HYPOTHESIS TESTING

Hypothesis Testing
• In Statistics, the term hypothesis is used to mean
a statement about one or more parameters of a
population or populations.
• Hypothesis testing is a procedure consisting of
pertinent steps whose major objective is to be
able to make a decision based on the data
gathered.
• Two most important statistical tests: the z-test
and the t-test
Null and Alternative Hypotheses
• Null hypothesis (Ho) – refers to the statement
about the absence of any effect claimed for a
certain action. It also asserts the absence of
difference between the observed and the
expected values.
• Alternative Hypothesis (Ha) – refers to the
assertion contradicting the null hypothesis.
Thus, if the null hypothesis is proven to be true,
then the alternative hypothesis should be false.
Situation A:
• A medical researcher is interested in finding out
whether a new medication will have any
undesirable side effects. The researcher is
particularly concerned with the pulse rate of the
patients who take the medication. Will the pulse
rate increase, decrease, or remain unchanged
after a patient takes the medication? (mean
pulse rate = 82 beats per minute)
Situation B:
• A chemist invents an additive to increase the life
of an automobile battery. (The mean lifetime of
the automobile battery without the additive is 36
months.)
Situation C:
• A contractor wishes to lower heating bills by
using a special type of insulation in houses. (the
average of monthly heating bills is P4,000)
Example:
• State the null and alternative hypotheses for the
conjuncture.

• A researcher wishes to see if police officers

whose spouses work in law enforcement have a
lower score on a work stress questionnaire than
the average score of 120
Level of Significance (α)
• The maximum probability of rejecting the true
null hypothesis.
• The commonly used values ranges from 0.01 to
0.10 particularly .05 or 5% and 0.01 or 1%.
Tabular value
• This value is sometimes called the critical value.
• It divides the area of the graph of a normally
distributed set of data into two areas – the area
of rejection and the area of acceptance.
• It serves as a basis for accepting or rejecting the
hypothesis based on the evidence gathered.
To illustrate:
• Consider a level of significance of 0.01 for a two-
tailed test

• Consider a level of significance of 0.01 for a one-

tailed test.
Steps in Hypothesis Testing
1. Make an assertion regarding the nature of the
distribution of the data.
2. Formulate the null and alternative hypothesis.
3. Specify the level of significance.
4. Determine the tabular value.
5. Determine the computed value of the test statistic from
the given conditions.
6. Make a decision. Compare the computed value to the
critical value. We shall have two possibilities:
a. if the computed value < critical value, accept the null
hypothesis and reject the alternative hypothesis
b. if the computed value > critical value, accept the null
hypothesis and reject the alternative hypothesis
Z-test
• The simplest and most common test on the
significance of sample data
• It requires the normality of distribution and the
sample size should be greater than or equal to 30
• Is one of the parametric tests since it utilizes the
two population parameters μ and σ.
• Can be applied in two ways: One-sample Mean
Test and Two-sample Mean Test
One-sample Mean Test
Tabular value for z-test at specified
level of significance:

• If |Zcomputed| is greater than |Ztabular| then the

null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative
hypothesis is accepted. Similarly, if |Zcomputed| is
less than |Ztabular| then the null hypothesis is
accepted and the alternative hypothesis is rejected
Example:
• Suppose a sample size of 100 units has a mean
x=2.7 and a standard deviation σ=1.5. assuming
normality of the data, then test the null
hypothesis (Ho: μ=3) against the alternative
hypothesis (Ha: μ≠3) . Use α=0.01.
Two-sample Mean Test
Example:
• An admission test was administered to incoming
freshmen in two colleges. Two independent
samples of 150 students each are randomly
selected and the mean scores of the given
samples are X1=88 and X2=85. Assume that the
variances of the test scores are 40 and 35
respectively. Is the difference between the mean
scores significant or can be attributed to chance?
Use 0.01 level of significance.
Practice Problem:
• A supplier sells ropes. He claims that the ropes
have a mean strength of 34lbs. and a variance of
64 lbs. A random sample of 32 ropes selected
from a shipment yields a mean strength of 31
lbs. Are you going to reject the claim of the
supplier at 0.05 level?
T-test (one-sample mean test)

• The tabular value of t statistics is dependent on

two factors – the level of significance and the
degrees of freedom (df).

df = n-1
Example:
• ABC company, a manufacturer of automobile
tires claims that the average life of its product is
45,600 miles. A random sample of 15 tires was
chosen and resulted to a mean life of 43,500
miles with a standard deviation of 3,000 miles.
Based on the above results, test the hypothesis
that Ho: μ=45,600 against the alternative
hypothesis Ha: μ<45,600. Use α=0.01
T-test (two-sample mean test)

• With n1 +n2 – 2 degrees of freedom

Example:
• Two samples are randomly selected from two
groups of students who have been taught using
different teaching methods. An examination is
given and the results are shown below:

• Using a 0.05 level of significance, can we

conclude that the two different teaching
methods are equally effective?