AP statistics Chapter 9 Practice Test Name ________________________

Significance Tests Per ___ Date __________________

Part 1: Multiple Choice. Circle the letter corresponding to the best answer.
_____ 1. In a test of H0: p = 0.4 against Ha: p ≠ 0.4, a sample of size 100 produces z = 1.28 for the value of the
test statistic. Which of the following is closest to the P-value of the test?
(a) 0.90 (b) 0.40 (c) 0.05 (d) 0.20 (e) 0.10

_____ 2. An opinion poll asks a simple random sample of adults whether they favor banning the ownership of
handguns by private citizens. A commentator believes that more than half of all adults favor such a ban.
The null and alternative hypotheses you would use to test this claim are:
(a) H0: p = 0.5, Ha: p > 0.5.
(b) H0: p = 0.5, Ha: p < 0.5.
(c) H0: p = 0.5, Ha: p ≠ 0.5.
(d) H0: p > 0.5, Ha: p < 0.5.
(e) H0: p < 0.5, Ha: p > 0.5.

_____ 3. In a test of H0: µ = 7.5 against Ha: µ ≠ 7.5, a sample of size 100 produces a sample mean of 7 and a
P-value of 0.014. Which of the following is true at the 0.05 level of significance?
(a) There is sufficient evidence to conclude that µ ≠ 7.5.
(b) There is sufficient evidence to conclude that µ = 7.5.
(c) There is insufficient evidence to conclude that µ = 7.5.
(d) There is insufficient evidence to conclude that µ ≠ 7.5.
(e) There is sufficient evidence to conclude that µ > 7.5.

_____ 4. Which of the following is not a required condition for performing a t-test about an unknown population
mean μ ?
(a) The data can be viewed as a simple random sample from the population of interest.
(b) The population distribution is Normal or the sample size is large (say n > 30).
(c) The data represent n independent observations.
(d) The population standard deviation σ is known.
(e) All four of the above are required conditions.

_____ 5. An appropriate 95% confidence interval for µ has been calculated as (1.7, 3.5). The conditions for
performing inference are met. If we wish to use this confidence interval to test the hypothesis H0: µ = 2
against Ha: µ ≠ 2, which of the following is a legitimate conclusion?
(a) Reject H0 at the α = 0.05 level of significance.
(b) Fail to reject H0 at the α = 0.05 level of significance.
(c) Reject H0 at the α = 0.10 level of significance.
(d) Fail to reject H0 at the α = 0.10 level of significance.
(e) We cannot perform the required test since we do not know the original data.

_____ 6. Which of the following increases the power of a significance test?

(a) Using a two-tailed test instead of a one-tailed test.
(b) Decreasing the size of your sample.
(c) Finding a way to increase the population standard deviation σ.
(d) Increasing the significance level α.
(e) Perform the test many times using the same data.
_____ 7. “I can’t get through my day without coffee” is a common statement from many students. Assumed
benefits include keeping students awake for lectures and making them more alert for exams. A statistics
teacher decides to measure memory retention with and without drinking a cup of coffee one hour before a
test. Ten students were randomly selected. On Monday, they were randomly assigned to drink coffee or a
placebo one hour before taking a test. On Wednesday, they received the other treatment one hour before
taking a test. The test scores are as follows:
student 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No cup 24 30 22 24 26 23 26 20 27 28
One cup 25 31 23 24 27 25 28 20 27 30
Which of the following conditions must be met in order to use a t-procedure on these paired data?
(a) All three distributions—before, after, and the difference—must be approximately Normal
(b) The distribution of both pre-test scores and post-test scores must be approximately Normal.
(c) The distribution of pre-test scores and the distribution of differences (after – before) must be
approximately Normal.
(d) Only the distribution of differences (after – before) must be approximately Normal.
(e) Only the distribution of pre-test scores must be approximately Normal.

_____ 8. Refer to problem 7. A Type I error in this situation would mean

(a) concluding that coffee improves memory retention when it actually doesn’t.
(b) concluding that coffee improves memory retention when it actually does.
(c) concluding that coffee doesn’t improve memory retention when it actually doesn’t.
(d) concluding that coffee doesn’t improve memory retention when it actually does.
(e) none of these

_____ 9. Refer to problem 7. A Type II error in this situation would mean

(a) concluding that coffee improves memory retention when it actually doesn’t.
(b) concluding that coffee improves memory retention when it actually does.
(c) concluding that coffee doesn’t improve memory retention when it actually doesn’t.
(d) concluding that coffee doesn’t improve memory retention when it actually does.
(e) none of these

_____ 10. You are manufacturing a liquid whose sugar level is supposed to be 5 grams of sugar per ounce of
liquid. You plan to make 40 measurements of one ounce of liquid randomly throughout the day. You test
Ho:μ = 5 versus Ha: μ ≠ 5. You learn that the power of your test at the 5% significance level against the
alternative Ha: μ = 6 is 0.23. Which of the following is the best interpretation of this value?
(a) The complement of the probability of making a Type I error.
(b) The probability of concluding that the true mean is 5g/oz when it is actually 6g/oz.
(c) The probability of concluding that the true mean is not equal to 5g/oz when it is actually 5g/oz.
(d) The probability of concluding that the true mean is 6g/oz when it actually 5g/oz.
(e) The probability of concluding that the true mean is not 5g/oz mg/serving when it is actually 6g/oz.

_____ 11. Because t procedures are robust, the most important condition for their use is
(a) the population standard deviation is known.
(b) the population distribution is approximately Normal.
(c) np and n(1 – p) are both at least 10.
(d) the data can be regarded as a random sample from the population
(e) all values in the sample are within two standard deviations of the mean.

_____ 12. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

I. Error probabilities can be expressed only when a significance level has been specified.
II. The probability of a Type II error is equal to the significance level of the test.
III. The power of a significance test depends on the alternative value of the parameter.

(a) I and II only (b) I and III only

(c) II and III only (d) I, II, and III
(e) None of the above gives the complete set of correct responses.
 Part 2: Free Response
Show all your work. Indicate clearly the methods you use, because you will be graded on the correctness of
your methods as well as on the accuracy and completeness of your results and explanations.

13. A local high school makes a change that should improve student satisfaction with the parking situation.
Before the change, 37% of the school’s students approved of the parking that was provided. After the
change, the principal surveys an SRS of 200 of the over 2500 students at the school. In all, 83 students say
that they approve of the new parking arrangement.

Do the data give convincing evidence that the change in student parking was effective? Support your answer
with a significance test using the four step process.
14. A researcher conducted a study to investigate whether local car dealers tend to charge women more than
men for the same car model. Using information from the county tax collector’s records, the researcher randomly
selected one man and one woman from among everyone who had purchased the same model of an identically
equipped car from the same dealer. The process was repeated for a total of 8 randomly selected car models.
The purchase prices and the differences (woman – man) are shown in the table below. Summary statistics are
also shown.

Do the data provide convincing evidence that, on average, women pay more than men in the county for the same
car model?
15. A company that manufactures classroom chairs for high school students claims that the mean breaking
strength of the chairs that they make is 300 pounds. When the manufacturing process is working properly, the
breaking strengths of classroom chairs are strongly left skewed. One of the chairs collapsed beneath a
220-pound student last week. You wonder whether the manufacturer is exaggerating the breaking strength of
the chairs. You select a simple random sample of n chairs at the school and measure the breaking strength of
each. If you are convinced that the mean breaking strength of all desks is less than 300 pounds at the 5%
significance level, then you will contact the manufacturer.
(a) Define the parameter of interest and state appropriate hypotheses for you to test.

(b) Since testing the breaking strength of the desk requires breaking the desk, you want to sample as few
desks as possible. You are considering a sample size of n = 5. Explain why this sample size may lead to
problems in carrying out the significance test from (a).

(c) Describe a Type I and a Type II error in this situation and the consequences of each.

(d) You are considering changing the significance level of the test to 1%. Discuss the impact this might have
on error probabilities and the power of the test, and describe the practical consequences of this change.