Questions: A hypothesis regarding the weight of newborn infants at a community hospital is that the mean is 10.1 pounds. A sample of seven infants is randomly selected and their weights at birth are recorded as 9.1, 12.1, 13.1, 14.1, 10.1, 15.1, and 16.1 pounds. If α=0.010, what is the critical value? The population standard deviation is unknown.
Multiple Choice
0
± 3.203
± 3.707
Transcript text: A hypothesis regarding the weight of newborn infants at a community hospital is that the mean is 10.1 pounds. A sample of seven infants is randomly selected and their weights at birth are recorded as $9.1,12.1,13.1,14.1,10.1,15.1$, and 16.1 pounds. If $\alpha=0.010$, what is the critical value? The population standard deviation is unknown.
Multiple Choice
0
$\pm 3.203$
$\pm 3.707$
Solution
Solution Steps
To determine the critical value for a hypothesis test when the population standard deviation is unknown, we use the t-distribution. The steps are as follows:
Identify the sample size (n), which is 7 in this case.
Determine the degrees of freedom (df), which is \( n - 1 \).
Use the significance level (\(\alpha\)) to find the critical value from the t-distribution table or using a statistical function.
Step 1: Identify the Sample Size and Degrees of Freedom
Given the sample size \( n = 7 \), the degrees of freedom (df) is calculated as:
\[ \text{df} = n - 1 = 7 - 1 = 6 \]
Step 2: Determine the Significance Level
The significance level is given as \( \alpha = 0.010 \).
Step 3: Find the Critical Value
Using the t-distribution table or a statistical function, we find the critical value for a two-tailed test with \( \alpha = 0.010 \) and \( \text{df} = 6 \). The critical value is:
\[ t_{\alpha/2, \text{df}} = 3.707 \]