Test hypothesis or from interval estimates for

a. Two Independent population means

Samples selected from two or more populations in such a way that the occurrence of

values in one sample has no influence on the probability of the occurrence of values

in the other sample(s).

1. Standard deviation known

Recall that the standard normal distribution z-values were used in establishing the

critical value and developing the interval estimate when the population standard

deviation was assumed known and the population distribution is assumed to be

normally distributed

2. Standard deviaton unknown

When estimating a single population mean when the population standard

deviation is unknown, the critical value is a t-value from the t-distribution. This is

also the case when you are interested in estimating the difference between two

population means, if the following assumptions hold:

- The populations are normally distributed.

- The populations have equal variances.

- The samples are independent.

 The following application illustrates how a confidence interval estimate is

developed using the t-distribution.

b. Two means from paired samples.

Paired samples is samples that are selected in such a way that values in one sample

are matched with the values in the second sample for the purpose of controlling for

extraneous factors. Another term for paired samples is dependent samples.

c. The difference between two population proportion

Pomona Fabrications, Inc. produces handheld hair dryers that several major retailers

sell as in-house brands. A critical component of a handheld hair dryer is the motor-

heater unit, which accounts for most of the dryer’s cost and for most of the product’s

reliability problems. Product reliability is important to Pomona because the company

offers a one-year warranty. Of course, Pomona is also interested in reducing

production costs. Pomona’s R&D department has recently created a new motor-heater

unit with fewer parts than the current unit, which would lead to a 15% cost savings

per hair dryer. However, the company’s vice president of product development is

unwilling to authorize the new component unless it is more reliable than the current

motor-heater. The R&D department has decided to test samples of both units to see

which motor-heater is more reliable. Of each type, 250 will be tested under conditions

that simulate one year’s use, and the proportion of each type that fails within that time

will be recorded. This leads to the formulation of the following null and alternative

hypotheses:

The null hypothesis states that the new motor-heater is no better than the old, or

current, motor-heater. The alternative states that the new unit has a smaller proportion

of failures within one year than the current unit. In other words, the alternative states

that the new unit is more reliable. The company wants clear evidence before changing

units. If the null hypothesis is rejected, the company will conclude that the new

motor-heater unit is more reliable than the old unit and should be used in producing

the hair dryers. To test the null hypothesis, we can use the test statistic approach.