hours for its Accident and Emergency (A\&E) patients. After some new initiatives were introduced, a random sample of 12 patients from the hospital's A\&E Department had the following waiting times, in hours. \(4.25\) \quad \(3.90\) \quad \(4.15\) \quad \(3.95\) \quad \(4.20\) \quad \(4.15\) \(5.00\) \quad \(3.85\) \quad \(4.25\) \quad \(4.05\) \quad \(3.80\) \quad \(3.95\) Carry out a hypothesis test at the 10\% significance level to investigate whether the mean waiting time at this hospital's A\&E department has changed. You may assume that the waiting times are normally distributed with standard deviation 0.8 hours. [7 marks]
AQA Paper 3 2021 June Q15
7 marks Standard +0.3
A team game involves solving puzzles to escape from a room. Using data from the past, the mean time to solve the puzzles and escape from one of these rooms is 65 minutes with a standard deviation of 11.3 minutes. After recent changes to the puzzles in the room, it is claimed that the mean time to solve the puzzles and escape has changed. To test this claim, a random sample of 100 teams is selected. The total time to solve the puzzles and escape for the 100 teams is 6780 minutes. Assuming that the times are normally distributed, test at the 2% level the claim that the mean time has changed. [7 marks]
AQA Paper 3 2022 June Q17
6 marks Moderate -0.3
The number of working hours per week of employees in a company is modelled by a normal distribution with mean of 34 hours and a standard deviation of 4.5 hours. The manager claims that the mean working hours per week of the company's employees has increased. A random sample of 30 employees in the company was found to have mean working hours per week of 36.2 hours. Carry out a hypothesis test at the 2.5% significance level to investigate the manager's claim. [6 marks]
AQA Paper 3 2023 June Q14
10 marks Standard +0.3
The mass of aluminium cans recycled each day in a city may be modelled by a normal distribution with mean 24 500 kg and standard deviation 5 200 kg.
  1. State the probability that the mass of aluminium cans recycled on any given day is not equal to 24 500 kg. [1 mark]
  2. To reduce costs, the city's council decides to collect aluminium cans for recycling less frequently. Following the decision, it was found that over a 24-day period a total mass of 641 520 kg of aluminium cans was recycled. It can be assumed that the distribution of the mass of aluminium cans recycled is still normal with standard deviation 5 200 kg, and that the 24-day period can be regarded as a random sample. Investigate, at the 5% level of significance, whether the mean daily mass of aluminium cans recycled has changed. [7 marks]
  3. A member of the council claims that if a different sample of 24 days had been used the hypothesis test in part (b) would have given the same result. Comment on the validity of this claim. [2 marks]
AQA Paper 3 2024 June Q17
14 marks Moderate -0.8
In 2019, the lengths of new-born babies at a clinic can be modelled by a normal distribution with mean 50 cm and standard deviation 4 cm.
  1. This normal distribution is represented in the diagram below. Label the values 50 and 54 on the horizontal axis. [2 marks] \includegraphics{figure_17a}
  2. State the probability that the length of a new-born baby is less than 50 cm. [1 mark]
  3. Find the probability that the length of a new-born baby is more than 56 cm. [1 mark]
  4. Find the probability that the length of a new-born baby is more than 40 cm but less than 60 cm. [1 mark]
  5. Determine the length exceeded by 95% of all new-born babies at the clinic. [2 marks]
  6. In 2020, the lengths of 40 new-born babies at the clinic were selected at random. The total length of the 40 new-born babies was 2060 cm. Carry out a hypothesis test at the 10% significance level to investigate whether the mean length of a new-born baby at the clinic in 2020 has **increased** compared to 2019. You may assume that the length of a new-born baby is still normally distributed with standard deviation 4 cm. [7 marks]
AQA Paper 3 Specimen Q14
11 marks Standard +0.3
A survey during 2013 investigated mean expenditure on bread and on alcohol. The 2013 survey obtained information from 12 144 adults. The survey revealed that the mean expenditure per adult per week on bread was 127p.
  1. For 2012, it is known that the expenditure per adult per week on bread had mean 123p, and a standard deviation of 70p.
    1. Carry out a hypothesis test, at the 5% significance level, to investigate whether the mean expenditure per adult per week on bread changed from 2012 to 2013. Assume that the survey data is a random sample taken from a normal distribution. [5 marks]
    2. Calculate the greatest and least values for the sample mean expenditure on bread per adult per week for 2013 that would have resulted in acceptance of the null hypothesis for the test you carried out in part (a)(i). Give your answers to two decimal places. [2 marks]
  2. The 2013 survey revealed that the mean expenditure per adult, per week on alcohol was 324p. The mean expenditure per adult per week on alcohol for 2009 was 307p. A test was carried out on the following hypotheses relating to mean expenditure per adult per week on alcohol in 2013. \(H_0 : \mu = 307\) \(H_1 : \mu \neq 307\) This test resulted in the null hypothesis, \(H_0\), being rejected. State, with a reason, whether the test result supports the following statements:
    1. the mean UK expenditure on alcohol per adult per week increased by 17p from 2009 to 2013; [2 marks]
    2. the mean UK consumption of alcohol per adult per week changed from 2009 to 2013. [2 marks]
OCR MEI Paper 2 2022 June Q12
8 marks Moderate -0.8
A retailer sells bags of flour which are advertised as containing 1.5 kg of flour. A trading standards officer is investigating whether there is enough flour in each bag. He collects a random sample and uses software to carry out a hypothesis test at the 5\% level. The analysis is shown in the software printout below. \includegraphics{figure_12}
  1. State the hypotheses the officer uses in the test, defining any parameters used. [2]
  2. State the distribution used in the analysis. [3]
  3. Carry out the hypothesis test, giving your conclusion in context. [3]
SPS SPS SM 2021 February Q7
15 marks Standard +0.3
A health centre claims that the time a doctor spends with a patient can be modelled by a normal distribution with a mean of 10 minutes and a standard deviation of 4 minutes.
  1. Using this model, find the probability that the time spent with a randomly selected patient is more than 15 minutes. [1]
  2. Some patients complain that the mean time the doctor spends with a patient is more than 10 minutes. The receptionist takes a random sample of 20 patients and finds that the mean time the doctor spends with a patient is 11.5 minutes. Stating your hypotheses clearly and using a 5% significance level, test whether or not there is evidence to support the patients' complaint. [4]
  3. The health centre also claims that the time a dentist spends with a patient during a routine appointment, \(T\) minutes, can be modelled by the normal distribution where \(T \sim N(5, 3.5^2)\) Using this model,
    1. find the probability that a routine appointment with the dentist takes less than 2 minutes [1]
    2. find \(P(T < 2 | T > 0)\) [3]
    3. hence explain why this normal distribution may not be a good model for \(T\). [1]
  4. The dentist believes that she cannot complete a routine appointment in less than 2 minutes. She suggests that the health centre should use a refined model only including values of \(T > 2\) Find the median time for a routine appointment using this new model, giving your answer correct to one decimal place. [5]
SPS SPS SM Statistics 2024 January Q3
12 marks Moderate -0.8
Zac is planning to write a report on the music preferences of the students at his college. There is a large number of students at the college.
  1. State one reason why Zac might wish to obtain information from a sample of students, rather than from all the students. [1]
  2. Amaya suggests that Zac should use a sample that is stratified by school year. Give one advantage of this method as compared with random sampling, in this context. [1]
Zac decides to take a random sample of 60 students from his college. He asks each student how many hours per week, on average, they spend listening to music during term. From his results he calculates the following statistics.
MeanStandard deviationMedianLower quartileUpper quartile
21.04.2020.518.022.9
  1. Sundip tells Zac that, during term, she spends on average 30 hours per week listening to music. Discuss briefly whether this value should be considered an outlier. [3]
  2. Layla claims that, during term, each student spends on average 20 hours per week listening to music. Zac believes that the true figure is higher than 20 hours. He uses his results to carry out a hypothesis test at the 5\% significance level. Assume that the time spent listening to music is normally distributed with standard deviation 4.20 hours. Carry out the test. [7]
OCR H240/02 2017 Specimen Q10
7 marks Standard +0.3
In the past, the time spent in minutes, by customers in a certain library had mean 32.5 and standard deviation 8.2. Following a change of layout in the library, the mean time spent in the library by a random sample of 50 customers is found to be 34.5 minutes. Assuming that the standard deviation remains at 8.2, test at the 5% significance level whether the mean time spent by customers in the library has changed. [7]