Module 12

Hypothesis Testing
(z test & t test for a Mean)

Prepared by:
EDWARD B. PESCUELA
Instructor

“Most people use statistics like a drunk man uses a lamppost; more for support than
illumination”
― Andrew Lang

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 MODULE 12
Hypothesis Testing (z test & t test for a Mean)

Introduction
The researcher adopts z-test, when the population variance is known, in essence, when there is a
large sample size, sample variance is deemed to be approximately equal to the population variance. In
this way, it is assumed to be known, despite the fact that only sample data is available and so normal test
can be applied. T-test follows t-distribution, which is appropriate when the sample size is small, and the
population standard deviation is not known. The shape of a t-distribution is highly affected by the degree
of freedom. The degree of freedom implies the number of independent observations in a given set of
observations.
Before each activity, fast facts and discussions are given to help you understand the concepts and
processes involved as well as to solve problems in each activity. The activities will be done individually.
Answers in every assessment must be written or encoded on a short bond paper following the given
format. Please do not forget to write your significant learning experience at the last part of your output. The
submission of Module 12 outputs will be on June 2, 2021. If you have queries, you may reach me through
FB Group Chat during our scheduled date. Thank you and have fun!

Format

Name: ______________________________________ Year & Section: ________________

Date: _______________________________________ Instructor: Mr. Edward B. Pescuela

MC Math 13: Elementary Statistics & Probability

Module 12: Hypothesis Testing (z test & t test for a Mean)

Pretest/Exercise1/Activity 1
1.)
2.)
3.)

My Significant Learning Experience

In this module, I have learned that …
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
.

_____________________________
Signature over Printed Name

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 Objectives
At the end of the week, the pre-service teacher (PST) should be able to:
1. formulate null and alternative hypotheses based on the given problem
2. differentiate z test from t test
3. Test means when 𝜎 is known, using the z-test.
4. Test means when 𝜎 is unknown, using the t-test.
5. make statistically-based decisions regarding populations through hypothesis testing
procedure using the traditional method and/or p-value method

z Test for a Mean

In this module, two statistical tests will be explained: the z test is used when s is known,
and the t test is used when s is unknown. This section explains the z test, and Lesson 2 explains the
t test.
Many hypotheses are tested using a statistical test based on the following general
formula:
(observed value) − (expected value)
Test Value =
standard error

The observed value is the statistic (such as the sample mean) that is computed from the
sample data. The expected value is the parameter (such as the population mean) that you would
expect to obtain if the null hypothesis were true—in other words, the hypothesized value. The
denominator is the standard error of the statistic being tested (in this case, the standard error of the
mean).
The z test is defined formally as follows.

For the z test, the observed value is the value of the sample mean. The expected value is
the value of the population mean, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. The denominator
𝜎/√𝑛 is the standard error of the mean.
The formula for the z test is the same formula shown in Chapter 6 for the situation
where you are using a distribution of sample means. Recall that the central limit theorem
MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021
 allows you to use the standard normal distribution to approximate the distribution of sample
means when 𝑛 ≥ 30.
Note: Your first encounter with hypothesis testing can be somewhat challenging and
confusing, since there are many new concepts being introduced at the same time. To understand all
the concepts, you must carefully follow each step in the examples and try each exercise that is
assigned. Only after careful study and patience will these concepts become clear.

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 Students sometimes have difficulty summarizing the results of a hypothesis test.
Figure 8–16 shows the four possible outcomes and the summary statement for each situation.

First, the claim can be either the null or alternative hypothesis, and one should identify which
it is. Second, after the study is completed, the null hypothesis is either rejected or not rejected. From
these two facts, the decision can be identified in the appropriate block of Figure 8–16.
For example, suppose a
researcher claims that the
mean weight of an adult
animal of a particular species
is 42 pounds. In this case, the
claim would be the null
hypothesis, 𝐻0 : 𝜇 = 42, since
the researcher is asserting that
the parameter is a specific
value. If the null hypothesis is
rejected, the conclusion would
be that there is enough
evidence to reject the claim
that the mean weight of the
adult animal is 42 pounds. See
Figure 8–17(a).

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 On the other hand, suppose the researcher claims that the mean weight of the adult animals
is not 42 pounds. The claim would be the alternative hypothesis 𝐻1 : 𝜇 ≠ 42. Furthermore, suppose
that the null hypothesis is not rejected. The conclusion, then, would be that there is not enough
evidence to support the claim that the mean weight of the adult animals is not 42 pounds. See Figure
8–17(b).
Again, remember that nothing is being proved true or false. The statistician is only stating
that there is or is not enough evidence to say that a claim is probably true or false. As noted
previously, the only way to prove something would be to use the entire population under study, and
usually this cannot be done, especially when the population is large.

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 t Test for a Mean
When the population standard deviation is unknown, the z test is not normally used for
testing hypotheses involving means. A different test, called the t test, is used. The distribution of
the variable should be approximately normal.
As stated in Chapter 7, the t distribution is similar to the standard normal distribution
in the following ways.
1. It is bell-shaped.
2. It is symmetric about the mean.
3. The mean, median, and mode are equal to 0 and are located at the center of the distribution.
4. The curve never touches the x axis.
The t distribution differs from the standard normal distribution in the following ways.
1. The variance is greater than 1.
2. The t distribution is a family of curves based on the degrees of freedom, which is a number
related to sample size. (Recall that the symbol for degrees of freedom is d.f. See Section 7–2 for an
explanation of degrees of freedom.)
3. As the sample size increases, the t distribution approaches the normal distribution.
The t test is defined next.

The formula for the t test is similar to the formula for the z test. But since the population
standard deviation 𝜎is unknown, the sample standard deviation s is used instead.
The critical values for the t test are given in Table F in Appendix C. For a one-tailed test,
find the 𝛼 level by looking at the top row of the table and finding the appropriate column. Find the
degrees of freedom by looking down the left-hand column.
Notice that the degrees of freedom are given for values from 1 through 30, then at intervals
above 30. When the degrees of freedom are above 30, some textbooks will tell you to use the nearest
table value; however, in this textbook, you should always round down to the nearest table value.
For example, if 𝑑. 𝑓. = 59, use 𝑑. 𝑓. = 55 to find the critical value or values. This is a conservative
approach. As the degrees of freedom get larger, the critical values approach the z values. Hence the
bottom values (large sample size) are the same as the z values that were used in the last section.

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021
 When you test hypotheses by using the t test (traditional method), follow the same procedure
as for the z test, except use Table F.
Step 1 State the hypotheses and identify the claim.
Step 2 Find the critical value(s) from Table F.
Step 3 Compute the test value.
Step 4 Make the decision to reject or not reject the null hypothesis.
Step 5 Summarize the results.
Remember that the t test should be used when the population is approximately normally
distributed and the population standard deviation is unknown.

Examples 8–12 through 8–14 illustrate the application of the t test.

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR
T-TEST Z-TEST
COMPARISON

Meaning T-test refers to a type of parametric Z-test implies a hypothesis test

test that is applied to identify, how the which ascertains if the means of
means of two sets of data differ from two datasets are different from
one another when variance is not each other when variance is
given. given.

Based on Student-t distribution Normal distribution

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 BASIS FOR
T-TEST Z-TEST
COMPARISON

Population Unknown Known

variance

Sample Size Small Large

Difference Between Z-Test and T-Test of Hypothesis Testing

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021

 Evaluation

A. How Much Nicotine Is in Those Cigarettes?

A tobacco company claims that its best-selling cigarettes contain at most 40 mg of nicotine.
This claim is tested at the 1% significance level by using the results of 15 randomly selected
cigarettes. The mean is 42.6 mg and the standard deviation is 3.7 mg. Evidence suggests that
nicotine is normally distributed. Information from a computer output of the hypothesis test is listed.

Sample mean = 42.6 P-value = 0.008

Sample standard deviation = 3.7 Significance level = 0.01
Sample size = 15 Test statistic t = 2.72155
Degrees of freedom = 14 Critical value t = 2.62610

1. What are the degrees of freedom?

2. Is this a z or t test?
3. Is this a comparison of one or two samples?
4. Is this a right-tailed, left-tailed, or two-tailed test?
5. From observing the P-value, what would you conclude?
6. By comparing the test statistic to the critical value, what would you conclude?
7. Is there a conflict in this output? Explain.
8. What has been proved in this study?

B. Teaching Assistants’ Stipends.

A random sample of stipends of teaching assistants in economics is listed. Is there sufficient
evidence at the 𝛼 = 0.05 level to conclude that the average stipend differs from PHP 15,000? The
stipends listed (in Philippine Peso) are for the academic year.
14,000 18,000 12,000 14,356 13,185
13,419 14,000 11,981 17,604 12,283
16,338 15,000
Source: Chronicle of Higher Education.

Reference

Bluman, Allan G. Elementary Statistics: a step-by-step approach / Allan Bluman. - 8th ed.

MC MATH 13: ELEMENTARY STATISTICS & PROBABILITY |PESCUELA s. 2021