Analyze

Interpreting the results

The test statistic, Z, for testing if the population mean equals 5 is -3.17. The p-value, or the
probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true, is 0.002. This is called the attained
significance level, p-value, or attained α of the test. Because the p-value of 0.002 is smaller
than commonly chosen α-levels, there is significant evidence that m is not equal to 5, so you
can reject H0 in favor of m not being 5.
A hypothesis test at α error = 0.1 could also be performed by viewing the individual value
plot. The hypothesized value falls outside the 90% confidence interval for the population
mean (4.67923, 4.89855), and so you can reject the null hypothesis.

1 Sample t test : This test compares the mean of the sample with some test Population
when Population standard deviation σpop is Unknown. This procedure is based upon the t-
distribution, which is derived from a normal distribution with unknown σ.

Example : Measurements were made on nine widgets. You know that the distribution of
widget measurements has historically been close to normal, but suppose that you do not
know σ. To test if the population mean is 5 and to obtain a 90% confidence interval for the
mean, you use a t-procedure.
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Solution : Values
1 Open the worksheet enter the data. 4.9
5.1
2 Choose Stat > Basic Statistics > 1-Sample t. 4.6
5
3 In Samples in columns, enter Values.
5.1
4 In Test mean, enter 5. 4.7
4.4
5 Click Options. In Confidence level enter 90. 4.7
Click OK in each dialog box 4.6

One-Sample T: Values
Test of mu = 5 vs not = 5
Variable N Mean StDev SE Mean 90% CI T P
Values 9 4.78889 0.24721 0.08240 (4.63566, 4.94212) -2.56 0.034

Result Interpretation :

The p-value < 0.01 , also the test mean does not lie within the Confidence Interval so Null
Hypothesis is rejected and Alternate Hypothesis is accepted. It confirms that the sample
mean is not euqal to Population Mean ).
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2 Sample t test :. It computes a confidence interval and performs a hypothesis test of the
difference between two population means when σ 's are unknown and samples are drawn
independently from each other. This procedure is based upon the t-distribution, and for small
samples it works best if data were drawn from distributions that are normal or close to
normal. You can have increasing confidence in the results as the sample sizes increase.

Example : A study was performed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of two devices for
improving the efficiency of gas home-heating systems. Energy consumption in houses was
measured after one of the two devices was installed. The two devices were an electric vent
damper (Damper=1) and a thermally activated vent damper (Damper=2). The energy
consumption data (BTU.In) are stacked in one column with a grouping column (Damper)
containing identifiers or subscripts to denote the population. Suppose that you performed a
variance test and found no evidence for variances being unequal .Now you want to compare
the effectiveness of these two devices by determining whether or not there is any evidence
that the difference between the devices is different from zero.
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BTU.In Da mpe r
7.87 1
9.43 1

Solution : 7.16
8.67
12.31
1
1
1
9.84 1
1 Open the worksheet , enter the data. 16.9
10.04
1
1
12.62 1
7.62 1

2 Choose Stat > Basic Statistics > 2-Sample T. 11.12

13.43
1
1
9.07 1
6.94 1

3 Choose Samples in one column. 10.28

9.37
7.93
1
1
1
13.96 1

4 In Samples, enter 'BTU.In'.

6.8 1
4 1
8.58 1
8 1
5.98 1
5 In Subscripts, enter Damper. 15.24
8.54
1
1
11.09 1
11.7 1

6 Check Assume equal variances. Click OK. 12.71

6.78
1
1
9.82 1
12.91 1
10.35 1
9.6 1
9.58 1
9.83 1
9.52 1
18.26 1
10.64 1
6.62 1
5.2 1
12.28 2
7.23 2
2.97 2
8.81 2
9.27 2
11.29 2
8.29 2
9.96 2
10.3 2
16.06 2
14.24 2
11.43 2
10.28 2
13.6 2
5.94 2
10.36 2
6.85 2
6.72 2
10.21 2
8.61 2
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Minitab Output :
Two-Sample T-Test and CI: BTU.In, Damper
Two-sample T for BTU.In
Damper N Mean StDev SE Mean
1 40 9.91 3.02 0.48
2 50 10.14 2.77 0.39
Difference = mu (1) - mu (2)
Estimate for difference: -0.235250
95% CI for difference: (-1.450131, 0.979631)
T-Test of difference = 0 (vs not =): T-Value = -0.38 P-Value = 0.701 DF = 88
Both use Pooled StDev = 2.8818
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Result Interpretation :

Minitab displays a table of the sample sizes, sample means, standard deviations, and
standard errors for the two samples.

Since we previously found no evidence for variances being unequal, we chose to use the
pooled standard deviation by choosing Assume equal variances. The pooled standard
deviation, 2.8818, is used to calculate the test statistic and the confidence intervals.

A second table gives a confidence interval for the difference in population means. For this
example, a 95% confidence interval is (-1.45, 0.98) which includes zero, thus suggesting that
there is no difference. Next is the hypothesis test result. The test statistic is -0.38, with p-
value of 0.701, and 88 degrees of freedom.

Since the p-value is greater than commonly chosen a-levels, there is no evidence for a
difference in energy use when using an electric vent damper versus a thermally activated
vent damper.