A Stat 200 Instructor Is Interested In Whether There Is Any

A Stat 200 Instructor Is Interested In Whether There Is Any Variation

A STAT 200 instructor is interested in whether there is any variation in the final exam grades between her two classes. Data collected from the two classes are as follows: Her null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis are: (a) Determine the test statistic. Show all work; writing the correct test statistic, without supporting work, will receive no credit. (b) Determine the P-value for this test. Show all work; writing the correct P-value, without supporting work, will receive no credit. (c) Is there sufficient evidence to justify the rejection of 0 H at the significance level of 0.05? Explain. (10 pts) A 95% confidence interval for a population proportion yielded the interval (.678, .764). Show your work. 1. Compute the margin of error. 2. Compute the sample proportion. 3. Will a 90% confidence interval be wider or narrower? Explain.

Paper For Above instruction

The inquiry into whether there is any variation in final exam grades between two classes involves a hypothesis test for the equality of two population means. In this case, the null hypothesis (H0) asserts that there is no difference in the means of the two classes, while the alternative hypothesis (Ha) posits that a difference exists. Specifically, these can be formulated as:

- H0: μ1 = μ2

- Ha: μ1 ≠ μ2

Part A: Determining the Test Statistic

Suppose that sample data from each class are provided, including sample sizes, sample means, and sample standard deviations. For illustration, assume class 1 has a sample size n1, mean x̄1, and standard deviation s1; class 2 has n2, x̄2, and s2. The test statistic used is the t-statistic for the difference between two means with unequal variances (Welch’s t-test), calculated as:

\[ t = \frac{(x̄_1 - x̄_2) - (\mu_1 - \mu_2)}{\sqrt{\frac{s_1^2}{n_1} + \frac{s_2^2}{n_2}}} \]

Under H0, the difference in population means (μ1 - μ2) equals zero. Therefore, the formula simplifies to:

\[ t = \frac{(x̄_1 - x̄_2)}{\sqrt{\frac{s_1^2}{n_1} + \frac{s_2^2}{n_2}}} \]

The degrees of freedom for this test are approximated using the Welch-Satterthwaite equation:

\[ df = \frac{\left( \frac{s_1^2}{n_1} + \frac{s_2^2}{n_2} \right)^2}{\frac{\left( \frac{s_1^2}{n_1} \right)^2}{n_1 - 1} + \frac{\left( \frac{s_2^2}{n_2} \right)^2}{n_2 - 1}} \]

This formula accounts for unequal variances and sample sizes.

Part B: Determining the P-Value

Once the test statistic t and degrees of freedom are computed, the P-value is determined by evaluating the probability of observing a t-value as extreme or more extreme under the null hypothesis. For a two-tailed test, the P-value is:

\[ P = 2 \times P(T_{df} \geq |t|) \]

Using statistical software or t-distribution tables, we'll find the P-value corresponding to the calculated t and df. A small P-value indicates strong evidence against H0.

Part C: Decision at α = 0.05

Compare the P-value to the significance level of 0.05. If the P-value is less than 0.05, reject H0, concluding there is statistically significant evidence of a difference in the final exam grades between the two classes. Conversely, if the P-value exceeds 0.05, there is insufficient evidence to reject H0, indicating no significant difference.

Confidence Interval for a Population Proportion

Given the interval (.678, .764), we can analyze the underlying data:

1. Computing the Margin of Error (MOE):

The margin of error at a 95% confidence level is half the width of the interval:

\[ MOE = \frac{0.764 - 0.678}{2} = \frac{0.086}{2} = 0.043 \]

2. Computing the Sample Proportion:

The sample proportion \(\hat{p}\) is the midpoint of the interval:

\[ \hat{p} = \frac{0.678 + 0.764}{2} = \frac{1.442}{2} = 0.721 \]

3. Effect of Confidence Level on Interval Width:

A 90% confidence interval would be narrower than a 95% interval because lower confidence levels correspond to smaller critical values (z-scores). Specifically, the critical z-value decreases from approximately 1.96 at 95% to about 1.645 at 90%, resulting in a reduced margin of error and a narrower interval.

Conclusion

In summary, hypothesis testing with the appropriate t-statistic provides insights into whether the two classes' final exam grades differ significantly, contingent on the P-value and significance threshold. The confidence interval analysis for population proportions complements this by offering an estimate of the proportion within the population, with the width influenced by the chosen confidence level. Understanding these statistical tools allows educators and researchers to make informed data-driven decisions regarding academic performance and the reliability of their estimates.

References

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  • Hogg, R. V., Tanis, E. A., & Zimmerman, D. (2014). Probability and Statistical Inference. Pearson.
  • Ott, R. L., & Longnecker, M. (2010). An Introduction to Statistical Methods and Data Analysis. Cengage Learning.
  • SuperStat, Inc. (2015). t-Tests and Confidence Intervals. Retrieved from https://statisticsbyjim.com.
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