Cui - Practical Exercise 3.1
Cui - Practical Exercise 3.1
1. Objective(s)
To be able to fully understand the use of the Minitab 18 statistical software in solving probability problems.
2. To demonstrate skills in gathering details and information pertaining to hypothesis testing; and
3. To understand fully the basic principles and theories that governs the statistical discipline.
3. Discussion
Use 1-Sample Z to estimate the mean of a population and to compare it to a target value or a reference
value when you know the standard deviation of the population. Using this analysis, you can do the
following:
1. Determine whether the population mean differs from the hypothesized mean that you specify.
2. Calculate a range of values that is likely to include the population mean.
For example, a quality analyst uses a 1-sample Z-test to determine whether the average thread length of
bolts differs from the target of 20 mm. If the mean differs from the target, the analyst uses the confidence
interval to determine how large the difference is likely to be and whether that difference has practical
significance.
The sample data should not be severely skewed, and the sample size should be greater than 20
If your sample size is greater than 20 and the underlying distribution is unimodal and continuous, the
hypothesis test performs appropriately even if the data are mildly skewed. If your sample size is less than
20, you should graph the data to check for skewness and unusual observations.
Minitab 18
Computer
5. Procedure
A scientist for a company that manufactures processed food wants to assess the percentage of fat in the
company's bottled sauce. The advertised percentage is 15%. The scientist measures the percentage of fat in 20
random samples. Previous measurements found that the population standard deviation is 2.6%.
The scientist performs a 1-sample Z-test to determine whether the fat percentage differs from 15%.
First, consider the sample mean, and then examine the confidence interval.
The mean of the sample data is an estimate of the population mean. Because the mean is based on
sample data and not on the entire population, it is unlikely that the sample mean equals the population
mean. To better estimate the population mean, use the confidence interval.
The confidence interval provides a range of likely values for the population mean. For example, a 95%
confidence level indicates that if you take 100 random samples from the population, you could expect
approximately 95 of the samples to produce intervals that contain the population mean.
Key Result: Confidence Interval
To determine whether the difference between the population mean and the hypothesized mean is
statistically significant, compare the p-value to the significance level. Usually, a significance level (denoted
as α or alpha) of 0.05 works well. A significance level of 0.05 indicates a 5% risk of concluding that a
difference exists when there is no actual difference.
P-value ≤ α: The difference between the means is statistically significant (Reject H0)
If the p-value is less than or equal to the significance level, the decision is to reject the null
hypothesis. You can conclude that the difference between the population mean and the
hypothesized mean is statistically significant.
P-value > α: The difference between the means is not statistically significant (Fail to reject H0)
If the p-value is greater than the significance level, the decision is to fail to reject the null
hypothesis. You do not have enough evidence to conclude that the difference between the
population mean and the hypothesized mean is statistically significant.
The null hypothesis states that the average body fat percentage is 15%. Furthermore, according to studies,
the typical fat percentage is between 15% and 20%. The scientist rejects the null hypothesis since the p-
value is less than the 0.5 percent significance limit.
By completing the task, I was able to lay a solid foundation for testing hypotheses as a tool for statistical
analysis, as well as demonstrate skills in obtaining details and information about hypothesis testing; and I
fully comprehended the fundamental principles and theories that govern the statistical discipline.
“I affirm that I shall not give or receive any unauthorized help on this assignment and
that all work is my own.”