Two-tail z-test

Test whether the population mean has changed in either direction (H₁: μ ≠ μ₀), using a two-tail test with critical values on both sides.

49 questions · Moderate -0.0

5.05c Hypothesis test: normal distribution for population mean
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Edexcel Paper 3 2023 June Q4
6 marks Standard +0.3
A study was made of adult men from region \(A\) of a country. It was found that their heights were normally distributed with a mean of 175.4 cm and standard deviation 6.8 cm .
  1. Find the proportion of these men that are taller than 180 cm . A student claimed that the mean height of adult men from region \(B\) of this country was different from the mean height of adult men from region \(A\). A random sample of 52 adult men from region \(B\) had a mean height of 177.2 cm
    The student assumed that the standard deviation of heights of adult men was 6.8 cm both for region \(A\) and region \(B\).
  2. Use a suitable test to assess the student's claim. You should
    • state your hypotheses clearly
    • use a \(5 \%\) level of significance
    • Find the \(p\)-value for the test in part (b)
OCR MEI Paper 2 2018 June Q13
10 marks Challenging +1.2
13 Each weekday Keira drives to work with her son Kaito. She always sets off at 8.00 a.m. She models her journey time, \(x\) minutes, by the distribution \(X \sim \mathrm {~N} ( 15,4 )\). Over a long period of time she notes that her journey takes less than 14 minutes on \(7 \%\) of the journeys, and takes more than 18 minutes on \(31 \%\) of the journeys.
  1. Investigate whether Keira's model is a good fit for the data. Kaito believes that Keira's value for the variance is correct, but realises that the mean is not correct.
  2. Find, correct to two significant figures, the value of the mean that Keira should use in a refined model which does fit the data. Keira buys a new car. After driving to work in it each day for several weeks, she randomly selects the journey times for \(n\) of these days. Her mean journey time for these \(n\) days is 16 minutes. Using the refined model she conducts a hypothesis test to see if her mean journey time has changed, and finds that the result is significant at the \(5 \%\) level.
  3. Determine the smallest possible value of \(n\).
Edexcel S3 2017 June Q3
7 marks Moderate -0.3
3. The manager of a gym claimed that the mean age of its customers is 30 years. A random sample of 75 customers is taken and their ages have a mean of 28.2 years and a standard deviation, \(s\), of 8.5 years.
  1. Stating your hypotheses clearly and using a 10\% level of significance, test whether or not the manager's claim is supported by the data.
  2. Explain the relevance of the Central Limit Theorem to your calculation in part (a).
  3. State an additional assumption needed to carry out the test in part (a).
AQA S2 2007 January Q3
8 marks Standard +0.3
3 The handicap committee of a golf club has indicated that the mean score achieved by the club's members in the past was 85.9 . A group of members believes that recent changes to the golf course have led to a change in the mean score achieved by the club's members and decides to investigate this belief. A random sample of the scores, \(x\), of 100 club members was taken and is summarised by $$\sum x = 8350 \quad \text { and } \quad \sum ( x - \bar { x } ) ^ { 2 } = 15321$$ where \(\bar { x }\) denotes the sample mean.
Test, at the \(5 \%\) level of significance, the group's belief that the mean score of 85.9 has changed.
AQA S2 2011 January Q5
12 marks Standard +0.3
5 In 2001, the mean height of students at the end of their final year at Bright Hope Secondary School was 165 centimetres. In 2010, David and James selected a random sample of 100 students who were at the end of their final year at this school. They recorded these students' heights, \(x\) centimetres, and found that \(\bar { x } = 167.1\) and \(s ^ { 2 } = 101.2\). To investigate the claim that the mean height had increased since 2001, David and James each correctly conducted a hypothesis test. They used the same null hypothesis and the same alternative hypothesis. However, David used a \(5 \%\) level of significance whilst James used a \(1 \%\) level of significance.
    1. Write down the null and alternative hypotheses that both David and James used.
      (l mark)
    2. Determine the outcome of each of the two hypothesis tests, giving each conclusion in context.
    3. State why both David and James made use of the Central Limit Theorem in their hypothesis tests.
  1. It was later found that, in 2010, the mean height of students at the end of their final year at Bright Hope Secondary School was actually 165 centimetres. Giving a reason for your answer in each case, determine whether a Type I error or a Type II error or neither was made in the hypothesis test conducted by:
    1. David;
    2. James.
AQA S2 2012 January Q2
13 marks Standard +0.3
2
  1. A particular bowling club has a large number of members. Their ages may be modelled by a normal random variable, \(X\), with standard deviation 7.5 years. On 30 June 2010, Ted, the club secretary, concerned about the ageing membership, selected a random sample of 16 members and calculated their mean age to be 65.0 years.
    1. Carry out a hypothesis test, at the \(5 \%\) level of significance, to determine whether the mean age of the club's members has changed from its value of 61.4 years on 30 June 2000.
    2. Comment on the likely number of members who were under the age of 25 on 30 June 2010, giving a numerical reason for your answer.
  2. During 2011, in an attempt to encourage greater participation in the sport, the club ran a recruitment drive. After the recruitment drive, the ages of members of the bowling club may be modelled by a normal random variable, \(Y\) years, with mean \(\mu\) and standard deviation \(\sigma\). The ages, \(y\) years, of a random sample of 12 such members are summarised below. $$\sum y = 702 \quad \text { and } \quad \sum ( y - \bar { y } ) ^ { 2 } = 88.25$$
    1. Construct a \(90 \%\) confidence interval for \(\mu\), giving the limits to one decimal place.
    2. Use your confidence interval to state, with a reason, whether the recruitment drive lowered the average age of the club's members.
AQA S2 2005 June Q8
9 marks Moderate -0.3
8 The mean age of people attending a large concert is claimed to be 35 years. A random sample of 100 people attending the concert was taken and their mean age was found to be 37.9 years.
  1. Given that the standard deviation of the ages of the people attending the concert is 12 years, test, at the \(1 \%\) level of significance, the claim that the mean age is 35 years.
    (7 marks)
  2. Explain, in the context of this question, the meaning of a Type II error.
    (2 marks)
AQA S2 2008 June Q3
6 marks Moderate -0.3
3 Alan's company produces packets of crisps. The standard deviation of the weight of a packet of crisps is known to be 2.5 grams. Alan believes that, due to the extra demand on the production line at a busy time of the year, the mean weight of packets of crisps is not equal to the target weight of 34.5 grams. In an experiment set up to investigate Alan's belief, the weights of a random sample of 50 packets of crisps were recorded. The mean weight of this sample is 35.1 grams. Investigate Alan's belief at the \(5 \%\) level of significance.
AQA S2 2011 June Q5
13 marks Standard +0.3
5
  1. The lifetime of a new 16-watt energy-saving light bulb may be modelled by a normal random variable with standard deviation 640 hours. A random sample of 25 bulbs, taken by the manufacturer from this distribution, has a mean lifetime of 19700 hours. Carry out a hypothesis test, at the \(1 \%\) level of significance, to determine whether the mean lifetime has changed from 20000 hours.
  2. The lifetime of a new 11-watt energy-saving light bulb may be modelled by a normal random variable with mean \(\mu\) hours and standard deviation \(\sigma\) hours. The manufacturer claims that the mean lifetime of these energy-saving bulbs is 10000 hours. Christine, from a consumer organisation, believes that this is an overestimate. To investigate her belief, she carries out a hypothesis test at the \(5 \%\) level of significance based on the null hypothesis \(\mathrm { H } _ { 0 } : \mu = 10000\).
    1. State the alternative hypothesis that should be used by Christine in this test.
    2. From the lifetimes of a random sample of 16 bulbs, Christine finds that \(s = 500\) hours. Determine the range of values for the sample mean which would lead Christine not to reject her null hypothesis.
    3. It was later revealed that \(\mu = 10000\). State which type of error, if any, was made by Christine if she concluded that her null hypothesis should not be rejected.
      (l mark)
Edexcel S3 Q6
12 marks Standard +0.3
6. The weight of a particular electrical component is normally distributed with a mean of 46.7 grams and a variance of 1.8 grams \(^ { 2 }\). The component is sold in boxes of 12 .
  1. State the distribution of the mean weight of the components in one box.
  2. Find the probability that the mean weight of the components in a randomly chosen box is more than 47 grams.
    (3 marks)
    After a break in production the component manufacturer wishes to find out if the mean weight of the components has changed. A random sample of 30 components is found to have a mean weight of 46.5 grams.
  3. Assuming that the variance of the weight of the components is unchanged, test at the \(5 \%\) level of significance if there has been any change in the mean weight of the components.
    (7 marks)
OCR MEI Further Statistics B AS 2018 June Q5
10 marks Moderate -0.3
5 The flight time between two airports is known to be Normally distributed with mean 3.75 hours and standard deviation 0.21 hours. A new airline starts flying the same route. The flight times for a random sample of 12 flights with the new airline are shown in the spreadsheet (Fig. 5), together with the sample mean. \begin{table}[h]
ABCDEFGHIJKL
13.5953.7233.5843.6433.6693.6973.5503.6743.9243.5633.3303.706
2
3Mean3.638
\captionsetup{labelformat=empty} \caption{Fig. 5}
\end{table} \section*{(i) In this question you must show detailed reasoning.} You should assume that:
  • the flight times for the new airline are Normally distributed,
  • the standard deviation of the flight times is still 0.21 hours.
Carry out a test at the \(5 \%\) significance level to investigate whether the mean flight time for the new airline is less than 3.75 hours.
(ii) If both of the assumptions in part (i) were false, name an alternative test that you could carry out to investigate average flight times, stating any assumption necessary for this test.
(iii) If instead the flight times were still Normally distributed but the standard deviation was not known to be 0.21 hours, name another test that you could carry out.
Edexcel FS1 2022 June Q7
11 marks Challenging +1.2
A machine fills bags with flour. The weight of flour delivered by the machine into a bag, \(X\) grams, is normally distributed with mean \(\mu\) grams and standard deviation 30 grams. To check if there is any change to the mean weight of flour delivered by the machine into each bag, Olaf takes a random sample of 10 bags. The weight of flour, \(x\) grams, in each bag is recorded and \(\bar { x } = 1020\)
  1. Test, at the \(5 \%\) level of significance, \(\mathrm { H } _ { 0 } : \mu = 1000\) against \(\mathrm { H } _ { 1 } : \mu \neq 1000\) Olaf decides to alter the test so that the hypotheses are \(\mathrm { H } _ { 0 } : \mu = 1000\) and \(\mathrm { H } _ { 1 } : \mu > 1000\) but keeps the level of significance at 5\% He takes a second sample of size \(n\) and finds the critical region, \(\bar { X } > c\)
  2. Find an equation for \(c\) in terms of \(n\) When the true value of \(\mu\) is 1020 grams, the probability of making a Type II error is 0.0050 , to 2 significant figures.
  3. Calculate the value of \(n\) and the value of \(c\)
OCR MEI Further Statistics Major 2020 November Q8
10 marks Standard +0.3
8 In this question you must show detailed reasoning. On the manufacturer's website, it is claimed that the average daily electricity consumption of a particular model of fridge is 1.25 kWh (kilowatt hours). A researcher at a consumer organisation decides to check this figure. A random sample of 40 fridges is selected. Summary statistics for the electricity consumption \(x \mathrm { kWh }\) of these fridges, measured over a period of 24 hours, are as follows. \(\Sigma x = 51.92 \quad \Sigma x ^ { 2 } = 70.57\) Carry out a test at the \(5 \%\) significance level to investigate the validity of the claim on the website.
[0pt] [10]
OCR H240/02 2018 September Q12
8 marks Moderate -0.3
12 In the past, the time spent by customers in a certain shop had mean 10.5 minutes and standard deviation 4.2 minutes. Following a change of layout in the shop, the mean time spent in the shop by a random sample of 50 customers is found to be 12.0 minutes.
  1. Assuming that the standard deviation is unchanged, test at the \(1 \%\) significance level whether the mean time spent by customers in the shop has changed.
  2. Another random sample of 50 customers is chosen and a similar test at the \(1 \%\) significance level is carried out. Given that the population mean time has not changed, state the probability that the conclusion of the test will be that the population mean time has changed.
AQA S2 2009 January Q2
9 marks Standard +0.3
2 A group of estate agents in a particular area claimed that, after the introduction of a new search procedure at the Land Registry, the mean completion time for the purchase of a house in the area had not changed from 8 weeks.
  1. A random sample of 9 house purchases in the area revealed that their completion times, in weeks, were as follows. $$\begin{array} { l l l l l l l l l } 6 & 7 & 10 & 12 & 9 & 11 & 7 & 8 & 14 \end{array}$$ Assuming that completion times in the area are normally distributed with standard deviation 2.5 weeks, test, at the \(5 \%\) level of significance, the group's claim. (7 marks)
  2. It was subsequently discovered that, after the introduction of the new search procedure at the Land Registry, the mean completion time for the purchase of a house in the area remained at 8 weeks. Indicate whether a Type I error, a Type II error or neither has occurred in carrying out your hypothesis test in part (a). Give a reason for your answer.
    (2 marks)
AQA S2 2009 June Q1
6 marks Moderate -0.3
1 A machine fills bottles with bleach. The volume, in millilitres, of bleach dispensed by the machine into a bottle may be modelled by a normal distribution with mean \(\mu\) and standard deviation 8 . A recent inspection indicated that the value of \(\mu\) was 768 . Yvonne, the machine's operator, claims that this value has not subsequently changed. Zara, the quality control supervisor, records the volume of bleach in each of a random sample of 18 bottles filled by the machine and calculates their mean to be 764.8 ml . Test, at the \(5 \%\) level of significance, Yvonne's claim that the mean volume of bleach dispensed by the machine has not changed from 768 ml .
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]
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 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]
WJEC Unit 4 2019 June Q4
12 marks Standard +0.3
A company produces kettlebells whose weights are normally distributed with mean \(16\) kg and standard deviation \(0.08\) kg.
  1. Find the probability that the weight of a randomly selected kettlebell is greater than \(16.05\) kg. [2]
The company trials a new production method. It needs to check that the mean is still \(16\) kg. It assumes that the standard deviation is unchanged. The company takes a random sample of 25 kettlebells and it decides to reject the new production method if the sample mean does not round to \(16\) kg to the nearest \(100\) g.
  1. Find the probability that the new production method will be rejected if, in fact, the mean is still \(16\) kg. [4]
The company decides instead to use a 5\% significance test. A random sample of 25 kettlebells is selected and the mean is found to be \(16.02\) kg.
  1. Carry out the test to determine whether or not the new production method will be rejected. [6]
WJEC Further Unit 5 2024 June Q4
11 marks Standard +0.3
The sports performance director at a university wishes to investigate whether there is a difference in the means of the specific gravities of blood of cyclists and runners. She models the distribution of specific gravity for cyclists as \(N\left(\mu_c, 8^2\right)\) and for runners as \(N\left(\mu_r, 10^2\right)\).
  1. State suitable hypotheses for this investigation. [1]
The mean specific gravity of blood of a random sample of 40 cyclists from the university was 1063. The mean specific gravity of blood of a random sample of 40 runners from the same university was 1060.
  1. Calculate and interpret the \(p\)-value for the data. [6]
  2. Suppose now that both samples were of size \(n\), instead of 40. Find the least value of \(n\) that would ensure that an observed difference of 3 in the mean specific gravities would be significant at the 1\% level. [4]
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]