STATISTICS USING

TECHNOLOGY

Kathryn Kozak
Coconino Community College
Coconino Community College
Statistics Using Technology

Kathryn Kozak
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Licensing

Preface

1: Statistical Basics
1.1: What is Statistics?
1.2: Sampling Methods
1.3: Experimental Design
1.4: How Not to Do Statistics

2: Graphical Descriptions of Data

2.1: Qualitative Data
2.2: Quantitative Data
2.3: Other Graphical Representations of Data

3: Examining the Evidence Using Graphs and Statistics

3.1: Measures of Center
3.2: Measures of Spread
3.3: Ranking

4: Probability
4.1: Empirical Probability
4.2: Theoretical Probability
4.3: Conditional Probability
4.4: Counting Techniques

5: Discrete Probability Distributions

5.1: Basics of Probability Distributions
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution
5.3: Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial Distribution

6: Continuous Probability Distributions

6.1: Uniform Distribution
6.2: Graphs of the Normal Distribution
6.3: Finding Probabilities for the Normal Distribution
6.4: Assessing Normality
6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit Theorem

7: One-Sample Inference
7.1: Basics of Hypothesis Testing
7.2: One-Sample Proportion Test
7.3: One-Sample Test for the Mean

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8: Estimation
8.1: Basics of Confidence Intervals
8.2: One-Sample Interval for the Proportion
8.3: One-Sample Interval for the Mean

9: Two-Sample Interference
9.1: Two Proportions
9.2: Paired Samples for Two Means
9.3: Independent Samples for Two Means
9.4: Which Analysis Should You Conduct?

10: Regression and Correlation

10.1: Regression
10.2: Correlation
10.3: Inference for Regression and Correlation

11: Chi-Square and ANOVA Tests

11.1: Chi-Square Test for Independence
11.2: Chi-Square Goodness of Fit
11.3: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

12: Appendix- Critical Value Tables

12.1: Critical Values for t-Interval
12.2: Normal Critical Values for Confidence Levels

Index

Index
Detailed Licensing

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Licensing
A detailed breakdown of this resource's licensing can be found in Back Matter/Detailed Licensing.

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Preface
I hope you find this book useful in teaching statistics. When writing this book, I tried to follow the GAISE Standards (GAISE
recommendations. (2014, January 05). Retrieved from www.amstat.org/education/gais...mendations.pdf ), which are
1. Emphasis statistical literacy and develop statistical understanding.
2. Use real data.
3. Stress conceptual understanding, rather than mere knowledge of procedure.
4. Foster active learning in the classroom.
5. Use technology for developing concepts and analyzing data.
To this end, I ask students to interpret the results of their calculations. I incorporated the use of technology for most calculations.
Because of that you will not find me using any of the computational formulas for standard deviations or correlation and regression
since I prefer students understand the concept of these quantities. Also, because I utilize technology you will not find the standard
normal table, Student’s t-table, binomial table, chi-square distribution table, and F-distribution table in the book. The only tables I
provided were for critical values for confidence intervals since they are more difficult to find using technology. Another difference
between this book and other statistics books is the order of hypothesis testing and confidence intervals. Most books present
confidence intervals first and then hypothesis tests. I find that presenting hypothesis testing first and then confidence intervals is
more understandable for students. Lastly, I have deemphasized the use of the z-test. In fact, I only use it to introduce hypothesis
testing, and never utilize it again. You may also notice that when I introduced hypothesis testing and confidence intervals,
proportions were introduced before means. However, when two sample tests and confidence intervals are introduced I switched this
order. This is because usually many instructors do not discuss the proportions for two samples. However, you might try assigning
problems for proportions without discussing it in class. After doing two samples for means, the proportions are similar. Lastly, to
aid student understanding and interest, most of the homework and examples utilize real data. Again, I hope you find this book
useful for your introductory statistics class. I want to make a comment about the mathematical knowledge that I assumed the
students possess. The course for which I wrote this book has a higher prerequisite than most introductory statistics books. However,
I do feel that students can read and understand this book as long as they have had basic algebra and can substitute numbers into
formulas. I do not show how to create most of the graphs, but most students should have been exposed to them in high school. So I
hope the mathematical level is appropriate for your course.
The technology that I utilized for creating the graphs was Microsoft Excel, and I utilized the TI-83/84 graphing calculator for most
calculations, including hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and probability distributions. This is because these tools are readily
available to my students. Please feel free to use any other technology that is more appropriate for your students. Do make sure that
you use some technology. Statistics Using Technology iv

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following people for taking their valuable time to review the book. Their comments and insights improved
this book immensely.
Jane Tanner, Onondaga Community College
Rob Farinelli, College of Southern Maryland
Carrie Kinnison, retired engineer
Sean Simpson, Westchester Community College
Kim Sonier, Coconino Community College
Jim Ham, Delta College
David Straayer, Tacoma Community College
Kendra Feinstein, Tacoma Community College
Students of Coconino Community College Students
Tacoma Community College
I also want to thank Coconino Community College for granting me a sabbatical so that I would have the time to write the book.
Lastly, I want to thank my husband Rich and my son Dylan for supporting me in this project. Without their love and support, I
would not have been able to complete the book.

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New to the Second Edition
The additions to this edition mostly involve adding the commands to create graphs, compute descriptive statistics, finding
probabilities, and computing inferential analysis using the open source software R. Another change involve adding an example at
the end of chapter 3 that shows analyzing a data set using graphical and numerical descriptions. Another major change was adding
a section 9.4 that gives some insight into which inferential analysis should be completed based on a series of questions that should
be asked. Lastly, minor explanations were made and corrections were made where necessary.
On a personal note, I wanted to thank my brother, John Matic, his wife Jenelle, and their children Hannah and Eli for their
hospitality when writing the first edition. In addition to allowing my family access to their home, John provided numerous
examples and data sets for business applications in this book. I inadvertently left this thank you out of the first edition of the book,
and for that I apologize. His help and his family’s hospitality were invaluable to me.

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

1: Statistical Basics
1.1: What is Statistics?
1.2: Sampling Methods
1.3: Experimental Design
1.4: How Not to Do Statistics

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source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
1.1: What is Statistics?
You are exposed to statistics regularly. If you are a sports fan, then you have the statistics for your favorite player. If you are
interested in politics, then you look at the polls to see how people feel about certain issues or candidates. If you are an
environmentalist, then you research arsenic levels in the water of a town or analyze the global temperatures. If you are in the
business profession, then you may track the monthly sales of a store or use quality control processes to monitor the number of
defective parts manufactured. If you are in the health profession, then you may look at how successful a procedure is or the
percentage of people infected with a disease. There are many other examples from other areas. To understand how to collect data
and analyze it, you need to understand what the field of statistics is and the basic definitions.

Definition 1.1.1

Statistics is the study of how to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data collected from a group.

There are two branches of statistics. One is called descriptive statistics, which is where you collect and organize data. The other is
called inferential statistics, which is where you analyze and interpret data. First you need to look at descriptive statistics since you
will use the descriptive statistics when making inferences.
To understand how to create descriptive statistics and then conduct inferences, there are a few definitions that you need to look at.
Note, many of the words that are defined have common definitions that are used in non-statistical terminology. In statistics, some
have slightly different definitions. It is important that you notice the difference and utilize the statistical definitions.
The first thing to decide in a statistical study is whom you want to measure and what you want to measure. You always want to
make sure that you can answer the question of whom you measured and what you measured. The who is known as the individual
and the what is the variable.

Definition 1.1.2

Individual – a person or object that you are interested in finding out information about.

Definition 1.1.3

Variable – the measurement or observation of the individual.

If you put the individual and the variable into one statement, then you obtain a population.

Definition 1.1.4

Population – set of all values of the variable for the entire group of individuals.

Notice, the population answers who you want to measure and what you want to measure. Make sure that your population always
answers both of these questions. If it doesn’t, then you haven’t given someone who is reading your study the entire picture. As an
example, if you just say that you are going to collect data from the senators in the U.S. Congress, you haven’t told your reader want
you are going to collect. Do you want to know their income, their highest degree earned, their voting record, their age, their
political party, their gender, their marital status, or how they feel about a particular issue? Without telling what you want to
measure, your reader has no idea what your study is actually about.
Sometimes the population is very easy to collect. Such as if you are interested in finding the average age of all of the current
senators in the U.S. Congress, there are only 100 senators. This wouldn’t be hard to find. However, if instead you were interested in
knowing the average age that a senator in the U.S. Congress first took office for all senators that ever served in the U.S. Congress,
then this would be a bit more work. It is still doable, but it would take a bit of time to collect. But what if you are interested in
finding the average diameter of breast height of all of the Ponderosa Pine trees in the Coconino National Forest? This would be
impossible to actually collect. What do you do in these cases? Instead of collecting the entire population, you take a smaller group
of the population, kind of a snap shot of the population. This smaller group is called a sample.

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 Definition 1.1.5

Sample – a subset from the population. It looks just like the population, but contains less data

How you collect your sample can determine how accurate the results of your study are. There are many ways to collect samples.
Some of them create better samples than others. No sampling method is perfect, but some are better than others. Sampling
techniques will be discussed later. For now, realize that every time you take a sample you will find different data values. The
sample is a snapshot of the population, and there is more information than is in the picture. The idea is to try to collect a sample
that gives you an accurate picture, but you will never know for sure if your picture is the correct picture. Unlike previous
mathematics classes where there was always one right answer, in statistics there can be many answers, and you don’t know which
are right.
Once you have your data, either from a population or a sample, you need to know how you want to summarize the data. As an
example, suppose you are interested in finding the proportion of people who like a candidate, the average height a plant grows to
using a new fertilizer, or the variability of the test scores. Understanding how you want to summarize the data helps to determine
the type of data you want to collect. Since the population is what we are interested in, then you want to calculate a number from the
population. This is known as a parameter. As mentioned already, you can’t really collect the entire population. Even though this is
the number you are interested in, you can’t really calculate it. Instead you use the number calculated from the sample, called a
statistic, to estimate the parameter. Since no sample is exactly the same, the statistic values are going to be different from sample to
sample. They estimate the value of the parameter, but again, you do not know for sure if your answer is correct.

Definition 1.1.6

Parameter – a number calculated from the population. Usually denoted with a Greek letter. This number is a fixed, unknown
number that you want to find.

Definition 1.1.7

Statistic – a number calculated from the sample. Usually denoted with letters from the Latin alphabet, though sometimes there
is a Greek letter with a ^ (called a hat) above it. Since you can find samples, it is readily known, though it changes depending
on the sample taken. It is used to estimate the parameter value.

One last concept to mention is that there are two different types of variables – qualitative and quantitative. Each type of variable
has different parameters and statistics that you find. It is important to know the difference between them.

Definition 1.1.8

Qualitative or categorical variable – answer is a word or name that describes a quality of the individual.

Definition 1.1.9

Quantitative or numerical variable – answer is a number, something that can be counted or measured from the individual.

Example 1.1.1 stating definitions for qualitative variable

In 2010, the Pew Research Center questioned 1500 adults in the U.S. to estimate the proportion of the population favoring
marijuana use for medical purposes. It was found that 73% are in favor of using marijuana for medical purposes. State the
individual, variable, population, and sample.
Solution
Individual – a U.S. adult
Variable – the response to the question “should marijuana be used for medical purposes?” This is qualitative data since you are
recording a person’s response – yes or no.
Population – set of all responses of adults in the U.S.

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 Sample – set of 1500 responses of U.S. adults who are questioned.
Parameter – proportion of those who favor marijuana for medical purposes calculated from population
Statistic– proportion of those who favor marijuana for medical purposes calculated from sample

Example 1.1.2 stating definitions for qualitative variable

A parking control officer records the manufacturer of every 5th car in the college parking lot in order to guess the most
common manufacturer.
Solution
Individual – a car in the college parking lot
Variable – the name of the manufacturer. This is qualitative data since you are recording a car type.
Population – set of all names of the manufacturer of cars in the college parking lot.
Sample – set of recorded names of the manufacturer of the cars in college parking lot
Parameter – proportion of each car type calculated from population
Statistic – proportion of each car type calculated from sample

Example 1.1.3 stating definitions for quantitative variable

A biologist wants to estimate the average height of a plant that is given a new plant food. She gives 10 plants the new plant
food. State the individual, variable, population, and sample.
Solution
Individual – a plant given the new plant food
Variable – the height of the plant (Note: it is not the average height since you cannot measure an average – it is calculated from
data.) This is quantitative data since you will have a number.
Population – set of all the heights of plants when the new plant food is used
Sample – set of 10 heights of plants when the new plant food is used
Parameter – average height of all plants
Statistic – average height of 10 plants

Example 1.1.4 stating definitions for quantitative variable

A doctor wants to see if a new treatment for cancer extends the life expectancy of a patient versus the old treatment. She gives
one group of 25 cancer patients the new treatment and another group of 25 the old treatment. She then measures the life
expectancy of each of the patients. State the individuals, variables, populations, and samples.
Solution
In this example there are two individuals, two variables, two populations, and two samples.
Individual 1: cancer patient given new treatment
Individual 2: cancer patient given old treatment
Variable 1: life expectancy when given new treatment. This is quantitative data since you will have a number.
Variable 2: life expectancy when given old treatment. This is quantitative data since you will have a number.
Population 1: set of all life expectancies of cancer patients given new treatment
Population 2: set of all life expectancies of cancer patients given old treatment
Sample 1: set of 25 life expectancies of cancer patients given new treatment

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 Sample 2: set of 25 life expectancies of cancer patients given old treatment
Parameter 1 – average life expectancy of all cancer patients given new treatment
Parameter 2 – average life expectancy of all cancer patients given old treatment
Statistic 1 – average life expectancy of 25 cancer patients given new treatment
Statistic 2 – average life expectancy of 25 cancer patients given old treatment

There are different types of quantitative variables, called discrete or continuous. The difference is in how many values can the data
have. If you can actually count the number of data values (even if you are counting to infinity), then the variable is called discrete.
If it is not possible to count the number of data values, then the variable is called continuous.

Definition 1.1.10

Discrete data can only take on particular values like integers. Discrete data are usually things you count.

Definition 1.1.11

Continuous data can take on any value. Continuous data are usually things you measure.

Example 1.1.5 discrete or continuous

Classify the quantitative variable as discrete or continuous,

a. The weight of a cat.
b. The number of fleas on a cat.
c. The size of a shoe.
Solution
a. This is continuous since it is something you measure.
b. This is discrete since it is something you count.
c. This is discrete since you can only be certain values, such as 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9. You can't buy a 9.73 shoe.

There are also are four measurement scales for different types of data with each building on the ones below it. They are:

Measurement Scales:
Definition 1.1.12

Nominal – data is just a name or category. There is no order to any data and since there are no numbers, you cannot do any
arithmetic on this level of data. Examples of this are gender, car name, ethnicity, and race.

Definition 1.1.13

Ordinal – data that is nominal, but you can now put the data in order, since one value is more or less than another value. You
cannot do arithmetic on this data, but you can now put data values in order. Examples of this are grades (A, B, C, D, F), place
value in a race (1st, 2nd, 3rd), and size of a drink (small, medium, large).

Definition 1.1.14

Interval – data that is ordinal, but you can now subtract one value from another and that subtraction makes sense. You can do
arithmetic on this data, but only addition and subtraction. Examples of this are temperature and time on a clock.

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 Definition 1.1.15

Ratio – data that is interval, but you can now divide one value by another and that ratio makes sense. You can now do all
arithmetic on this data. Examples of this are height, weight, distance, and time.

Nominal and ordinal data come from qualitative variables. Interval and ratio data come from quantitative variables.
Most people have a hard time deciding if the data are nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. First, if the variable is qualitative (words
instead of numbers) then it is either nominal or ordinal. Now ask yourself if you can put the data in a particular order. If you can it
is ordinal. Otherwise, it is nominal. If the variable is quantitative (numbers), then it is either interval or ratio. For ratio data, a value
of 0 means there is no measurement. This is known as the absolute zero. If there is an absolute zero in the data, then it means it is
ratio. If there is no absolute zero, then the data are interval. An example of an absolute zero is if you have $0 in your bank account,
then you are without money. The amount of money in your bank account is ratio data. Word of caution, sometimes ordinal data is
displayed using numbers, such as 5 being strongly agree, and 1 being strongly disagree. These numbers are not really numbers.
Instead they are used to assign numerical values to ordinal data. In reality you should not perform any computations on this data,
though many people do. If there are numbers, make sure the numbers are inherent numbers, and not numbers that were assigned.

Example 1.1.6 measurement scale

State which measurement scale each is.

a. Time of first class
b. Hair color
c. Length of time to take a test
d. Age groupings (baby, toddler, adolescent, teenager, adult, elderly)
Solution
a. This is interval since it is a number, but 0 o'clock means midnight and not the absence of time.
b. This is nominal since it is not a number, and there is no specific order for hair color.
c. This is ratio since it is a number, and if you take 0 minutes to take a test, it means you didn't take any time to complete it.
d. This is ordinal since it is not a number, but you could put the data in order from youngest to oldest or the other way around.

Homework
Exercise 1.1.1

1. Suppose you want to know how Arizona workers age 16 or older travel to work. To estimate the percentage of people who use
the different modes of travel, you take a sample containing 500 Arizona workers age 16 or older. State the individual, variable,
population, sample, parameter, and statistic.
2. You wish to estimate the mean cholesterol levels of patients two days after they had a heart attack. To estimate the mean you
collect data from 28 heart patients. State the individual, variable, population, sample, parameter, and statistic.
3. Print-O-Matic would like to estimate their mean salary of all employees. To accomplish this they collect the salary of 19
employees. State the individual, variable, population, sample, parameter, and statistic.
4. To estimate the percentage of households in Connecticut which use fuel oil as a heating source, a researcher collects
information from 1000 Connecticut households about what fuel is their heating source. State the individual, variable,
population, sample, parameter, and statistic.
5. The U.S. Census Bureau needs to estimate the median income of males in the U.S., they collect incomes from 2500 males.
State the individual, variable, population, sample, parameter, and statistic.
6. The U.S. Census Bureau needs to estimate the median income of females in the U.S., they collect incomes from 3500 females.
State the individual, variable, population, sample, parameter, and statistic.
7. Eyeglassmatic manufactures eyeglasses and they would like to know the percentage of each defect type made. They review
25, 891 defects and classify each defect that is made. State the individual, variable, population, sample, parameter, and statistic.

8. The World Health Organization wishes to estimate the mean density of people per square kilometer, they collect data on 56
countries. State the individual, variable, population, sample, parameter, and statistic
9. State the measurement scale for each.
a. Cholesterol level

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 b. Defect type
c. Time of first class
d. Opinion on a 5 point scale, with 5 being strongly agree and 1 being strongly disagree
10. State the measurement scale for each.
a. Temperature in degrees Celsius
b. Ice cream flavors available
c. Pain levels on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the worst pain ever
d. Salary of employees

Answer
1. See solutions
3. See solutions
5. See solutions
7. See solutions
9.
a. ratio
b. nominal
c. interval
d. ordinal

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1.2: Sampling Methods
As stated before, if you want to know something about a population, it is often impossible or impractical to examine the whole
population. It might be too expensive in terms of time or money. It might be impractical – you can’t test all batteries for their length
of lifetime because there wouldn’t be any batteries left to sell. You need to look at a sample. Hopefully the sample behaves the
same as the population.
When you choose a sample you want it to be as similar to the population as possible. If you want to test a new painkiller for adults
you would want the sample to include people who are fat, skinny, old, young, healthy, not healthy, male, female, etc.
There are many ways to collect a sample. None are perfect, and you are not guaranteed to collect a representative sample. That is
unfortunately the limitations of sampling. However, there are several techniques that can result in samples that give you a semi-
accurate picture of the population. Just remember to be aware that the sample may not be representative. As an example, you can
take a random sample of a group of people that are equally males and females, yet by chance everyone you choose is female. If this
happens, it may be a good idea to collect a new sample if you have the time and money.
There are many sampling techniques, though only four will be presented here. The simplest, and the type that is strived for is a
simple random sample. This is where you pick the sample such that every sample has the same chance of being chosen. This type
of sample is actually hard to collect, since it is sometimes difficult to obtain a complete list of all individuals. There are many cases
where you cannot conduct a truly random sample. However, you can get as close as you can. Now suppose you are interested in
what type of music people like. It might not make sense to try to find an answer for everyone in the U.S. You probably don’t like
the same music as your parents. The answers vary so much you probably couldn’t find an answer for everyone all at once. It might
make sense to look at people in different age groups, or people of different ethnicities. This is called a stratified sample. The issue
with this sample type is that sometimes people subdivide the population too much. It is best to just have one stratification. Also, a
stratified sample has similar problems that a simple random sample has. If your population has some order in it, then you could do
a systematic sample. This is popular in manufacturing. The problem is that it is possible to miss a manufacturing mistake because
of how this sample is taken. If you are collecting polling data based on location, then a cluster sample that divides the population
based on geographical means would be the easiest sample to conduct. The problem is that if you are looking for opinions of people,
and people who live in the same region may have similar opinions. As you can see each of the sampling techniques have pluses and
minuses. Include convenience

Definition 1.2.1

A simple random sample (SRS) of size n is a sample that is selected from a population in a way that ensures that every
different possible sample of size n has the same chance of being selected. Also, every individual associated with the population
has the same chance of being selected

Ways to select a simple random sample:

Put all names in a hat and draw a certain number of names out.
Assign each individual a number and use a random number table or a calculator or computer to randomly select the individuals that
will be measured.

Example 1.2.1 choosing a simple random sample

Describe how to take a simple random sample from a classroom.

Solution
Give each student in the class a number. Using a random number generator you could then pick the number of students you
want to pick.

Example 1.2.2 how not to choose a simple random sample

You want to choose 5 students out of a class of 20. Give some examples of samples that are not simple random samples:
Solution

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 Choose 5 students from the front row. The people in the last row have no chance of being selected.
Choose the 5 shortest students. The tallest students have no chance of being selected.

Definition 1.2.2

Stratified sampling is where you break the population into groups called strata, then take a simple random sample from each
strata.

For example:
If you want to look at musical preference, you could divide the individuals into age groups and then conduct simple random
samples inside each group.
If you want to calculate the average price of textbooks, you could divide the individuals into groups by major and then conduct
simple random samples inside each group.

Definition 1.2.3

Systematic sampling is where you randomly choose a starting place then select every k th individual to measure.

For example:
You select every 5th item on an assembly line
You select every 10th name on the list
You select every 3rd customer that comes into the store.

Definition 1.2.4

Cluster sampling is where you break the population into groups called clusters. Randomly pick some clusters then poll all
individuals in those clusters.

For example:
A large city wants to poll all businesses in the city. They divide the city into sections (clusters), maybe a square block for each
section, and use a random number generator to pick some of the clusters.
Then they poll all businesses in each chosen cluster. You want to measure whether a tree in the forest is infected with bark beetles.
Instead of having to walk all over the forest, you divide the forest up into sectors, and then randomly pick the sectors that you will
travel to. Then record whether a tree is infected or not for every tree in that sector.
Many people confuse stratified sampling and cluster sampling. In stratified sampling you use all the groups and some of the
members in each group. Cluster sampling is the other way around. It uses some of the groups and all the members in each group.
The four sampling techniques that were presented all have advantages and disadvantages. There is another sampling technique that
is sometimes utilized because either the researcher doesn’t know better, or it is easier to do. This sampling technique is known as a
convenience sample. This sample will not result in a representative sample, and should be avoided.

Definition 1.2.5

Convenience sample is one where the researcher picks individuals to be included that are easy for the researcher to collect.

An example of a convenience sample is if you want to know the opinion of people about the criminal justice system, and you stand
on a street corner near the county court house, and questioning the first 10 people who walk by. The people who walk by the
county court house are most likely involved in some fashion with the criminal justice system, and their opinion would not represent
the opinions of all individuals.
On a rare occasion, you do want to collect the entire population. In which case you conduct a census.

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 Definition 1.2.6

A census is when every individual of interest is measured.

Example 1.2.3 sampling type

Banner Health is a several state nonprofit chain of hospitals. Management wants to assess the incident of complications after
surgery. They wish to use a sample of surgery patients. Several sampling techniques are described below. Categorize each
technique as simple random sample, stratified sample, systematic sample, cluster sample, or convenience sampling.
a. Obtain a list of patients who had surgery at all Banner Health facilities. Divide the patients according to type of surgery.
Draw simple random samples from each group.
b. Obtain a list of patients who had surgery at all Banner Health facilities. Number these patients, and then use a random
number table to obtain the sample.
c. Randomly select some Banner Health facilities from each of the seven states, and then include all the patients on the
surgery lists of the states.
d. At the beginning of the year, instruct each Banner Health facility to record any complications from every 100th surgery.
e. Instruct each Banner Health facilities to record any complications from 20 surgeries this week and send in the results.
Solution
a. This is a stratified sample since the patients where separated into different stratum and then random samples were taken
from each strata. The problem with this is that some types of surgeries may have more chances for complications than
others. Of course, the stratified sample would show you this.
b. This is a random sample since each patient has the same chance of being chosen. The problem with this one is that it will
take a while to collect the data.
c. This is a cluster sample since all patients are questioned in each of the selected hospitals. The problem with this is that you
could have by chance selected hospitals that have no complications.
d. This is a systematic sample since they selected every 100th surgery. The problem with this is that if every 90th surgery has
complications, you wouldn’t see this come up in the data.
e. This is a convenience sample since they left it up to the facility how to do it. The problem with convenience samples is that
the person collecting the data will probably collect data from surgeries that had no complications.

Homework
Exercise 1.2.1

1. Researchers want to collect cholesterol levels of U.S. patients who had a heart attack two days prior. The following are different
sampling techniques that the researcher could use. Classify each as simple random sample, stratified sample, systematic sample,
cluster sample, or convenience sample.
a. The researchers randomly select 5 hospitals in the U.S. then measure the cholesterol levels of all the heart attack patients in
each of those hospitals.
b. The researchers list all of the heart attack patients and measure the cholesterol level of every 25th person on the list.
c. The researchers go to one hospital on a given day and measure the cholesterol level of the heart attack patients at that time.
d. The researchers list all of the heart attack patients. They then measure the cholesterol levels of randomly selected patients.
e. The researchers divide the heart attack patients based on race, and then measure the cholesterol levels of randomly selected
patients in each race grouping.
2. The quality control officer at a manufacturing plant needs to determine what percentage of items in a batch are defective. The
following are different sampling techniques that could be used by the officer. Classify each as simple random sample, stratified
sample, systematic sample, cluster sample, or convenience sample.
a. The officer lists all of the batches in a given month. The number of defective items is counted in randomly selected batches.
b. The officer takes the first 10 batches and counts the number of defective items.
c. The officer groups the batches made in a month into which shift they are made. The number of defective items is counted in
randomly selected batches in each shift.
d. The officer chooses every 15th batch off the line and counts the number of defective items in each chosen batch.

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 e. The officer divides the batches made in a month into which day they were made. Then certain days are picked and every
batch made that day is counted to determine the number of defective items.
3. You wish to determine the GPA of students at your school. Describe what process you would go through to collect a sample if
you use a simple random sample.
4. You wish to determine the GPA of students at your school. Describe what process you would go through to collect a sample if
you use a stratified sample.
5. You wish to determine the GPA of students at your school. Describe what process you would go through to collect a sample if
you use a systematic sample.
6. You wish to determine the GPA of students at your school. Describe what process you would go through to collect a sample if
you use a cluster sample.
7. You wish to determine the GPA of students at your school. Describe what process you would go through to collect a sample if
you use a convenience sample.

Answer
1.
a. Cluster sample
b. Systematic sample
c. Convenience sample
d. Simple random sample
e. Stratified sample
3. See solutions
5. See solutions
7. See solutions

This page titled 1.2: Sampling Methods is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak via
source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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1.3: Experimental Design
The section is an introduction to experimental design. This is how to actually design an experiment or a survey so that they are
statistical sound. Experimental design is a very involved process, so this is just a small introduction.

Guidelines for planning a statistical study

1. . Identify the individuals that you are interested in. Realize that you can only make conclusions for these individuals. As an
example, if you use a fertilizer on a certain genus of plant, you can’t say how the fertilizer will work on any other types of
plants. However, if you diversify too much, then you may not be able to tell if there really is an improvement since you have too
many factors to consider.
2. Specify the variable. You want to make sure this is something that you can measure, and make sure that you control for all other
factors too. As an example, if you are trying to determine if a fertilizer works by measuring the height of the plants on a
particular day, you need to make sure you can control how much fertilizer you put on the plants (which would be your
treatment), and make sure that all the plants receive the same amount of sunlight, water, and temperature.
3. Specify the population. This is important in order for you know what conclusions you can make and what individuals you are
making the conclusions about.
4. Specify the method for taking measurements or making observations.
5. Determine if you are taking a census or sample. If taking a sample, decide on the sampling method.
6. Collect the data.
7. Use appropriate descriptive statistics methods and make decisions using appropriate inferential statistics methods.
8. Note any concerns you might have about your data collection methods and list any recommendations for future.
There are two types of studies:

Definition 1.3.1

An observational study is when the investigator collects data merely by watching or asking questions. He doesn’t change
anything.

Definition 1.3.2

An experiment is when the investigator changes a variable or imposes a treatment to determine its effect.

Example 1.3.1 observational study or experiment

State if the following is an observational study or an experiment.

a. Poll students to see if they favor increasing tuition.
b. Give some students a tutor to see if grades improve.
Solution
a. This is an observational study. You are only asking a question.
b. This is an experiment. The tutor is the treatment.

Many observational studies involve surveys. A survey uses questions to collect the data and needs to be written so that there is no
bias.
In an experiment, there are different options.

Randomized Two-Treatment Experiment:

In this experiment, there are two treatments, and individuals are randomly placed into the two groups. Either both groups get a
treatment, or one group gets a treatment and the other gets either nothing or a placebo. The group getting either no treatment or the
placebo is called the control group. The group getting the treatment is called the treatment group. The idea of the placebo is that a
person thinks they are receiving a treatment, but in reality they are receiving a sugar pill or fake treatment. Doing this helps to
account for the placebo effect, which is where a person’s mind makes their body respond to a treatment because they think they are

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 taking the treatment when they are not really taking the treatment. Note, not every experiment needs a placebo, such when using
animals or plants. Also, you can’t always use a placebo or no treatment. As an example, if you are testing a new blood pressure
medication you can’t give a person with high blood pressure a placebo or no treatment because of moral reasons.

Randomized Block Design:

A block is a group of subjects that are similar, but the blocks differ from each other. Then randomly assign treatments to subjects
inside each block. An example would be separating students into full-time versus part-time, and then randomly picking a certain
number full-time students to get the treatment and a certain number part-time students to get the treatment. This way some of each
type of student gets the treatment and some do not.

Rigorously Controlled Design:

Carefully assign subjects to different treatment groups, so that those given each treatment are similar in ways that are important to
the experiment. An example would be if you want to have a full-time student who is male, takes only night classes, has a full-time
job, and has children in one treatment group, then you need to have the same type of student getting the other treatment. This type
of design is hard to implement since you don’t know how many differentiations you would use, and should be avoided.

Matched Pairs Design:

The treatments are given to two groups that can be matched up with each other in some ways. One example would be to measure
the effectiveness of a muscle relaxer cream on the right arm and the left arm of individuals, and then for each individual you can
match up their right arm measurement with their left arm. Another example of this would be before and after experiments, such as
weight before and weight after a diet.
No matter which experiment type you conduct, you should also consider the following:

Replication:
Repetition of an experiment on more than one subject so you can make sure that the sample is large enough to distinguish true
effects from random effects. It is also the ability for someone else to duplicate the results of the experiment.

Blind Study:
Blind study is where the individual does not know which treatment they are getting or if they are getting the treatment or a placebo.

Double-Blind Study:
Double-blind study is where neither the individual nor the researcher knows who is getting which treatment or who is getting the
treatment and who is getting the placebo. This is important so that there can be no bias created by either the individual or the
researcher.
One last consideration is the time period that you are collecting the data over. There are three types of time periods that you can
consider.

Cross-Sectional Study:
Data observed, measured, or collected at one point in time.

Retrospective (or Case-Control) Study:

Data collected from the past using records, interviews, and other similar artifacts.

Prospective (or Longitudinal or Cohort) Study:

Data collected in the future from groups sharing common factors.

Homework
Exercise 1.3.1

1. You want to determine if cinnamon reduces a person’s insulin sensitivity. You give patients who are insulin sensitive a certain
amount of cinnamon and then measure their glucose levels. Is this an observation or an experiment? Why?
2. You want to determine if eating more fruits reduces a person’s chance of developing cancer. You watch people over the years
and ask them to tell you how many servings of fruit they eat each day. You then record who develops cancer. Is this an

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 observation or an experiment? Why?
3. A researcher wants to evaluate whether countries with lower fertility rates have a higher life expectancy. They collect the
fertility rates and the life expectancies of countries around the world. Is this an observation or an experiment? Why?
4. To evaluate whether a new fertilizer improves plant growth more than the old fertilizer, the fertilizer developer gives some
plants the new fertilizer and others the old fertilizer. Is this an observation or an experiment? Why?
5. A researcher designs an experiment to determine if a new drug lowers the blood pressure of patients with high blood pressure.
The patients are randomly selected to be in the study and they randomly pick which group to be in. Is this a randomized
experiment? Why or why not?
6. Doctors trying to see if a new stint works longer for kidney patients, asks patients if they are willing to have one of two
different stints put in. During the procedure the doctor decides which stent to put in based on which one is on hand at the time.
Is this a randomized experiment? Why or why not?
7. A researcher wants to determine if diet and exercise together helps people lose weight over just exercising. The researcher
solicits volunteers to be part of the study, randomly picks which volunteers are in the study, and then lets each volunteer decide
if they want to be in the diet and exercise group or the exercise only group. Is this a randomized experiment? Why or why not?
8. To determine if lack of exercise reduces flexibility in the knee joint, physical therapists ask for volunteers to join their trials.
They then randomly select the volunteers to be in the group that exercises and to be in the group that doesn’t exercise. Is this a
randomized experiment? Why or why not?
9. You collect the weights of tagged fish in a tank. You then put an extra protein fish food in water for the fish and then measure
their weight a month later. Are the two samples matched pairs or not? Why or why not?
10. A mathematics instructor wants to see if a computer homework system improves the scores of the students in the class. The
instructor teaches two different sections of the same course. One section utilizes the computer homework system and the other
section completes homework with paper and pencil. Are the two samples matched pairs or not? Why or why not?
11. A business manager wants to see if a new procedure improves the processing time for a task. The manager measures the
processing time of the employees then trains the employees using the new procedure. Then each employee performs the task
again and the processing time is measured again. Are the two samples matched pairs or not? Why or why not?
12. The prices of generic items are compared to the prices of the equivalent named brand items. Are the two samples matched pairs
or not? Why or why not?
13. A doctor gives some of the patients a new drug for treating acne and the rest of the patients receive the old drug. Neither the
patient nor the doctor knows who is getting which drug. Is this a blind experiment, double blind experiment, or neither? Why?
14. One group is told to exercise and one group is told to not exercise. Is this a blind experiment, double blind experiment, or
neither? Why?
15. The researchers at a hospital want to see if a new surgery procedure has a better recovery time than the old procedure. The
patients are not told which procedure that was used on them, but the surgeons obviously did know. Is this a blind experiment,
double blind experiment, or neither? Why?
16. To determine if a new medication reduces headache pain, some patients are given the new medication and others are given a
placebo. Neither the researchers nor the patients know who is taking the real medication and who is taking the placebo. Is this a
blind experiment, double blind experiment, or neither? Why?
17. A new study is underway to track the eating and exercise patterns of people at different time periods in the future, and see who
is afflicted with cancer later in life. Is this a cross-sectional study, a retrospective study, or a prospective study? Why?
18. To determine if a new medication reduces headache pain, some patients are given the new medication and others are given a
placebo. The pain levels of a patient are then recorded. Is this a cross-sectional study, a retrospective study, or a prospective
study? Why?
19. To see if there is a link between smoking and bladder cancer, patients with bladder cancer are asked if they currently smoke or
if they smoked in the past. Is this a cross-sectional study, a retrospective study, or a prospective study? Why?
20. The Nurses Health Survey was a survey where nurses were asked to record their eating habits over a period of time, and their
general health was recorded. Is this a cross-sectional study, a retrospective study, or a prospective study? Why?
21. Consider a question that you would like to answer. Describe how you would design your own experiment. Make sure you state
the question you would like to answer, then determine if an experiment or an observation is to be done, decide if the question
needs one or two samples, if two samples are the samples matched, if this is a randomized experiment, if there is any blinding,
and if this is a cross-sectional, retrospective, or prospective study.

Answer

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 1. Experiment
3. Observation
5. No, see solutions
7. No, see solutions
9. Yes, see solutions
11. Yes, see solutions
13. Double blind, see solutions
15. Blind, see solutions
17. Prospective, see solutions
19. Retrospective, see solutions
21. See solutions

This page titled 1.3: Experimental Design is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak
via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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1.4: How Not to Do Statistics
Many studies are conducted and conclusions are made. However, there are occasions where the study is not conducted in the
correct manner or the conclusion is not correctly made based on the data. There are many things that you should question when you
read a study. There are many reasons for the study to have bias in it. Bias is where a study may have a certain slant or preference
for a certain result. The following are a list of some of the questions or issues you should consider to help decide if there is bias in a
study.
One of the first issues you should ask is who funded the study. If the entity that sponsored the study stands to gain either profits or
notoriety from the results, then you should question the results. It doesn’t mean that the results are wrong, but you should scrutinize
them on your own to make sure they are sound. As an example if a study says that genetically modified foods are safe, and the
study was funded by a company that sells genetically modified food, then one may question the validity of the study. Since the
company funds the study and their profits rely on people buying their food, there may be bias.
An experiment could have lurking or confounding variables when you cannot rule out the possibility that the observed effect is
due to some other variable rather than the factor being studied. An example of this is when you give fertilizer to some plants and no
fertilizer to others, but the no fertilizer plants also are placed in a location that doesn’t receive direct sunlight. You won’t know if
the plants that received the fertilizer grew taller because of the fertilizer or the sunlight. Make sure you design experiments to
eliminate the effects of confounding variables by controlling all the factors that you can.

Overgeneralization
Overgeneralization is where you do a study on one group and then try to say that it will happen on all groups. An example is
doing cancer treatments on rats. Just because the treatment works on rats does not mean it will work on humans. Another example
is that until recently most FDA medication testing had been done on white males of a particular age. There is no way to know how
the medication affects other genders, ethnic groups, age groups, and races. The new FDA guidelines stresses using individuals from
different groups.

Cause and Effect

Cause and effect is where people decide that one variable causes the other just because the variables are related or correlated.
Unless the study was done as an experiment where a variable was controlled, you cannot say that one variable caused the other.
Most likely there is another variable that caused both. As an example, there is a relationship between number of drownings at the
beach and ice cream sales. This does not mean that ice cream sales increasing causes people to drown. Most likely the cause for
both increasing is the heat.

Sampling Error
This is the difference between the sample results and the true population results. This is unavoidable, and results in the fact that
samples are different from each other. As an example, if you take a sample of 5 people’s height in your class, you will get 5
numbers. If you take another sample of 5 people’s heights in your class, you will likely get 5 different numbers.

Nonsampling Error
This is where the sample is collected poorly either through a biased sample or through error in measurements. Care should be taken
to avoid this error.
Lastly, there should be care taken in considering the difference between statistical significance versus practical significance. This
is a major issue in statistics. Something could be statistically significance, which means that a statistical test shows there is
evidence to show what you are trying to prove. However, in practice it doesn’t mean much or there are other issues to consider. As
an example, suppose you find that a new drug for high blood pressure does reduce the blood pressure of patients. When you look at
the improvement it actually doesn’t amount to a large difference. Even though statistically there is a change, it may not be worth
marketing the product because it really isn’t that big of a change. Another consideration is that you find the blood pressure
medication does improve a person’s blood pressure, but it has serious side effects or it costs a great deal for a prescription. In this
case, it wouldn't be practical to use it. In both cases, the study is shown to be statistically significant, but practically you don’t want
to use the medication. The main thing to remember in a statistical study is that the statistics is only part of the process. You also
want to make sure that there is practical significance too.

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Surveys
Surveys have their own areas of bias that can occur. A few of the issues with surveys are in the wording of the questions, the
ordering of the questions, the manner the survey is conducted, and the response rate of the survey.
The wording of the questions can cause hidden bias, which is where the questions are asked in a way that makes a person respond
a certain way. An example is that a poll was done where people were asked if they believe that there should be an amendment to
the constitution protecting a woman’s right to choose. About 60% of all people questioned said yes. Another poll was done where
people were asked if they believe that there should be an amendment to the constitution protecting the life of an unborn child.
About 60% of all people questioned said yes. These two questions deal with the same issue, though giving opposite results, but
how the question was asked affected the outcome.
The ordering of the question can also cause hidden bias. An example of this is if you were asked if there should be a fine for texting
while driving, but proceeding that question is the question asking if you text while drive. By asking a person if they actually
partake in the activity, that person now personalizes the question and that might affect how they answer the next question of
creating the fine.

Non-response
Non-response is where you send out a survey but not everyone returns the survey. You can calculate the response rate by dividing
the number of returns by the number of surveys sent. Most response rates are around 30-50%. A response rate less than 30% is very
poor and the results of the survey are not valid. To reduce non-response, it is better to conduct the surveys in person, though these
are very expensive. Phones are the next best way to conduct surveys, emails can be effective, and physical mailings are the least
desirable way to conduct surveys.

Voluntary response
Voluntary response is where people are asked to respond via phone, email or online. The problem with these is that only people
who really care about the topic are likely to call or email. These surveys are not scientific and the results from these surveys are not
valid. Note: all studies involve volunteers. The difference between a voluntary response survey and a scientific study is that in a
scientific study the researchers ask the individuals to be involved, while in a voluntary response survey the individuals become
involved on their own choosing.

Example 1.4.1: Bias in a Study

Suppose a mathematics department at a community college would like to assess whether computer-based homework improves
students’ test scores. They use computer-based homework in one classroom with one teacher and use traditional paper and
pencil homework in a different classroom with a different teacher. The students using the computer-based homework had
higher test scores. What is wrong with this experiment?
Solution
Since there were different teachers, you do not know if the better test scores are because of the teacher or the computer-based
homework. A better design would be have the same teacher teach both classes. The control group would utilize traditional
paper and pencil homework and the treatment group would utilize the computer-based homework. Both classes would have the
same teacher, and the students would be split between the two classes randomly. The only difference between the two groups
should be the homework method. Of course, there is still variability between the students, but utilizing the same teacher will
reduce any other confounding variables.

Example 1.4.2: Cause and Effect

Determine if the one variable did cause the change in the other variable.
a. Cinnamon was giving to a group of people who have diabetes, and then their blood glucose levels were measured a time
period later. All other factors for each person were kept the same. Their glucose levels went down. Did the cinnamon cause
the reduction?
b. There is a link between spray on tanning products and lung cancer. Does that mean that spray on tanning products cause
lung cancer?
Solution

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 a. Since this was a study where the use of cinnamon was controlled, and all other factors were kept constant from person to
person, then any changes in glucose levels can be attributed to the use of cinnamon
b. Since there is only a link, and not a study controlling the use of the tanning spray, then you cannot say that increased use
causes lung cancer. You can say that there is a link, and that there could be a cause, but you cannot say for sure that the
spray causes the cancer.

Example 1.4.3: Generalization

a. A researcher conducts a study on the use of ibuprofen on humans and finds that it is safe. Does that mean that all species
can use ibuprofen?
b. Aspirin has been used for years to bring down fevers in humans. Originally it was tested on white males between the ages
of 25 and 40 and found to be safe. Is it safe to give to everyone?
Solution
a. No. Just because a drug is safe to use on one species doesn’t mean it is safe to use for all species. In fact, ibuprofen is toxic
to cats.
b. No. Just because one age group can use it doesn’t mean it is safe to use for all age groups. In fact, there has been a link
between giving a child under the age of 19 aspirin when they have a fever and Reye’s syndrome.

Homework
Exercise 1.4.1

1. Suppose there is a study where a researcher conducts an experiment to show that deep breathing exercises helps to lower blood
pressure. The researcher takes two groups of people and has one group to perform deep breathing exercises and a series of
aerobic exercises every day and the other group was asked to refrain from any exercises. The researcher found that the group
performing the deep breathing exercises and the aerobic exercises had lower blood pressure. Discuss any issue with this study.
2. Suppose a car dealership offers a low interest rate and a longer payoff period to customers or a high interest rate and a shorter
payoff period to customers, and most customers choose the low interest rate and longer payoff period, does that mean that most
customers want a lower interest rate? Explain.
3. Over the years it has been said that coffee is bad for you. When looking at the studies that have shown that coffee is linked to
poor health, you will see that people who tend to drink coffee don’t sleep much, tend to smoke, don’t eat healthy, and tend to
not exercise. Can you say that the coffee is the reason for the poor health or is there a lurking variable that is the actual cause?
Explain.
4. When researchers were trying to figure out what caused polio, they saw a connection between ice cream sales and polio. As ice
cream sales increased so did the incident of polio. Does that mean that eating ice cream causes polio? Explain your answer.
5. There is a positive correlation between having a discussion of gun control, which usually occur after a mass shooting, and the
sale of guns. Does that mean that the discussion of gun control increases the likelihood that people will buy more guns?
Explain.
6. There is a study that shows that people who are obese have a vitamin D deficiency. Does that mean that obesity causes a
deficiency in vitamin D? Explain.
7. A study was conducted that shows that polytetrafluoroethylene (PFOA) (Teflon is made from this chemical) has an increase risk
of tumors in lab mice. Does that mean that PFOA’s have an increased risk of tumors in humans? Explain.
8. Suppose a telephone poll is conducted by contacting U.S. citizens via landlines about their view of gay marriage. Suppose over
50% of those called do not support gay marriage. Does that mean that you can say over 50% of all people in the U.S. do not
support gay marriage? Explain.
9. Suppose that it can be shown to be statistically significant that a smaller percentage of the people are satisfied with your
business. The percentage before was 87% and is now 85%. Do you change how you conduct business? Explain?
10. You are testing a new drug for weight loss. You find that the drug does in fact statistically show a weight loss. Do you market
the new drug? Why or why not?
11. There was an online poll conducted about whether the mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, should resign due to an affair. The
majority of people participating said he should. Should the mayor resign due to the results of this poll? Explain.
12. An online poll showed that the majority of Americans believe that the government covered up events of 9/11. Does that really
mean that most Americans believe this? Explain.

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13. A survey was conducted at a college asking all employees if they were satisfied with the level of security provided by the
security department. Discuss how the results of this question could be biased.
14. An employee survey says, “Employees at this institution are very satisfied with working here. Please rate your satisfaction with
the institution.” Discuss how this question could create bias.
15. A survey has a question that says, “Most people are afraid that they will lose their house due to economic collapse. Choose
what you think is the biggest issue facing the nation today.
a. Economic collapse
b. Foreign policy issues
c. Environmental concerns.” Discuss how this question could create bias.
16. A survey says, “Please rate the career of Roberto Clemente, one of the best right field baseball players in the world.” Discuss
how this question could create bias.

Answer
See solutions

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

2: Graphical Descriptions of Data

In chapter 1, you were introduced to the concepts of population, which again is a collection of all the measurements from the
individuals of interest. Remember, in most cases you can’t collect the entire population, so you have to take a sample. Thus, you
collect data either through a sample or a census. Now you have a large number of data values. What can you do with them? No one
likes to look at just a set of numbers. One thing is to organize the data into a table or graph. Ultimately though, you want to be able
to use that graph to interpret the data, to describe the distribution of the data set, and to explore different characteristics of the data.
The characteristics that will be discussed in this chapter and the next chapter are:
1. Center: middle of the data set, also known as the average.
2. Variation: how much the data varies.
3. Distribution: shape of the data (symmetric, uniform, or skewed).
4. Qualitative data: analysis of the data
5. Outliers: data values that are far from the majority of the data.
6. Time: changing characteristics of the data over time.
This chapter will focus mostly on using the graphs to understand aspects of the data, and not as much on how to create the graphs.
There is technology that will create most of the graphs, though it is important for you to understand the basics of how to create
them.
2.1: Qualitative Data
2.2: Quantitative Data
2.3: Other Graphical Representations of Data

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1
2.1: Qualitative Data
Remember, qualitative data are words describing a characteristic of the individual. There are several different graphs that are used
for qualitative data. These graphs include bar graphs, Pareto charts, and pie charts.
Pie charts and bar graphs are the most common ways of displaying qualitative data. A spreadsheet program like Excel can make
both of them. The first step for either graph is to make a frequency or relative frequency table. A frequency table is a summary of
the data with counts of how often a data value (or category) occurs.

Example 2.1.1

Suppose you have the following data for which type of car students at a college drive?
Ford, Chevy, Honda, Toyota, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Nissan, Chevy, Toyota, Honda, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Toyota,
Nissan, Mercedes, Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Porsche, Hyundai, Chevy,
Chevy, Honda, Toyota, Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Chevy, Honda, Chevy, Saturn, Toyota, Chevy, Chevy, Nissan, Honda,
Toyota, Toyota, Nissan
Solution
A listing of data is too hard to look at and analyze, so you need to summarize it. First you need to decide the categories. In this
case it is relatively easy; just use the car type. However, there are several cars that only have one car in the list. In that case it is
easier to make a category called other for the ones with low values. Now just count how many of each type of cars there are.
For example, there are 5 Fords, 12 Chevys, and 6 Hondas. This can be put in a frequency distribution:
Table 2.1.1 : Frequency Table for Type of Car Data
Cateogry Frequency

Ford 5

Chevy 12

Honda 6

Toyota 12

Nissan 10

Other 5

Total 50

The total of the frequency column should be the number of observations in the data.
Since raw numbers are not as useful to tell other people it is better to create a third column that gives the relative frequency of
each category. This is just the frequency divided by the total. As an example for Ford category:
5
relative frequency = = 0.10
50

This can be written as a decimal, fraction, or percent. You now have a relative frequency distribution:
Table 2.1.2 : Relative Frequency Table for Type of Car Data
Category Frequency Relative Frequency

Ford 5 0.10

Chevy 12 0.24

Honda 6 0.12

Toyota 12 0.24

Nissan 10 0.20

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 Category Frequency Relative Frequency

Other 5 0.10

Total 50 1.00

The relative frequency column should add up to 1.00. It might be off a little due to rounding errors.
Now that you have the frequency and relative frequency table, it would be good to display this data using a graph. There are
several different types of graphs that can be used: bar chart, pie chart, and Pareto charts.

Bar graphs or charts consist of the frequencies on one axis and the categories on the other axis. Then you draw rectangles for
each category with a height (if frequency is on the vertical axis) or length (if frequency is on the horizontal axis) that is equal to the
frequency. All of the rectangles should be the same width, and there should be equally width gaps between each bar.

Example 2.1.2 drawing a bar graph

Draw a bar graph of the data in Example 2.1.1.

Solution
Table 2.1.2 : Relative Frequency Table for Type of Car Data
Category Frequency Relative Frequency

Ford 5 0.10

Chevy 12 0.24

Honda 6 0.12

Toyota 12 0.24

Nissan 10 0.20

Other 5 0.10

Total 50 1.00

Put the frequency on the vertical axis and the category on the horizontal axis.
Then just draw a box above each category whose height is the frequency.
All graphs are drawn using R . The command in R to create a bar graph is:
variable<-c(type in percentages or frequencies for each class with commas in between values)
barplot(variable,names.arg=c("type in name of 1st category", "type in name of 2nd category",…,"type in name of last
category"),
ylim=c(0,number over max), xlab="type in label for x-axis", ylab="type in label for y-axis",ylim=c(0,number above
maximum y value), main="type in title", col="type in a color") – creates a bar graph of the data in a color if you want.
For this example the command would be:
car<-c(5, 12, 6, 12, 10, 5)
barplot(car, names.arg=c("Ford", "Chevy", "Honda", "Toyota", "Nissan", "Other"), xlab="Type of Car",
ylab="Frequency", ylim=c(0,12), main="Type of Car Driven by College Students", col="blue")

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 Figure for Type of Car Data
Notice from the graph, you can see that Toyota and Chevy are the more popular car, with Nissan not far behind. Ford seems to
be the type of car that you can tell was the least liked, though the cars in the other category would be liked less than a Ford.
Some key features of a bar graph:
Equal spacing on each axis.
Bars are the same width.
There should be labels on each axis and a title for the graph.
There should be a scaling on the frequency axis and the categories should be listed on the category axis.
The bars don’t touch.
You can also draw a bar graph using relative frequency on the vertical axis. This is useful when you want to compare two
samples with different sample sizes. The relative frequency graph and the frequency graph should look the same, except for the
scaling on the frequency axis.
Using R, the command would be:
car<-c(0.1, 0.24, 0.12, 0.24, 0.2, 0.1)
barplot(car, names.arg=c("Ford", "Chevy", "Honda", "Toyota", "Nissan", "Other"), xlab="Type of Car", ylab="Relative
Frequency", main="Type of Car Driven by College Students", col="blue", ylim=c(0,.25))

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 Figure for Type of Car Data

Another type of graph for qualitative data is a pie chart. A pie chart is where you have a circle and you divide pieces of the circle
into pie shapes that are proportional to the size of the relative frequency. There are 360 degrees in a full circle. Relative frequency
is just the percentage as a decimal. All you have to do to find the angle by multiplying the relative frequency by 360 degrees.
Remember that 180 degrees is half a circle and 90 degrees is a quarter of a circle

Example 2.1.3 drawing a pie chart

Draw a pie chart of the data in Example 2.1.1.

First you need the relative frequencies.
Table 2.1.2 : Relative Frequency Table for Type of Car Data
Category Frequency Relative Frequency

Ford 5 0.10

Chevy 12 0.24

Honda 6 0.12

Toyota 12 0.24

Nissan 10 0.20

Other 5 0.10

Total 50 1.00

Solution
Then you multiply each relative frequency by 360° to obtain the angle measure for each category.
Table 2.1.3 : Pie Chart Angles for Type of Car Data
Category Relative Frequency Angle (in degrees (°))

Ford 0.10 36.0

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 Category Relative Frequency Angle (in degrees (°))

Chevy 0.24 86.4

Honda 0.12 43.2

Toyota 0.24 86.4

Nissan 0.20 72.0

Other 0.10 36.0

Total 1.00 360.0

Now draw the pie chart using a compass, protractor, and straight edge. Technology is preferred. If you use technology, there is
no need for the relative frequencies or the angles.
You can use R to graph the pie chart. In R, the commands would be:
pie(variable,labels=c("type in name of 1st category", "type in name of 2nd category",…,"type in name of last
category"),main="type in title", col=rainbow(number of categories)) – creates a pie chart with a title and rainbow of
colors for each category.
For this example, the commands would be:
car<-c(5, 12, 6, 12, 10, 5)
pie(car, labels=c("Ford, 10%", "Chevy, 24%", "Honda, 12%", "Toyota, 24%", "Nissan, 20%", "Other, 10%"),
main="Type of Car Driven by College Students", col=rainbow(6))

Figure 2.1.3 : Pie Chart for Type of Car Data

As you can see from the graph, Toyota and Chevy are more popular, while the cars in the other category are liked the least. Of
the cars that you can determine from the graph, Ford is liked less than the others.

Pie charts are useful for comparing sizes of categories. Bar charts show similar information. It really doesn’t matter which one you
use. It really is a personal preference and also what information you are trying to address. However, pie charts are best when you
only have a few categories and the data can be expressed as a percentage. The data doesn’t have to be percentages to draw the pie
chart, but if a data value can fit into multiple categories, you cannot use a pie chart. As an example, if you are asking people about

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what their favorite national park is, and you say to pick the top three choices, then the total number of answers can add up to more
than 100% of the people involved. So you cannot use a pie chart to display the favorite national park.
A third type of qualitative data graph is a Pareto chart, which is just a bar chart with the bars sorted with the highest frequencies
on the left. Here is the Pareto chart for the data in Example 2.1.1.

Figure 2.1.4 : Pareto Chart for Type of Car Data

The advantage of Pareto charts is that you can visually see the more popular answer to the least popular. This is especially useful in
business applications, where you want to know what services your customers like the most, what processes result in more injuries,
which issues employees find more important, and other type of questions like these.
There are many other types of graphs that can be used on qualitative data. There are spreadsheet software packages that will create
most of them, and it is better to look at them to see what can be done. It depends on your data as to which may be useful. The next
example illustrates one of these types known as a multiple bar graph.

Example 2.1.4 multiple bar graph

In the Wii Fit game, you can do four different types of exercises: yoga, strength, aerobic, and balance. The Wii system keeps
track of how many minutes you spend on each of the exercises everyday. The following graph is the data for Dylan over one
week time period. Discuss any indication you can infer from the graph.

Figure 2.1.5 : Multiple Bar Chart for Wii Fit Data

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 Solution
It appears that Dylan spends more time on balance exercises than on any other exercises on any given day. He seems to spend
less time on strength exercises on a given day. There are several days when the amount of exercise in the different categories is
almost equal.

The usefulness of a multiple bar graph is the ability to compare several different categories over another variable, in Example 2.1.4
the variable would be time. This allows a person to interpret the data with a little more ease.

Homework
Exercise 2.1.1

1. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. The number of lenses for different activities is in Example
2.1.4.

Activity Grind Multicoat Assemble Make frames Receive finished Unknown

Number of
18872 12105 4333 25880 26991 1508
lenses

Table 2.1.4: Data for Eyeglassomatic

Grind means that they ground the lenses and put them in frames, multicoat means that they put tinting or scratch resistance
coatings on lenses and then put them in frames, assemble means that they receive frames and lenses from other sources and put
them together, make frames means that they make the frames and put lenses in from other sources, receive finished means that
they received glasses from other source, and unknown means they do not know where the lenses came from. Make a bar chart
and a pie chart of this data. State any findings you can see from the graphs.
2. To analyze how Arizona workers ages 16 or older travel to work the percentage of workers using carpool, private vehicle
(alone), and public transportation was collected. Create a bar chart and pie chart of the data in Example 2.1.5. State any
findings you can see from the graphs.
Table 2.1.5 : Data of Travel Mode for Arizona Workers

Transportation type Percentage

Carpool 11.6%

Private Vehicle (Alone) 75.8%

Public Transportation 2.0%

Other 10.6%

3. The number of deaths in the US due to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning from generators from the years 1999 to 2011 are in
table #2.1.6 (Hinatov, 2012). Create a bar chart and pie chart of this data. State any findings you see from the graphs.
Table 2.1.6 : Data of Number of Deaths Due to CO Poisoning
Region Number of Deaths from CO While Using a Generator

Urban Core 401

Sub-Urban 97

Large Rural 86

Small Rural/Isolated 111

4. In Connecticut households use gas, fuel oil, or electricity as a heating source. Example 2.1.7 shows the percentage of
households that use one of these as their principle heating sources ("Electricity usage," 2013), ("Fuel oil usage," 2013), ("Gas
usage," 2013). Create a bar chart and pie chart of this data. State any findings you see from the graphs.
Table 2.1.7 : Data of Household Heating Sources

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 Heating Source Percentage

Electricity 15.3%

Fuel Oil 46.3%

Gas 35.6%

Other 2.85

5. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made during
the time period of January 1 to March 31. Example 2.1.8 gives the defect and the number of defects. Create a Pareto chart of
the data and then describe what this tells you about what causes the most defects.
Table 2.1.8 : Data of Defect Type
Defect type Number of defects

Scratch 5865

Right shaped - small 4613

Flaked 1992

Wrong axis 1838

Chamfer wrong 1596

Crazing, cracks 1546

Wrong shape 1485

Wrong PD 1398

Spots and bubbles 1371

Wrong height 1130

Right shape - big 1105

Lost in lab 976

Spots/bubble - intern 976

6. People in Bangladesh were asked to state what type of birth control method they use. The percentages are given in Example
2.1.9 ("Contraceptive use," 2013). Create a Pareto chart of the data and then state any findings you can from the graph.

Table 2.1.9 : Data of Birth Control Type

Method Percentage

Condom 4.50%

Pill 28.50%

Periodic Abstinence 4.90%

Injection 7.00%

Female Sterilization 5.00%

IUD 0.90%

Male Sterilization 0.70%

Withdrawal 2.90%

Other Modern Methods 0.70%

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 Method Percentage

Other Traditional Methods 0.60%

7. The percentages of people who use certain contraceptives in Central American countries are displayed in Graph 2.1.6
("Contraceptive use," 2013). State any findings you can from the graph.

Figure 2.1.6 : Multiple Bar Chart for Contraceptive Types

Answer
See solutions

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2.2: Quantitative Data
The graph for quantitative data looks similar to a bar graph, except there are some major differences. First, in a bar graph the categories can be put in any order on the horizontal axis. There is
no set order for these data values. You can’t say how the data is distributed based on the shape, since the shape can change just by putting the categories in different orders. With quantitative
data, the data are in specific orders, since you are dealing with numbers. With quantitative data, you can talk about a distribution, since the shape only changes a little bit depending on how
many categories you set up. This is called a frequency distribution.
This leads to the second difference from bar graphs. In a bar graph, the categories that you made in the frequency table were determined by you. In quantitative data, the categories are numerical
categories, and the numbers are determined by how many categories (or what are called classes) you choose. If two people have the same number of categories, then they will have the same
frequency distribution. Whereas in qualitative data, there can be many different categories depending on the point of view of the author.
The third difference is that the categories touch with quantitative data, and there will be no gaps in the graph. The reason that bar graphs have gaps is to show that the categories do not continue
on, like they do in quantitative data. Since the graph for quantitative data is different from qualitative data, it is given a new name. The name of the graph is a histogram. To create a histogram,
you must first create the frequency distribution. The idea of a frequency distribution is to take the interval that the data spans and divide it up into equal subintervals called classes.

Summary of the Steps Involved in Making a Frequency Distribution

1. Find the range = largest value – smallest value
2. Pick the number of classes to use. Usually the number of classes is between five and twenty. Five classes are used if there are a small number of data points and twenty classes if there
are a large number of data points (over 1000 data points). (Note: categories will now be called classes from now on.)
range
3. Class width = Always round up to the next integer (even if the answer is already a whole number go to the next integer). If you don’t do this, your last class will not contain
# classes

your largest data value, and you would have to add another class just for it. If you round up, then your largest data value will fall in the last class, and there are no issues.
4. Create the classes. Each class has limits that determine which values fall in each class. To find the class limits, set the smallest value as the lower class limit for the first class. Then add
the class width to the lower class limit to get the next lower class limit. Repeat until you get all the classes. The upper class limit for a class is one less than the lower limit for the next
class.
5. In order for the classes to actually touch, then one class needs to start where the previous one ends. This is known as the class boundary. To find the class boundaries, subtract 0.5 from
the lower class limit and add 0.5 to the upper class limit.
6. Sometimes it is useful to find the class midpoint. The process is
lower limit +upper limit
Midpoint =
2
7. To figure out the number of data points that fall in each class, go through each data value and see which class boundaries it is between. Utilizing tally marks may be helpful in counting
the data values. The frequency for a class is the number of data values that fall in the class.

Note

The above description is for data values that are whole numbers. If you data value has decimal places, then your class width should be rounded up to the nearest value with the same number
of decimal places as the original data. In addition, your class boundaries should have one more decimal place than the original data. As an example, if your data have one decimal place,
then the class width would have one decimal place, and the class boundaries are formed by adding and subtracting 0.05 from each class limit.

Example 2.2.1 creating a frequency table

Example 2.2.1 contains the amount of rent paid every month for 24 students from a statistics course. Make a relative frequency distribution using 7 classes.
Table 2.2.1 : Data of Monthly Rent
1500 1350 350 1200 850 900

1500 1150 1500 900 1400 1100

1250 600 610 960 890 1325

900 800 2550 495 1200 690

Solution
1. Find the range:
largest value - smallest value = 2550 − 350 = 2200
2. Pick the number of classes:
The directions to say to use 7 classes.
3. Find the class width:
range 2200
width = = ≈ 314.286
7 7
Round up to 315
Alwaysrounduptothenextintegerevenifthewidthisalreadyaninteger .

4. Find the class limits:

Start at the smallest value. This is the lower class limit for the first class. Add the width to get the lower limit of the next class. Keep adding the width to get all the lower limits.
350 + 315 = 665, 665 + 315 = 980, 980 + 315 = 1295 ⇌ ,
The upper limit is one less than the next lower limit: so for the first class the upper class limit would be 665 − 1 = 664 .
When you have all 7 classes, make sure the last number, in this case the 2550, is at least as large as the largest value in the data. If not, you made a mistake somewhere.
5. Find the class boundaries:
Subtract 0.5 from the lower class limit to get the class boundaries. Add 0.5 to the upper class limit for the last class's boundary.
350 − 0.5 = 349.5, 665 − 0.5 = 664.5, 980 − 0.5 = 979.5, 1295 − 0.5 = 1294.5 ⇌
Every value in the data should fall into exactly one of the classes. No data values should fall right on the boundary of two classes.
6. Find the class midpoints:
lower limit + upper limit
midpoint =
2
350 + 664

2
= 507,
665 + 979

2
= 822, ⇌
7. Tally and find the frequency of the data:
Go through the data and put a tally mark in the appropriate class for each piece of data by looking to see which class boundaries the data value is between. Fill in the frequency by
changing each of the tallies into a number.
Table 2.2.2 : Frequency Distribution for Monthly Rent

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 Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Tally Frequency

350-664 349.5-664.5 507 |||| 4

665-979 664.5-979.5 822 |||| ||| 8

980-1294 979.5-1294.5 1137 |||| 5

1295-1609 1294.5-1609.5 1452 |||| | 6

1610-1924 1609.5-1924.5 1767 0

1925-2239 1924.5-2239.5 2082 0

2240-2554 2239.5-2554.5 2397 | 1

Make sure the total of the frequencies is the same as the number of data points.
R command for a frequency distribution:
To create a frequency distribution:
summary(variable) – so you can find out the minimum and maximum.
breaks = seq(min, number above max, by = class width)
breaks – so you can see the breaks that R made.
variable.cut=cut(variable, breaks, right=FALSE) – this will cut up the data into the classes.
variable.freq=table(variable.cut) – this will create the frequency table.
variable.freq – this will display the frequency table.
For the data in Example 2.2.1, the R command would be:
rent<-c(1500, 1350, 350, 1200, 850, 900, 1500, 1150, 1500, 900, 1400, 1100, 1250, 600, 610, 960, 890, 1325, 900, 800, 2550, 495, 1200, 690) summary(rent)
Output:
Min 1st Qu. Median Mean 3rd Qu. Max

350 837.5 1030.0 1082.0 1331.0 2550.0

breaks=seq(350, 3000, by = 315)

breaks
Output:
[1] 350 665 980 1295 1610 1925 2240 2555 2870
These are your lower limits of the frequency distribution. You can now write your own table.
rent.cut=cut(rent, breaks, right=FALSE)
rent.freq=table(rent.cut)
Output:
rent.cut
[350, 665) [665, 980) [980, 1.3 e + 03) [1.3 e + 03, 1.61e + 03) [1.61 e + 03, 1.92e + 03) [1.92 e + 03, 2.24e + 03) [2.24 e + 03, 2.56e + 03) [2.56 e + 03, 2.87e + 03)
4 8 5 6 0 0 1 0

It is difficult to determine the basic shape of the distribution by looking at the frequency distribution. It would be easier to look at a graph. The graph of a frequency distribution for
quantitative data is called a frequency histogram or just histogram for short.

Definition 2.2.1: Histogram

A Histogram is a graph of the frequencies on the vertical axis and the class boundaries on the horizontal axis. Rectangles where the height is the frequency and the width is the class width
are drawn for each class.

Example \(\PageIndex{2}\: Drawing a Histogram

Draw a histogram for the distribution from Example 2.2.1.
Solution
The class boundaries are plotted on the horizontal axis and the frequencies are plotted on the vertical axis. You can plot the midpoints of the classes instead of the class boundaries. Graph
2.2.1 was created using the midpoints because it was easier to do with the software that created the graph. On R, the command is
hist(variable, col="type in what color you want", breaks, main="type the title you want", xlab="type the label you want for the horizontal axis",
ylim=c(0, number above maximum frequency) – produces histogram with specified color and using the breaks you made for the frequency distribution.
For this example, the command in R would be (assuming you created a frequency distribution in R as described previously):
hist(rent, col="blue", breaks, right=FALSE, main="Monthly Rent Paid by Students", ylim=c(0,8) xlab="Monthly Rent ($)")

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 Figure 2.2.1 : Histogram for Monthly Rent
If no frequency distribution was created before the histogram, then the command would be:
hist(variable, col="type in what color you want", number of classes, main="type the title you want", xlab="type the label you want for the horizontal axis") – produces histogram with
specified color and number of classes (though the number of classes is an estimate and R will create the number of classes near this value).
For this example, the R command without a frequency distribution created first would be:
hist(rent, col="blue", 7, main="Monthly Rent Paid by Students", xlab="Monthly Rent ($)")
Notice the graph has the axes labeled, the tick marks are labeled on each axis, and there is a title.
Reviewing the graph you can see that most of the students pay around $750 per month for rent, with about $1500 being the other common value. You can see from the graph, that most
students pay between $600 and $1600 per month for rent. Of course, these values are just estimates from the graph. There is a large gap between the $1500 class and the highest data value.
This seems to say that one student is paying a great deal more than everyone else. This value could be considered an outlier. An outlier is a data value that is far from the rest of the values.
It may be an unusual value or a mistake. It is a data value that should be investigated. In this case, the student lives in a very expensive part of town, thus the value is not a mistake, and is
just very unusual. There are other aspects that can be discussed, but first some other concepts need to be introduced.

Frequencies are helpful, but understanding the relative size each class is to the total is also useful. To find this you can divide the frequency by the total to create a relative frequency. If you have
the relative frequencies for all of the classes, then you have a relative frequency distribution.

Definition 2.2.2

Relative Frequency Distribution

A variation on a frequency distribution is a relative frequency distribution. Instead of giving the frequencies for each class, the relative frequencies are calculated.
frequency
Relative frequency =
# of data points

This gives you percentages of data that fall in each class.

Example 2.2.3 creating a relative frequency table

Find the relative frequency for the grade data.

Solution
From Example 2.2.1, the frequency distribution is reproduced in Example 2.2.2.
Table 2.2.2 : Frequency Distribution for Monthly Rent
Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Frequency

350-664 349.5-664.5 507 4

665-979 664.5-979.5 822 8

980-1294 979.5-1294.5 1127 5

1295-1609 1294.5-1609.5 1452 6

1610-1924 1609.5-1924.5 1767 0

1925-2239 1924.5-2239.5 2082 0

2240-2554 2239.5-2554.5 2397 1

Divide each frequency by the number of data points.

4

24
= 0.17,
8

24
= 0.33,
5

24
= 0.21, ⇌
Table 2.2.3 : Relative Frequency Distribution for Monthly Rent
Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Frequency Relative Frequency

350-664 349.5-664.5 507 4 0.17

665-979 664.5-979.5 822 8 0.33

980-1294 979.5-1294.5 1127 5 0.21

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 Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Frequency Relative Frequency

1295-1609 1294.5-1609.5 1452 6 0.25

1610-1924 1609.5-1924.5 1767 0 0

1925-2239 1924.5-2239.5 2082 0 0

2240-2554 2239.5-2554.5 2397 1 0.04

Total 24 1

The relative frequencies should add up to 1 or 100%. (This might be off a little due to rounding errors.)

The graph of the relative frequency is known as a relative frequency histogram. It looks identical to the frequency histogram, but the vertical axis is relative frequency instead of just
frequencies.

Example 2.2.4 drawing a relative frequency histogram

Draw a relative frequency histogram for the grade distribution from Example 2.2.1.
Solution
The class boundaries are plotted on the horizontal axis and the relative frequencies are plotted on the vertical axis. (This is not easy to do in R, so use another technology to graph a relative
frequency histogram.)

Figure 2.2.2 : Relative Frequency Histogram for Monthly Rent

Notice the shape is the same as the frequency distribution.

Another useful piece of information is how many data points fall below a particular class boundary. As an example, a teacher may want to know how many students received below an 80%, a
doctor may want to know how many adults have cholesterol below 160, or a manager may want to know how many stores gross less than $2000 per day. This is known as a cumulative
frequency. If you want to know what percent of the data falls below a certain class boundary, then this would be a cumulative relative frequency. For cumulative frequencies you are finding
how many data values fall below the upper class limit.
To create a cumulative frequency distribution, count the number of data points that are below the upper class boundary, starting with the first class and working up to the top class. The last
upper class boundary should have all of the data points below it. Also include the number of data points below the lowest class boundary, which is zero.

Example 2.2.5 creating a cumulative frequency distribution

Create a cumulative frequency distribution for the data in Example 2.2.1.

Solution
The frequency distribution for the data is in Example 2.2.2.
Table 2.2.2 : Frequency Distribution for Monthly Rent
Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Frequency

350-664 349.5-664.5 507 4

665-979 664.5-979.5 822 8

980-1294 979.5-1294.5 1127 5

1295-1609 1294.5-1609.5 1452 6

1610-1924 1609.5-1924.5 1767 0

1925-2239 1924.5-2239.5 2082 0

2240-2554 2239.5-2554.5 2397 1

Now ask yourself how many data points fall below each class boundary. Below 349.5, there are 0 data points. Below 664.5 there are 4 data points, below 979.5, there are 4 + 8 = 12 data
points, below 1294.5 there are 4 + 8 + 5 = 17 data points, and continue this process until you reach the upper class boundary. This is summarized in Example 2.2.4.
To produce cumulative frequencies in R, you need to have performed the commands for the frequency distribution. Once you have complete that, then use
variable.cumfreq=cumsum(variable.freq) – creates the cumulative frequencies for the variable
cumfreq0=c(0,variable.cumfreq) – creates a cumulative frequency table for the variable.
cumfreq0 – displays the cumulative frequency table.
For this example the command would be:
rent.cumfreq=cumsum(rent.freq)
cumfreq0=c(0,rent.cumfreq)
cumfreq0
Output:
[350, 665) [665, 980) [980, 1.3 e + 03) [1.3 e + 03, 1.61 e + 03) [1.61 e + 03, 1.92 e + 03) [1.92 e + 03, 2.24 e + 03) [2.24 e + 03, 2.56 e + 03) [2.56 e + 03, 2.87 e + 03)
0 4 12 17 23 23 23 24 24

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 Now type this into a table. See Example 2.2.4.
Table 2.2.4 : Cumulative Distribution for Monthly Rent
Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Frequency Cumulative Frequency

350-664 349.5-664.5 507 4 4

665-979 664.5-979.5 822 8 12

980-1294 979.5-1294.5 1127 5 17

1295-1609 1294.5-1609.5 1452 6 23

1610-1924 1609.5-1924.5 1767 0 23

1925-2239 1924.5-2239.5 2082 0 23

2240-2554 2239.5-2554.5 2397 1 24

Again, it is hard to look at the data the way it is. A graph would be useful. The graph for cumulative frequency is called an ogive (o-jive). To create an ogive, first create a scale on both the
horizontal and vertical axes that will fit the data. Then plot the points of the class upper class boundary versus the cumulative frequency. Make sure you include the point with the lowest class
boundary and the 0 cumulative frequency. Then just connect the dots.

Example 2.2.6 drawing an ogive

Draw an ogive for the data in Example 2.2.1.

Solution
In R, the commands would be:
plot(breaks,cumfreq0, main="title you want to use", xlab="label you want to use", ylab="label you want to use", ylim=c(0, number above maximum cumulative frequency) – plots the ogive
lines(breaks,cumfreq0) – connects the dots on the ogive
For this example, the commands would be:
Plot(breaks,cumfreq0, main=”Cumulative Frequency for Monthly Rent”, xlab=”Monthly Rent ($)”, ylab=”Cumulative Frequency”, ylim=c(0,25))
lines(breaks,cumfreq0)

Figure 2.2.3 : Ogive for Monthly Rent

The usefulness of a ogive is to allow the reader to find out how many students pay less than a certain value, and also what amount of monthly rent is paid by a certain number of students. As an
example, suppose you want to know how many students pay less than $1500 a month in rent, then you can go up from the $1500 until you hit the graph and then you go over to the cumulative
frequency axes to see what value corresponds to this value. It appears that around 20 students pay less than $1500. (See Graph 2.2.4.)

Figure 2.2.4 : Ogive for Monthly Rent with Example

Also, if you want to know the amount that 15 students pay less than, then you start at 15 on the vertical axis and then go over to the graph and down to the horizontal axis where the line
intersects the graph. You can see that 15 students pay less than about $1200 a month. (See Graph 2.2.5.)

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 Figure 2.2.5 : Ogive for Monthly Rent with Example
If you graph the cumulative relative frequency then you can find out what percentage is below a certain number instead of just the number of people below a certain value.
Shapes of the distribution:
When you look at a distribution, look at the basic shape. There are some basic shapes that are seen in histograms. Realize though that some distributions have no shape. The common shapes are
symmetric, skewed, and uniform. Another interest is how many peaks a graph may have. This is known as modal.
Symmetric means that you can fold the graph in half down the middle and the two sides will line up. You can think of the two sides as being mirror images of each other. Skewed means one
“tail” of the graph is longer than the other. The graph is skewed in the direction of the longer tail (backwards from what you would expect). A uniform graph has all the bars the same height.
Modal refers to the number of peaks. Unimodal has one peak and bimodal has two peaks. Usually if a graph has more than two peaks, the modal information is not longer of interest.
Other important features to consider are gaps between bars, a repetitive pattern, how spread out is the data, and where the center of the graph is.

Examples of Graphs:
This graph is roughly symmetric and unimodal:

Figure
This graph is symmetric and bimodal:

Figure
This graph is skewed to the right:

Figure
This graph is skewed to the left and has a gap:

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 Figure
This graph is uniform since all the bars are the same height:

Figure

Example 2.2.7 creating a frequency distribution, histogram, and ogive

The following data represents the percent change in tuition levels at public, fouryear colleges (inflation adjusted) from 2008 to 2013 (Weissmann, 2013). Create a frequency distribution,
histogram, and ogive for the data.
Table 2.2.5 : Data of Tuition Levels at Public, Four-Year Colleges
19.5% 40.8% 57.0% 15.1% 17.4% 5.2% 13.0%

15.6% 51.5% 15.6% 14.5% 22.4% 19.5% 31.3%

21.7% 27.0% 13.1% 26.8% 24.3% 38.0% 21.1%

9.3% 46.7% 14.5% 78.4% 67.3% 21.1% 22.4%

5.3% 17.3% 17.5% 36.6% 72.0% 63.2% 15.1%

2.2% 17.5% 36.7% 2.8% 16.2% 20.5% 17.8%

30.1% 63.6% 17.8% 23.2% 25.3% 21.4% 28.5%

9.4%

Solution
1. Find the range:
largest value - smallest value = 78.4% −2.2% = 76.2%
2. Pick the number of classes:
Since there are 50 data points, then around 6 to 8 classes should be used. Let's use 8.
3. Find the class width:
range 76.2%
width = = ≈ 9.525%
8 8
Since the data has one decimal place, then the class width should round to one decimal place. Make sure you round up.
width = 9.6%
4. Find the class limits:
2.2% + 9.6% = 11.8%, 11.8% + 9.6% = 21.4%, 21.4% + 9.6% = 31.0%, ⇋
5. Find the class boundaries:
Since the data has one decimal place, the class boundaries should have two decimal places, so subtract 0.05 from the lower class limit to get the class boundaries. Add 0.05 to the upper
class limit for the last class’s boundary.
2.2 − 0.05 = 2.15%, 11.8 − 0.05 = 11.75%, 21.4 − 0.05 = 21.35% ⇋
Every value in the data should fall into exactly one of the classes. No data values should fall right on the boundary of two classes.
6. Find the class midpoints:
lower limt + upper limit
midpoint =
2
2.2 + 11.7

2
= 6.95%,
11.8 + 21.3

2
= 16.55%, ⇋
7. Tally and find the frequency of the data:
Table 2.2.6 : Frequency Distribution for Tuition Levels at Public, Four-Year Colleges
Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Tally Frequency Relative Frequency Cumulative Frequency

2.2-11.7 2.15-11.75 6.95 |||| | 6 0.12 6

11.8-21.3 11.75-21.35 16.55 |||| |||| |||| |||| 20 0.40 26

21.4-30.9 21.35-30.95 26.15 |||| |||| | 11 0.22 37

31.0-45.0 30.95-40.55 35.75 |||| 4 0.08 41

40.6-50.1 40.55-50.15 45.35 || 2 0.04 43

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 Class Limits Class Boundaries Class Midpoint Tally Frequency Relative Frequency Cumulative Frequency

50.2-59.7 50.15-59.75 54.95 || 2 0.04 45

59.8-69.3 59.75-69.35 64.55 ||| 3 0.06 48

69.4-78.9 69.35-78.95 74.15 || 2 0.04 50

Make sure the total of the frequencies is the same as the number of data points.

Figure 2.2.11 : Histogram for Tuition Levels at Public, Four-Year Colleges

This graph is skewed right, with no gaps. This says that most percent increases in tuition were around 16.55%, with very few states having a percent increase greater than 45.35%.

Figure 2.2.12 : Ogive for Tuition Levels at Public, Four-Year Colleges

Looking at the ogive, you can see that 30 states had a percent change in tuition levels of about 25% or less.

There are occasions where the class limits in the frequency distribution are predetermined. Example 2.2.8 demonstrates this situation.

Example 2.2.8 creating a frequency distribution and histogram

The following are the percentage grades of 25 students from a statistics course. Make a frequency distribution and histogram.
Table 2.2.7 : Data of Test Grades
62 87 81 69 87 62 45 95 76 76

62 71 65 67 72 80 40 77 87 58

84 73 93 64 89

Solution
Since this data is percent grades, it makes more sense to make the classes in multiples of 10, since grades are usually 90 to 100%, 80 to 90%, and so forth. It is easier to not use the class
boundaries, but instead use the class limits and think of the upper class limit being up to but not including the next classes lower limit. As an example the class 80 – 90 means a grade of
80% up to but not including a 90%. A student with an 89.9% would be in the 80-90 class.
Table 2.2.8 : Frequency Distribution for Test Grades
Class Limit Class Midpoint Tally Freqeuncy

40-50 45 || 2

50-60 55 | 1

60-70 65 |||| || 7

70-80 75 |||| | 6

80-90 85 |||| || 7

90-100 95 || 2

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 Figure 2.2.13 : Histogram for Test Grades
It appears that most of the students had between 60 to 90%. This graph looks somewhat symmetric and also bimodal. The same number of students earned between 60 to 70% and 80 to
90%.

There are other types of graphs for quantitative data. They will be explored in the next section.

Homework
Exercise 2.2.1
1. The median incomes of males in each state of the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are given in Example 2.2.9 ("Median income of," 2013). Create a
frequency distribution, relative frequency distribution, and cumulative frequency distribution using 7 classes.
Table 2.2.9 : Data of Median Income for Males

$42,951 $52,379 $42,544 $37,488 $49,281 $50,987

$60,705 $50,411 $66,760 $40,951 $43,902 $45,494

$41,528 $50,746 $45,183 $43,624 $43,993 $41,612

$46,313 $43,944 $56,708 $60,264 $50,053 $50,580

$40,202 $43,146 $41,635 $42,182 $41,803 $53,033

$60,568 $41,037 $50,388 $41,950 $44,660 $46,176

$41,420 $45,976 $47,956 $22,529 $48,842 $41,464

$40,285 $41,309 $43,160 $47,573 $44,057 $52,805

$53,046 $42,125 $46,214 $51,630

2. The median incomes of females in each state of the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are given in Example 2.2.10 ("Median income of," 2013). Create a
frequency distribution, relative frequency distribution, and cumulative frequency distribution using 7 classes.
Table 2.2.10 : Data of Median Income for Females

$31,862 $40,550 $36,048 $30,752 $41,817 $40,236

$47,476 $40,500 $60,332 $33,823 $35,438 $37,242

$31,238 $39,150 $34,023 $33,745 $33,269 $32,684

$31,844 $34,599 $48,748 $46,185 $36,931 $40,416

$29,548 $33,865 $31,067 $33,424 $35,484 $41,021

$47,155 $32,316 $42,113 $33,459 $32,462 $35,746

$31,274 $36,027 $37,089 $22,117 $41,412 $31,330

$31,329 $33,184 $35,301 $32,843 $38,177 $40,969

$40,993 $29,688 $35,890 $34,381

3. The density of people per square kilometer for African countries is in Example 2.2.11 ("Density of people," 2013). Create a frequency distribution, relative frequency distribution, and
cumulative frequency distribution using 8 classes.
Table 2.2.11 : Data of Density of People per Square Kilometer

15 16 81 3 62 367 42 123

8 9 337 12 29 70 39 83

26 51 79 6 157 105 42 45

72 72 37 4 36 134 12 3

630 563 72 29 3 13 176 341

415 187 65 194 75 16 41 18

69 49 103 65 143 2 18 31

4. The Affordable Care Act created a market place for individuals to purchase health care plans. In 2014, the premiums for a 27 year old for the bronze level health insurance are given in
Example 2.2.12 ("Health insurance marketplace," 2013). Create a frequency distribution, relative frequency distribution, and cumulative frequency distribution using 5 classes.

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 Table 2.2.12 : Data of Health Insurance Premiums

$114 $119 $121 $125 $132 $139

$139 $141 $143 $145 $151 $153

$156 $159 $162 $163 $165 $166

$170 $170 $176 $177 $181 $185

$185 $186 $186 $189 $190 $192

$196 $203 $204 $219 $254 $286

5. Create a histogram and relative frequency histogram for the data in Example 2.2.9. Describe the shape and any findings you can from the graph.

6. Create a histogram and relative frequency histogram for the data in Example 2.2.10. Describe the shape and any findings you can from the graph.

7. Create a histogram and relative frequency histogram for the data in Example 2.2.11. Describe the shape and any findings you can from the graph.

8. Create a histogram and relative frequency histogram for the data in Example 2.2.12. Describe the shape and any findings you can from the graph.

9. Create an ogive for the data in Example 2.2.9. Describe any findings you can from the graph.

10. Create an ogive for the data in Example 2.2.10. Describe any findings you can from the graph.

11. Create an ogive for the data in Example 2.2.11. Describe any findings you can from the graph.

12. Create an ogive for the data in Example 2.2.12. Describe any findings you can from the graph.

13. Students in a statistics class took their first test. The following are the scores they earned. Create a frequency distribution and histogram for the data using class limits that make sense for
grade data. Describe the shape of the distribution.

Table 2.2.13 : Data of Test 1 Grades

80 79 89 74 73 67 79

93 70 70 76 88 83 73

81 79 80 85 79 80 79

58 93 94 74

14. Students in a statistics class took their first test. The following are the scores they earned. Create a frequency distribution and histogram for the data using class limits that make sense for
grade data. Describe the shape of the distribution. Compare to the graph in question 13.

Table 2.2.14 : Data of Test 1 Grades

67 67 76 47 85 70

87 76 80 72 84 98

84 64 65 82 81 81

88 74 87 83

Answer
See solutions

This page titled 2.2: Quantitative Data is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the
LibreTexts platform.

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2.3: Other Graphical Representations of Data
There are many other types of graphs. Some of the more common ones are the frequency polygon, the dot plot, the stem plot,
scatter plot, and a time-series plot. There are also many different graphs that have emerged lately for qualitative data. Many are
found in publications and websites. The following is a description of the stem plot, the scatter plot, and the time-series plot.

Stem Plots
Stem plots are a quick and easy way to look at small samples of numerical data. You can look for any patterns or any strange data
values. It is easy to compare two samples using stem plots.
The first step is to divide each number into 2 parts, the stem (such as the leftmost digit) and the leaf (such as the rightmost digit).
There are no set rules, you just have to look at the data and see what makes sense.

Example 2.3.1 stem plot for grade distribution

The following are the percentage grades of 25 students from a statistics course. Draw a stem plot of the data.
Table 2.3.1 : Data of Test Grades

62 87 81 69 87 62 45 95 76 76

62 71 65 67 72 80 40 77 87 58

84 73 93 64 89

Solution
Divide each number so that the tens digit is the stem and the ones digit is the leaf. 62 becomes 6|2.
Make a vertical chart with the stems on the left of a vertical bar. Be sure to fill in any missing stems. In other words, the stems
should have equal spacing (for example, count by ones or count by tens). The Graph 2.3.1 shows the stems for this example.

Figure 2.3.1 : Stem Plot for Test Grades Step 1

Now go through the list of data and add the leaves. Put each leaf next to its corresponding stem. Don’t worry about order yet
just get all the leaves down.
When the data value 62 is placed on the plot it looks like the plot in Graph 2.3.2.

Figure 2.3.2 : Stem Plot for Test Grades Step 2

When the data value 87 is placed on the plot it looks like the plot in Graph 2.3.3.

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 Figure 2.3.3 : Stem Plot for Test Grades Step 3
Filling in the rest of the leaves to obtain the plot in Graph 2.3.4.

Figure 2.3.4 : Stem Plot for Test Grades Step 4

Now you have to add labels and make the graph look pretty. You need to add a label and sort the leaves into increasing order.
You also need to tell people what the stems and leaves mean by inserting a legend. Be careful to line the leaves up in
columns. You need to be able to compare the lengths of the rows when you interpret the graph. The final stem plot for the test
grade data is in Graph 2.3.5.

Figure 2.3.5 : Stem Plot for Test Grades

Now you can interpret the stem-and-leaf display. The data is bimodal and somewhat symmetric. There are no gaps in the data.
The center of the distribution is around 70.

You can create a stem and leaf plot on R. the command is:
stem(variable) – creates a stem and leaf plot, if you do not get a stem plot that shows all of the stems then use scale = a number.
Adjust the number until you see all of the stems. So you would have stem(variable, scale = a number)
For Example 2.3.1, the command would be
grades<-c(62, 87, 81, 69, 87, 62, 45, 95, 76, 76, 62, 71, 65, 67, 72, 80, 40, 77, 87, 58, 84, 73, 93, 64, 89)
stem(grades, scale = 2)
Output:
The decimal point is 1 digit(s) to the right of the |

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Now just put a title on the stem plot.

Scatter Plot
Sometimes you have two different variables and you want to see if they are related in any way. A scatter plot helps you to see what
the relationship would look like. A scatter plot is just a plotting of the ordered pairs.

Example 2.3.2 scatter plot

Is there any relationship between elevation and high temperature on a given day? The following data are the high temperatures
at various cities on a single day and the elevation of the city.
Table 2.3.2 : Data of Temperature versus Elevation
Elevation
7000 4000 6000 3000 7000 4500 5000
(in feet)
Temperature
50 60 48 70 55 55 60
(°F)

Solution
Preliminary: State the random variables
Let x = altitude
y = high temperature
Now plot the x values on the horizontal axis, and the y values on the vertical axis. Then set up a scale that fits the data on each
axes. Once that is done, then just plot the x and y values as an ordered pair. In R, the command is:
independent variable<-c(type in data with commas in between values)
dependent variable<-c(type in data with commas in between values)
plot(independent variable, dependent variable, main="type in a title you want", xlab="type in a label for the horizontal axis",
ylab="type in a label for the vertical axis", ylim=c(0, number above maximum y value)
For this example, that would be:
elevation<-c(7000, 4000, 6000, 3000, 7000, 4500, 5000)
temperature<-c(50, 60, 48, 70, 55, 55, 60)
plot(elevation, temperature, main="Temperature versus Elevation", xlab="Elevation (in feet)", ylab="Temperature (in degrees
F)", ylim=c(0, 80))

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 Figure 2.3.6 : Scatter Plot of Temperature versus Elevation
Looking at the graph, it appears that there is a linear relationship between temperature and elevation. It also appears to be a
negative relationship, thus as elevation increases, the temperature decreases.

Time-Series
A time-series plot is a graph showing the data measurements in chronological order, the data being quantitative data. For example,
a time-series plot is used to show profits over the last 5 years. To create a time-series plot, the time always goes on the horizontal
axis, and the other variable goes on the vertical axis. Then plot the ordered pairs and connect the dots. The purpose of a time-series
graph is to look for trends over time. Caution, you must realize that the trend may not continue. Just because you see an increase,
doesn’t mean the increase will continue forever. As an example, prior to 2007, many people noticed that housing prices were
increasing. The belief at the time was that housing prices would continue to increase. However, the housing bubble burst in 2007,
and many houses lost value, and haven’t recovered.

Example 2.3.3 Time-series plot

The following table tracks the weight of a dieter, where the time in months is measuring how long since the person started the
diet
Table 2.3.3 : Data of Weights versus Time
Time (months) 0 1 2 3 4 5

Weight (pounds) 200 195 192 193 190 187

Make a time-series plot of this data

Solution
In R, the command would be:
variable1<-c(type in data with commas in between values, this should be the time variable)
variable2<-c(type in data with commas in between values)
plot(variable1, variable2, ylim=c(0,number over max), main="type in a title you want", xlab="type in a label for the horizontal
axis", ylab="type in a label for the vertical axis")
lines(variable1, variable2) – connects the dots
For this example:
time<-c(0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

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 weight<-c(200, 195, 192, 193, 190, 187)
plot(time, weight, ylim=c(0,250), main="Weight over Time", xlab="Time (Months) ", ylab="Weight (pounds)")
ines(time, weight)

Figure of Weight versus Time

Notice, that over the 5 months, the weight appears to be decreasing. Though it doesn’t look like there is a large decrease.

Be careful when making a graph. If you don’t start the vertical axis at 0, then the change can look much more dramatic than it
really is. As an example, Graph 2.3.8 shows the Graph 2.3.7 with a different scaling on the vertical axis. Notice the decrease in
weight looks much larger than it really is.

Figure

Homework
Exercise 2.3.1

1. Students in a statistics class took their first test. The data in Example 2.3.4 are the scores they earned. Create a stem plot.
Table 2.3.4 : Data of Test 1 Grades

80 79 89 74 73 67 79

93 70 70 76 88 83 73

81 79 80 85 79 80 79

58 93 94 74

2. Students in a statistics class took their first test. The data in Example 2.3.5 are the scores they earned. Create a stem plot.
Compare to the graph in question 1.
Table 2.3.5 : Data of Test 1 Grades

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 67 67 76 47 85 70

87 76 80 72 84 98

84 64 65 82 81 81

88 74 87 83

3. When an anthropologist finds skeletal remains, they need to figure out the height of the person. The height of a person (in cm)
and the length of one of their metacarpal bone (in cm) were collected and are in Example 2.3.6 ("Prediction of height," 2013).
Create a scatter plot and state if there is a relationship between the height of a person and the length of their metacarpal.
Table 2.3.6 : Data of Metacarpal versus Height
Length of Metacarpal Height of Person

45 171

51 178

39 157

41 163

48 172

49 183

46 173

43 175

47 173

4. Example 2.3.7 contains the value of the house and the amount of rental income in a year that the house brings in ("Capital and
rental," 2013). Create a scatter plot and state if there is a relationship between the value of the house and the annual rental
income.
Table 2.3.7 : Data of House Value versus Rental

Value Rental Value Rental Value Rental Value Rental

81000 6656 77000 4576 75000 7280 67500 6864

95000 7904 94000 8736 90000 6240 85000 7072

121000 12064 115000 7904 110000 7072 104000 7904

135000 8320 130000 9776 126000 6240 125000 7904

145000 8320 140000 9568 140000 9152 135000 7488

165000 13312 165000 8528 155000 7488 148000 8320

178000 11856 174000 10400 170000 9568 170000 12688

200000 12272 200000 10608 194000 11232 190000 8320

214000 8528 280000 10400 200000 10400 200000 8320

240000 10192 240000 12064 240000 11648 225000 12480

289000 11648 270000 12896 262000 10192 244500 11232

325000 12480 310000 12480 303000 12272 300000 12480

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5. The World Bank collects information on the life expectancy of a person in each country ("Life expectancy at," 2013) and the
fertility rate per woman in the country ("Fertility rate," 2013). The data for 24 randomly selected countries for the year 2011 are
in Example 2.3.8. Create a scatter plot of the data and state if there appears to be a relationship between life expectancy and the
number of births per woman.
Table 2.3.8 : Data of Life Expectancy versus Fertility Rate
Life Expectancy Fertility Rate Life Expectancy Fertility rate

77.2 1.7 72.3 3.9

55.4 5.8 76.0 1.5

69.9 2.2 66.0 4.2

76.4 2.1 5.9 5.2

75.0 1.8 54.4 6.8

78.2 2.0 62.9 4.7

73.0 2.6 78.3 2.1

70.8 2.8 72.1 2.9

82.6 1.4 80.7 1.4

68.9 2.6 74.2 2.5

81.0 1.5 73.3 1.5

54.2 6.9 67.1 2.4

6. The World Bank collected data on the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) that a country spends on health expenditures
("Health expenditure," 2013) and the percentage of woman receiving prenatal care ("Pregnant woman receiving," 2013). The
data for the countries where this information is available for the year 2011 is in Example 2.3.9. Create a scatter plot of the data
and state if there appears to be a relationship between percentage spent on health expenditure and the percentage of woman
receiving prenatal care.
Table 2.3.9 : Data of Prenatal Care versus Health Expenditure
Prenatal Care (%) Health Expenditure (% of GDP)

47.9 9.6

54.6 3.7

93.7 5.2

84.7 5.2

100.0 10.0

42.5 4.7

96.4 4.8

77.1 6.0

58.3 5.4

95.4 4.8

78.0 4.1

93.3 6.0

93.3 9.5

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 Prenatal Care (%) Health Expenditure (% of GDP)

93.7 6.8

89.8 6.1

7. The Australian Institute of Criminology gathered data on the number of deaths (per 100,000 people) due to firearms during the
period 1983 to 1997 ("Deaths from firearms," 2013). The data is in Example 2.3.10. Create a time-series plot of the data and
state any findings you can from the graph.
Table 2.3.10 : Data of Year versus Number of Deaths due to Firearms

Year 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

Rate 4.31 4.42 4.52 4.35 4.39 4.21 3.40 3.61
Year 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Rate 3.67 3.61 2.98 2.95 2.72 2.95 2.3

8. The economic crisis of 2008 affected many countries, though some more than others. Some people in Australia have claimed
that Australia wasn’t hurt that badly from the crisis. The bank assets (in billions of Australia dollars (AUD)) of the Reserve
Bank of Australia (RBA) for the time period of March 2007 through March 2013 are contained in Example 2.3.11 ("B1 assets
of," 2013). Create a time-series plot and interpret any findings.
Table 2.3.11 : Data of Date versus RBA Assets
Date Assets in Billions of AUD

Mar-2006 96.9

Jun-2006 107.4

Sep-2006 107.2

Dec-2006 116.2

Mar-2007 123.7

Jun-2007 134.0

Sep-2007 123.0

Dec-2007 93.2

Mar-2008 93.7

Jun-2008 105.6

Sep-2008 101.5

Dec-2008 158.8

Mar-2009 118.7

Jun-2009 111.9

Sep-2009 87.0

Dec-2009 86.1

Mar-2010 83.4

Jun-2010 85.7

Sep-2010 74.8

Dec-2010 76.0

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 Date Assets in Billions of AUD

Mar-2011 75.7

Jun-2011 75.9

Sep-2011 75.2

Dec-2011 87.9

Mar-2012 91.0

Jun-2012 90.1

Sep-2012 83.9

Dec-2012 95.8

Mar-2013 90.5

9. The consumer price index (CPI) is a measure used by the U.S. government to describe the cost of living. Example 2.3.12 gives
the cost of living for the U.S. from the years 1947 through 2011, with the year 1977 being used as the year that all others are
compared (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor & Smith, 2012). Create a time-series plot and interpret.
Table 2.3.12 : Data of Time versus CPI
CPI-U-RS1 index (December CPI-U-RS1 index (December
Year Year
1977=100) 1977=100)

1947 37.5 1980 127.1

1948 40.5 1981 139.2

1949 40.0 1982 147.6

1950 40.5 1983 153.9

1951 43.7 1984 160.2

1952 44.5 1985 165.7

1953 44.8 1986 168.7

1954 45.2 1987 174.4

1955 45.0 1988 180.8

1956 45.7 1989 188.6

1957 47.2 1990 198.0

1958 48.5 1991 205.1

1959 48.9 1992 210.3

1960 49.7 1993 215.5

1961 50.2 1994 220.1

1962 50.7 1995 225.4

1963 51.4 1996 231.4

1964 52.1 1997 236.4

1965 52.9 1998 239.7

1966 54.4 1999 244.7

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 CPI-U-RS1 index (December CPI-U-RS1 index (December
Year Year
1977=100) 1977=100)

1967 56.1 2000 252.9

1968 58.3 2001 260.0

1969 60.9 2002 264.2

1970 63.9 2003 270.1

1971 66.7 2004 277.4

1972 68.7 2005 286.7

1973 73.0 2006 296.1

1974 80.3 2007 304.5

1975 86.9 2008 316.2

1976 91.9 2009 315.0

1977 97.7 2010 320.2

1978 104.4 2011 330.3

1979 114.4

10. The median incomes for all households in the U.S. for the years 1967 to 2011 are given in Example 2.3.13 (DeNavas-Walt,
Proctor & Smith, 2012). Create a time-series plot and interpret.
Table 2.3.13 : Data of Time versus Median Income
Year Median Income Year Median Income

1967 42,056 1990 49,950

1968 43,868 1991 48,516

1969 45,499 1992 48,117

1970 45,146 1993 47,884

1971 44,707 1994 48,418

1972 46,622 1995 49,935

1973 47,563 1996 50,661

1974 46,057 1997 51,704

1975 44,851 1998 53,582

1976 45,595 1999 54,932

1977 45,884 2000 54,841

1978 47,659 2001 53,646

1979 47,527 2002 53,019

1980 46,024 2003 52,973

1981 45,260 2004 52,788

1982 45,139 2005 53,371

1983 44,823 2006 53,768

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 Year Median Income Year Median Income

1984 46,215 2007 54,489

1985 47,079 2008 52,546

1986 48,746 2009 52,195

1987 49,358 2010 50,831

1988 49,737 2011 50,054

1989 50,624

11. State everything that makes Graph 2.3.9 a misleading or poor graph.

Graph 2.3.9: Example of a Poor Graph

12. State everything that makes Graph 2.3.10 a misleading or poor graph (Benen, 2011).

Graph 2.3.10: Example of a Poor Graph

13. State everything that makes Graph 2.3.11 a misleading or poor graph ("United States unemployment," 2013).

Graph 2.3.11: Example of a Poor Graph

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14. State everything that makes Graph 2.3.12 a misleading or poor graph.

Graph 2.3.12: Example of a Poor Graph

Answer
See solutions

Data Sources:
B1 assets of financial institutions. (2013, June 27). Retrieved from www.rba.gov.au/statistics/tables/xls/b01hist.xls
Benen, S. (2011, September 02). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/pol...edit031960.php
Capital and rental values of Auckland properties. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from
http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/rentcap.html
Contraceptive use. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...gs.aspx?ind=35
Deaths from firearms. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/firearms.html
DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B., & Smith, J. U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. (2012). Income, poverty, and
health insurance coverage in the United States: 2011 (P60-243). Retrieved from website: www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-
243.pdf
Density of people in Africa. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...249,250,251,25
2,253,254,34227,255,257,258,259,260,261,262,263,264,265,266,267,268,269,270,271,27
2,274,275,276,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292,294,
295,296,297,298,299,300,301,302,304,305,306,307,308
Department of Health and Human Services, ASPE. (2013). Health insurance marketplace premiums for 2014. Retrieved from
website: aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2...b_premiumsland scape.pdf
Electricity usage. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...s.aspx?ind=162
Fertility rate. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN
Fuel oil usage. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...s.aspx?ind=164
Gas usage. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...s.aspx?ind=165
Health expenditure. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS Hinatov, M. U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Directorate of Epidemiology. (2012). Incidents, deaths, and in-depth investigations
associated with non-fire carbon monoxide from engine-driven generators and other engine-driven tools, 1999-2011. Retrieved
from website: www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/129857/cogenerators.pdf
Life expectancy at birth. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN
Median income of males. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...s.aspx?ind=137
Median income of males. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...s.aspx?ind=136

2.3.12 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5166
Prediction of height from metacarpal bone length. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from
http://www.statsci.org/data/general/stature.html
Pregnant woman receiving prenatal care. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.ANVC.ZS
United States unemployment. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/unit...mployment-rate
Weissmann, J. (2013, March 20). A truly devastating graph on state higher education spending. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/...ending/274199/

This page titled 2.3: Other Graphical Representations of Data is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated
by Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

3: Examining the Evidence Using Graphs and Statistics

Chapter 1 discussed what a population, sample, parameter, and statistic are, and how to take different types of samples. Chapter 2
discussed ways to graphically display data. There was also a discussion of important characteristics: center, variations, distribution,
outliers, and changing characteristics of the data over time. Distributions and outliers can be answered using graphical means.
Finding the center and variation can be done using numerical methods that will be discussed in this chapter. Both graphical and
numerical methods are part of a branch of statistics known as descriptive statistics. Later descriptive statistics will be used to
make decisions and/or estimate population parameters using methods that are part of the branch called inferential statistics.
3.1: Measures of Center
3.2: Measures of Spread
3.3: Ranking

This page titled 3: Examining the Evidence Using Graphs and Statistics is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed,
and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
3.1: Measures of Center
This section focuses on measures of central tendency. Many times you are asking what to expect on average. Such as when you
pick a major, you would probably ask how much you expect to earn in that field. If you are thinking of relocating to a new town,
you might ask how much you can expect to pay for housing. If you are planting vegetables in the spring, you might want to know
how long it will be until you can harvest. These questions, and many more, can be answered by knowing the center of the data set.
There are three measures of the “center” of the data. They are the mode, median, and mean. Any of the values can be referred to as
the “average.”
The mode is the data value that occurs the most frequently in the data. To find it, you count how often each data value occurs,
and then determine which data value occurs most often.
The median is the data value in the middle of a sorted list of data. To find it, you put the data in order, and then determine
which data value is in the middle of the data set.
The mean is the arithmetic average of the numbers. This is the center that most people call the average, though all three –
mean, median, and mode – really are averages.
There are no symbols for the mode and the median, but the mean is used a great deal, and statisticians gave it a symbol. There are
actually two symbols, one for the population parameter and one for the sample statistic. In most cases you cannot find the
population parameter, so you use the sample statistic to estimate the population parameter.

Definition 3.1.1: Population Mean

The population mean is given by

μ ∑ x , pronounced mu
=
N
where
N is the size of the population.
x represents a data value.
∑ x means to add up all of the data values.
Definition 3.1.2: Sample Mean

Sample Mean:

x̄ ∑ x , pronounced x bar, where

n
¯
¯
=

n is the size of the sample.

x represents a data value.
∑ x means to add up all of the data values.
The value for x̄ is used to estimate μ since μ can't be calculated in most situations.
¯
¯

Example 3.1.1 finding the mean, median, and mode

Suppose a vet wants to find the average weight of cats. The weights (in pounds) of five cats are in Example 3.1.1.
Table 3.1.1 : Finding the Mean, Median, and Mode
6.8 8.2 7.5 9.4 8.2

Find the mean, median, and mode of the weight of a cat.

Solution
Before starting any mathematics problem, it is always a good idea to define the unknown in the problem. In this case, you want
to define the variable. The symbol for the variable is . x

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 The variable is x = weight of a cat
Mean:

x̄¯¯ =
6.8 +8.2 +7.5 +9.4 +8.2 = 40.1 = 8.02 pounds
5 5
Median:
You need to sort the list for both the median and mode. The sorted list is in Example 3.1.2.
Table 3.1.2 : Sorted List of Cat's Weights
6.8 7.5 8.2 8.2 9.4

There are 5 data points so the middle of the list would be the 3rd number. (Just put a finger at each end of the list and
move them toward the center one number at a time. Where your fingers meet is the median.)
Table 3.1.3 : Sorted List of Cats' Weights with Median Marked
6.8 7.5 8.2 8.2 9.4

The median is therefore 8.2 pounds.

Mode:
This is easiest to do from the sorted list that is in Example 3.1.2
. Which value appears the most number of times? The
number 8.2 appears twice, while all other numbers appear once.
Mode = 8.2 pounds.

A data set can have more than one mode. If there is a tie between two values for the most number of times then both values are the
mode and the data is called bimodal (two modes). If every data point occurs the same number of times, there is no mode. If there
are more than two numbers that appear the most times, then usually there is no mode.
In Example 3.1.1, there were an odd number of data points. In that case, the median was just the middle number. What happens if
there is an even number of data points? What would you do?

Example 3.1.2 finding the median with an even number of data points
Suppose a vet wants to find the median weight of cats. The weights (in pounds) of six cats are in Example 3.1.4. Find the
median.
Table 3.1.4 : Weights of Six Cats
6.8 8.2 7.5 9.4 8.2 6.3

Solution
Variable: x = weight of a cat
First sort the list if it is not already sorted.
There are 6 numbers in the list so the number in the middle is between the 3rd and 4th number. Use your fingers starting at
each end of the list in Example 3.1.5
and move toward the center until they meet. There are two numbers there.
Table 3.1.5 : Sorted List of Weights of Six Cats
6.3 6.8 7.5 8.2 8.2 9.4

To find the median, just average the two numbers.

median = 7.5 +8.2

2 = 7.85 pounds
The median is 7.85 pounds.

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Example 3.1.3 finding mean and median using technology

Suppose a vet wants to find the median weight of cats. The weights (in pounds) of six cats are in Example 3.1.4 . Find the
median
Solution
Variable: x = weight of a cat
You can do the calculations for the mean and median using the technology.
The procedure for calculating the sample mean ( x̄
¯¯ ) and the sample median (Med) on the TI-83/84 is in Figures 3.1.1 through
3.1.4. First you need to go into the STAT menu, and then Edit. This will allow you to type in your data (see Figure 3.1.1).

Figure 3.1.1 : TI-83/84 Calculator Edit Setup

Once you have the data into the calculator, you then go back to the STAT menu, move over to CALC, and then choose 1-Var
Stats (see Figure 3.1.2). The calculator will now put 1-Var Stats on the main screen. Now type in L1 (2nd button and 1) and
then press ENTER. (Note if you have the newer operating system on the TI-84, then the procedure is slightly different.) If you
press the down arrow, you will see the rest of the output from the calculator. The results from the calculator are in Figure 3.1.3.

Figure 3.1.2 : TI-83/84 Calculator CALC Menu

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 Figure 3.1.3 : TI-83/84 Calculator Input for Example 3.1.3 Variable

Figure 3.1.4 : TI-83/84 Calculator Results for Example 3.1.3 Variable

The commands for finding the mean and median using R are as follows:
variable<-c(type in your data with commas in between)
To find the mean, use mean(variable)
To find the median, use median(variable)
So for this example, the commands would be
weights<-c(6.8, 8.2, 7.5, 9.4, 8.2, 6.3)
mean(weights)
[1] 7.733333
median(weights)
[1] 7.85

Example 3.1.4 affect of extreme values on mean and median

Suppose you have the same set of cats from Example 3.1.1 but one additional cat was added to the data set. Example 3.1.6
contains the six cats’ weights, in pounds.
Table 3.1.6 : Weights of Six Cats
6.8 7.5 8.2 8.2 9.4 22.1

Find the mean and the median.

Solution
Variable: x = weight of a cat
mean = x̄¯¯ = 6.8 +7.5 +8.2 +8.2
6
+9.4 +22.1 = 10.37 pounds

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 The data is already in order, thus the median is between 8.2 and 8.2.

median = 8.2 +8.2

2 = 8.2 pounds
The mean is much higher than the median. Why is this? Notice that when the value of 22.1 was added, the mean went from
8.02 to 10.37, but the median did not change at all. This is because the mean is affected by extreme values, while the median is
not. The very heavy cat brought the mean weight up. In this case, the median is a much better measure of the center.

An outlier is a data value that is very different from the rest of the data. It can be really high or really low. Extreme values may be
an outlier if the extreme value is far enough from the center. In Example 3.1.4
, the data value 22.1 pounds is an extreme value and
it may be an outlier.
If there are extreme values in the data, the median is a better measure of the center than the mean. If there are no extreme values,
the mean and the median will be similar so most people use the mean.
The mean is not a resistant measure because it is affected by extreme values. The median and the mode are resistant measures
because they are not affected by extreme values.
As a consumer you need to be aware that people choose the measure of center that best supports their claim. When you read an
article in the newspaper and it talks about the “average” it usually means the mean but sometimes it refers to the median. Some
articles will use the word “median” instead of “average” to be more specific. If you need to make an important decision and the
information says “average”, it would be wise to ask if the “average” is the mean or the median before you decide.
As an example, suppose that a company wants to use the mean salary as the average salary for the company. This is because the
high salaries of the administration will pull the mean higher. The company can say that the employees are paid well because the
average is high. However, the employees want to use the median since it discounts the extreme values of the administration and
will give a lower value of the average. This will make the salaries seem lower and that a raise is in order.
Why use the mean instead of the median? The reason is because when multiple samples are taken from the same population, the
sample means tend to be more consistent than other measures of the center. The sample mean is the more reliable measure of
center.
To understand how the different measures of center related to skewed or symmetric distributions, see Figure 3.1.5
. As you can see
sometimes the mean is smaller than the median and mode, sometimes the mean is larger than the median and mode, and sometimes
they are the same values.

Figure 3.1.5 : Mean, Median, Mode as Related to a Distribution

One last type of average is a weighted average. Weighted averages are used quite often in real life. Some teachers use them in
calculating your grade in the course, or your grade on a project. Some employers use them in employee evaluations. The idea is
that some activities are more important than others. As an example, a fulltime teacher at a community college may be evaluated on
their service to the college, their service to the community, whether their paperwork is turned in on time, and their teaching.
However, teaching is much more important than whether their paperwork is turned in on time. When the evaluation is completed,
more weight needs to be given to the teaching and less to the paperwork. This is a weighted average.

Definition 3.1.3
Weighted Average

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 ∑ xw where w is the weight of the data value, x.
∑w
Example 3.1.5 weighted average

In your biology class, your final grade is based on several things: a lab score, scores on two major tests, and your score on the
final exam. There are 100 points available for each score. The lab score is worth 15% of the course, the two exams are worth
25% of the course each, and the final exam is worth 35% of the course. Suppose you earned scores of 95 on the labs, 83 and 76
on the two exams, and 84 on the final exam. Compute your weighted average for the course.
Solution
Variable: x = score
∑ xw
∑w
sum of the scores times their weights
The weighted average is =
sum of all the weights

95(0.15) + 83(0.25) + 76(0.25) + 84(0.35) 83.4

weighted average = = = 83.4%
0.15 + 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.35 1.00

A weighted average can be found using technology.

The procedure for calculating the weighted average on the TI-83/84 is in Figures 3.1.6 through 3.1.9. First you need to go into
the STAT menu, and then Edit. This will allow you to type in the scores into L1 and the weights into L2 (see Figure 3.1.6).

Figure 3.1.6 : TI-3/84 Calculator Edit Setup

Once you have the data into the calculator, you then go back to the STAT menu, move over to CALC, and then choose 1-Var
Stats (see Figure 3.1.7). The calculator will now put 1-Var Stats on the main screen. Now type in L1 (2nd button and 1), then a
comma (button above the 7 button), and then L2 (2nd button and 2) and then press ENTER. (Note if you have the newer
operating system on the TI-84, then the procedure is slightly different.) The results from the calculator are in Figure 3.1.9. The
x̄ is the weighted average.
¯
¯

Figure 3.1.7 : TI-83/84 Calculator CALC Menu

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 Figure 3.1.8 : TI-83/84 Calculator Input for Weighted Average

Figure 3.1.9 : TI-83/84 Calculator Results for Weighted Average

The commands for finding the mean and median using R are as follows:
x<-c(type in your data with commas in between)
w<-c(type in your weights with commas in between
weighted.mean(x,w)
So for this example, the commands would be
x<-c(95, 83, 76, 84)
w<-c(.15, .25, .25, .35)
weighted.mean(x,w)
[1] 83.4

Example 3.1.6 weighted average

The faculty evaluation process at John Jingle University rates a faculty member on the following activities: teaching,
publishing, committee service, community service, and submitting paperwork in a timely manner. The process involves
reviewing student evaluations, peer evaluations, and supervisor evaluation for each teacher and awarding him/her a score on a
scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best). The weights for each activity are 20 for teaching, 18 for publishing, 6 for
committee service, 4 for community service, and 2 for paperwork.
a. One faculty member had the following ratings: 8 for teaching, 9 for publishing, 2 for committee work, 1 for community
service, and 8 for paperwork. Compute the weighted average of the evaluation.
b. Another faculty member had ratings of 6 for teaching, 8 for publishing, 9 for committee work, 10 for community service,
and 10 for paperwork. Compute the weighted average of the evaluation.
c. Which faculty member had the higher average evaluation?

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 Solution
a. Variable: x = rating
∑ xw
∑w
sum of the scores times their weights
The weighted average is =
sum of all the weights

8(20) + 9(18) + 2(6) + 1(4) + 8(2) 354

evaluation = = = 7.08
20 + 18 + 6 + 4 + 2 50

6(20) + 8(18) + 9(6) + 10(4) + 10(2) 378

b. evaluation = = = 7.56
20 + 18 + 6 + 4 + 2 50

c. The second faculty member has a higher average evaluation.

You can find a weighted average using technology. The last thing to mention is which average is used on which type of data.
Mode can be found on nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio data, since the mode is just the data value that occurs most often. You
are just counting the data values. Median can be found on ordinal, interval, and ratio data, since you need to put the data in order.
As long as there is order to the data you can find the median. Mean can be found on interval and ratio data, since you must have
numbers to add together.

Homework
Exercise 3.1.1

1. Cholesterol levels were collected from patients two days after they had a heart attack (Ryan, Joiner & Ryan, Jr, 1985) and
are in Example 3.1.7. Find the mean, median, and mode.
Table 3.1.7 : Cholesterol Levels

270 236 210 142 280 272 160

220 226 242 186 266 206 318

294 282 234 224 276 282 360

310 280 278 288 288 244 236

2. The lengths (in kilometers) of rivers on the South Island of New Zealand that flow to the Pacific Ocean are listed in
Example 3.1.8 (Lee, 1994). Find the mean, median, and mode.
Table 3.1.8 : Lengths of Rivers (km) Flowing to Pacific Ocean
River Length (km) River Length (km)

Clarence 209 Clutha 322

Conway 48 Taieri 288

Waiau 169 Shag 72

Hurunui 138 Kakanui 64

Waipara 64 Rangitata 121

Ashley 97 Ophi 80

Waimakariri 161 Pareora 56

Selwyn 95 Waihao 64

Rakaia 145 Waitaki 209

Ashburton 90

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3. The lengths (in kilometers) of rivers on the South Island of New Zealand that flow to the Tasman Sea are listed in Example
3.1.9 (Lee, 1994). Find the mean, median, and mode.

Table 3.1.9 : Lengths of Rivers (km) Flowing to Tasman Sea

River Length (km) River Length (km)

Hollyford 76 Waimea 48

Cascade 64 Motueka 108

Arawhata 68 Takaka 72

Haast 64 Aorere 72

Karangarua 37 Heaphy 35

Cook 32 Karamea 80

Waiho 32 Mokihinui 56

Whataroa 51 Buller 177

Wanganui 56 Grey 121

Waitaha 40 Taramakau 80

Hokitika 64 Arahura 56

4. Eyeglassmatic manufactures eyeglasses for their retailers. They research to see how many defective lenses they made
during the time period of January 1 to March 31. Example 3.1.10 contains the defect and the number of defects. Find the
mean, median, and mode.
Table 3.1.10 : Number of Defective Lenses
Defect Type Number of Defects

Scratch 5865

Right shaped - small 4613

Flaked 1992

Wrong axis 1838

Chamfer wrong 1596

Crazing, cracks 1546

Wrong shape 1485

Wrong PD 1398

Spots and bubbles 1371

Wrong height 1130

Right shape - big 1105

Lost in lab 976

Spots/bubble - intern 976

5. Print-O-Matic printing company’s employees have salaries that are contained in Example 3.1.11.
Employee Salary ($)

CEO 272,500

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 Employee Salary ($)

Driver 58,456

CD74 100,702

CD65 57,380

Embellisher 73,877

Folder 65,270

GTO 74,235

Handwork 52,718

Horizon 76,029

ITEK 64,553

Mgmt 108,448

Platens 69,573

Polar 75,526

Pre Press Manager 108,448

Pre Press Manager/ IT 98,837

Pre Press/ Graphic Artist 75,311

Designer 90,090

Sales 109,739

Administration 66,346

Table 3.1.11: Salaries of Print-O-Matic Printing Company Employees

a. Find the mean and median.
b. Find the mean and median with the CEO's salary removed.
c. What happened to the mean and median when the CEO’s salary was removed? Why?
d. If you were the CEO, who is answering concerns from the union that employees are underpaid, which average of the
complete data set would you prefer? Why?
e. If you were a platen worker, who believes that the employees need a raise, which average would you prefer? Why?
6. Print-O-Matic printing company spends specific amounts on fixed costs every month. The costs of those fixed costs are in
Example 3.1.12.
Monthly charges Monthly cost ($)

Bank charges 482

Cleaning 2208

Computer expensive 2471

Lease payments 2656

Postage 2117

Uniforms 2600

Table 3.1.12: Fixed Costs for Print-O-Matic Printing Company

a. Find the mean and median.
b. Find the mean and median with the bank charger removed.

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 c. What happened to the mean and median when the bank charger was removed? Why?
d. If it is your job to oversee the fixed costs, which average using te complete data set would you prefer to use when
submitting a report to administration to show that costs are low? Why?
e. If it is your job to find places in the budget to reduce costs, which average using the complete data set would you prefer
to use when submitting a report to administration to show that fixed costs need to be reduced? Why?
7. State which type of measurement scale each represents, and then which center measures can be use for the variable?
a. You collect data on people’s likelihood (very likely, likely, neutral, unlikely, very unlikely) to vote for a candidate.
b. You collect data on the diameter at breast height of trees in the Coconino National Forest.
c. You collect data on the year wineries were started.
d. You collect the drink types that people in Sydney, Australia drink.
8. State which type of measurement scale each represents, and then which center measures can be use for the variable?
a. You collect data on the height of plants using a new fertilizer.
b. You collect data on the cars that people drive in Campbelltown, Australia.
c. You collect data on the temperature at different locations in Antarctica.
d. You collect data on the first, second, and third winner in a beer competition.
9. Looking at Graph 3.1.1, state if the graph is skewed left, skewed right, or symmetric and then state which is larger, the
mean or the median?

Graph 3.1.1: Skewed or Symmetric Graph

10. Looking at Graph 3.1.2, state if the graph is skewed left, skewed right, or symmetric and then state which is larger, the
mean or the median?

Graph 3.1.2: Skewed or Symmetric Graph

11. An employee at Coconino Community College (CCC) is evaluated based on goal setting and accomplishments toward the
goals, job effectiveness, competencies, and CCC core values. Suppose for a specific employee, goal 1 has a weight of 30%,
goal 2 has a weight of 20%, job effectiveness has a weight of 25%, competency 1 has a goal of 4%, competency 2 has a
goal has a weight of 3%, competency 3 has a weight of 3%, competency 4 has a weight of 3%, competency 5 has a weight
of 2%, and core values has a weight of 10%. Suppose the employee has scores of 3.0 for goal 1, 3.0 for goal 2, 2.0 for job
effectiveness, 3.0 for competency 1, 2.0 for competency 2, 2.0 for competency 3, 3.0 for competency 4, 4.0 for competency
5, and 3.0 for core values. Find the weighted average score for this employee. If an employee has a score less than 2.5, they
must have a Performance Enhancement Plan written. Does this employee need a plan?

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 12. An employee at Coconino Community College (CCC) is evaluated based on goal setting and accomplishments toward
goals, job effectiveness, competencies, CCC core values. Suppose for a specific employee, goal 1 has a weight of 20%,
goal 2 has a weight of 20%, goal 3 has a weight of 10%, job effectiveness has a weight of 25%, competency 1 has a goal of
4%, competency 2 has a goal has a weight of 3%, competency 3 has a weight of 3%, competency 4 has a weight of 5%, and
core values has a weight of 10%. Suppose the employee has scores of 2.0 for goal 1, 2.0 for goal 2, 4.0 for goal 3, 3.0 for
job effectiveness, 2.0 for competency 1, 3.0 for competency 2, 2.0 for competency 3, 3.0 for competency 4, and 4.0 for core
values. Find the weighted average score for this employee. If an employee that has a score less than 2.5, they must have a
Performance Enhancement Plan written. Does this employee need a plan?
13. A statistics class has the following activities and weights for determining a grade in the course: test 1 worth 15% of the
grade, test 2 worth 15% of the grade, test 3 worth 15% of the grade, homework worth 10% of the grade, semester project
worth 20% of the grade, and the final exam worth 25% of the grade. If a student receives an 85 on test 1, a 76 on test 2, an
83 on test 3, a 74 on the homework, a 65 on the project, and a 79 on the final, what grade did the student earn in the course?
14. A statistics class has the following activities and weights for determining a grade in the course: test 1 worth 15% of the
grade, test 2 worth 15% of the grade, test 3 worth 15% of the grade, homework worth 10% of the grade, semester project
worth 20% of the grade, and the final exam worth 25% of the grade. If a student receives a 92 on test 1, an 85 on test 2, a
95 on test 3, a 92 on the homework, a 55 on the project, and an 83 on the final, what grade did the student earn in the
course?

Answer
1. mean = 253.93, median = 268, mode = none
3. mean = 67.68 km, median = 64 km, mode = 56 and 64 km
5. a. mean = $89,370.42, median = $75,311, b. mean = $79,196.56, median = $74,773, c. See solutions, d. See solutions, e.
See solutions
7. a. ordinal- median and mode, b. ratio – all three, c. interval – all three, d. nominal – mode
9. Skewed right, mean higher
11. 2.71
13. 76.75

This page titled 3.1: Measures of Center is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak
via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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3.2: Measures of Spread
Variability is an important idea in statistics. If you were to measure the height of everyone in your classroom, every observation
gives you a different value. That means not every student has the same height. Thus there is variability in people’s heights. If you
were to take a sample of the income level of people in a town, every sample gives you different information. There is variability
between samples too. Variability describes how the data are spread out. If the data are very close to each other, then there is low
variability. If the data are very spread out, then there is high variability. How do you measure variability? It would be good to have
a number that measures it. This section will describe some of the different measures of variability, also known as variation.
In Example 3.2.1, the average weight of a cat was calculated to be 8.02 pounds. How much does this tell you about the weight of
all cats? Can you tell if most of the weights were close to 8.02 or were the weights really spread out? What are the highest weight
and the lowest weight? All you know is that the center of the weights is 8.02 pounds. You need more information.

Definition 3.2.1

The range of a set of data is the difference between the highest and the lowest data values (or maximum and minimum values).
Range = highest value − lowest value

= maximum value − minimum value

Example 3.2.1: Finding the Range

Look at the following three sets of data. Find the range of each of these.
a. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50
b. 10, 29, 30, 31, 50
c. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
Solution
a.

Figure 3.2.1 : Dot Plot for Example 3.2.1 a

b.

Figure 3.2.2 : Dot Plot for Example 3.2.1 b

c.

Figure 3.2.3 : Dot Plot for Example 3.2.1

Based on the mean, median, and range in Example 3.2.1, the first two distributions are the same, but you can see from the
graphs that they are different. In Example 3.2.1a the data are spread out equally. In Example 3.2.1b the data has a clump in the

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 middle and a single value at each end. The mean and median are the same for Example 3.2.1c but the range is very different.
All the data is clumped together in the middle.

The range doesn’t really provide a very accurate picture of the variability. A better way to describe how the data is spread out is
needed. Instead of looking at the distance the highest value is from the lowest how about looking at the distance each value is from
the mean. This distance is called the deviation.

Example 3.2.2: Finding the Deviations

Suppose a vet wants to analyze the weights of cats. The weights (in pounds) of five cats are 6.8, 8.2, 7.5, 9.4, and 8.2. Find the
deviation for each of the data values.
Solution
Variable: x = weight of a cat
The mean for this data set is x̄¯¯ = 8.02 pounds.
Table 3.2.1 : Deviations of Weights of Cats
x x − x̄¯¯
6.8 6.8-8.02 = -1.22

8.2 8.2-8.02=0.18

7.5 7.5-8.02=-0.52

9.4 9.4-8.02=1.38

8.2 8.2-8.02=0.18

Now you might want to average the deviation, so you need to add the deviations together.
Table 3.2.2 : Sum of Deviations of Weights of Cats
x x − x̄¯¯
6.8 6.8-8.02 = -1.22

8.2 8.2-8.02=0.18

7.5 7.5-8.02=-0.52

9.4 9.4-8.02=1.38

8.2 8.2-8.02=0.18

Total 0

This can’t be right. The average distance from the mean cannot be 0. The reason it adds to 0 is because there are some positive
and negative values. You need to get rid of the negative signs. How can you do that? You could square each deviation.
Table 3.2.3 : Squared Deviations of Weights of Cats
x x − x̄¯¯ (x − x̄
¯¯)2

6.8 6.8-8.02 = -1.22 1.4884

8.2 8.2-8.02=0.18 0.0324

7.5 7.5-8.02=-0.52 0.2704

9.4 9.4-8.02=1.38 1.9044

8.2 8.2-8.02=0.18 0.0324

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 x x − x̄ ¯¯ x x̄
( − ¯¯)
2

Total 0 3.728

Now average the total of the squared deviations. The only thing is that in statistics there is a strange average here. Instead of
dividing by the number of data values you divide by the number of data values minus 1. In this case you would have

s2
=
3.728
5 −1
=
3.728
4
= 0.932 pounds 2

s
Notice that this is denoted as 2 . This is called the variance and it is a measure of the average squared distance from the mean.
If you now take the square root, you will get the average distance from the mean. This is called the standard deviation, and is
denoted with the letter .s
s = √−.932
−−
−
≈ 0.965 pounds

The standard deviation is the average (mean) distance from a data point to the mean. It can be thought of as how much a typical
data point differs from the mean.

Definition 3.2.2: Sample Variance

The sample variance formula:

s2
∑x x̄
( − ¯¯)2
=
n−1
where x̄ is the sample mean, n is the sample size, and ∑ means to find the sum.
¯¯

Definition 3.2.3: Sample Standard Deviation

The sample standard deviation formula:

√ ∑ nx x̄
−−−−−−−−−
( − ¯¯)2
s −
−
=√ 2 =s −1

n
The − 1 on the bottom has to do with a concept called degrees of freedom. Basically, it makes the sample standard deviation a
better approximation of the population standard deviation.

Definition 3.2.4: Population Variance

The population variance formula:

σ 2
∑x ( − )2 μ
=
N
σ
where is the Greek letter sigma and σ 2
represents the population variance, μ is the population mean, and N is the size of the
population.

Definition 3.2.5: Population Standard Deviation

The population standard deviation formula:

σ = √−σ− = √ ∑(xN− μ)
−−−−−−−−2−
2

Note
The sum of the deviations should always be 0. If it isn’t, then it is because you rounded, you used the median instead of the
mean, or you made an error. Try not to round too much in the calculations for standard deviation since each rounding causes a
slight error

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Example 3.2.3: Finding the Standard Deviation

Suppose that a manager wants to test two new training programs. He randomly selects 5 people for each training type and
measures the time it takes to complete a task after the training. The times for both trainings are in Example 3.2.4. Which
training method is better?
Table 3.2.4 : Time to Finish Task in Minutes
Training 1 56 75 48 63 59

Training 2 60 58 66 59 58

Solution
It is important that you define what each variable is since there are two of them.
Variable 1: X 1 = productivity from training 1
Variable 2: X 2 = productivity from training 2
To answer which training method better, first you need some descriptive statistics. Start with the mean for each sample.

x̄
¯¯
1 =
56 + 75 + 48 + 63 + 59
5
= 60.2 minutes

x̄
¯¯
2 =
60 + 58 + 66 + 59 + 58
5
= 60.2 minutes

Since both means are the same values, you cannot answer the question about which is better. Now calculate the standard
deviation for each sample.
Table 3.2.5 : Squared Deviations for Training 1
x 1 x − x̄
1
¯¯
1 ( x − x̄ )
1
¯¯
1
2

56 -4.2 17.64

75 14.8 219.04

48 -12.2 148.84

63 2.8 7.84

59 -1.2 1.44

Total 0 394.8

Table 3.2.6 : Squared Deviations for Training 2

x 2 x − x̄
2
¯¯
2 ( x − x̄ )
2
¯¯
2
2

60 -0.2 0.04

58 -2.2 4.84

66 5.8 33.64

59 -1.2 1.44

58 -2.2 4.84

Total 0 44.8

The variance for each sample is:

s2
1
=
394.8
5 −1
= 98.7 minutes 2

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 s 2
2
=
44.8
5 −1
= 11.2 minutes
2

The standard deviations are:

s 1
−−−
−
= √98.7 ≈ 9.93 minutes
s 2
−−−
−
= √11.2 ≈ 3.35 minutes
From the standard deviations, the second training seemed to be the better training since the data is less spread out. This means
it is more consistent. It would be better for the managers in this case to have a training program that produces more consistent
results so they know what to expect for the time it takes to complete the task.

You can do the calculations for the descriptive statistics using the technology. The procedure for calculating the sample mean ( ¯¯) x̄
s X
and the sample standard deviation ( x ) for 2 in Example 3.2.3 on the TI-83/84 is in Figures 3.2.1 through 3.2.4 (the procedure is
X σ
the same for 1 ). Note the calculator gives you the population standard deviation ( x ) because it doesn’t know whether the data
you input is a population or a sample. You need to decide which value you need to use, based on whether you have a population or
s s
sample. In almost all cases you have a sample and will be using x . Also, the calculator uses the notation x of instead of just . It s
is just a way for it to denote the information. First you need to go into the STAT menu, and then Edit. This will allow you to type in
your data (see Figure 3.2.1).

Figure 3.2.1 : TI-83/84 Calculator Edit Setup

Once you have the data into the calculator, you then go back to the STAT menu, move over to CALC, and then choose 1-Var Stats
(see Figure 3.2.2). The calculator will now put 1-Var Stats on the main screen. Now type in L2 (2nd button and 2) and then press
ENTER. (Note if you have the newer operating system on the TI-84, then the procedure is slightly different.) The results from the
calculator are in Figure 3.2.4.

Figure 3.2.2 : TI-83/84 Calculator CALC Menu

Figure 3.2.3 : TI-83/84 Calculator Input for Example 3.2.3 Variable X

2

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 Figure 3.2.4 : TI-83/84 Calculator Results for Example 3.2.3 Variable X
2

The processes for finding the mean, median, range, standard deviation, and variance on R are as follows:
variable<-c(type in your data)
To find the mean, use mean(variable)
To find the median, use median(variable)
To find the range, use range(variable). Then find maximum – minimum.
To find the standard deviation, use sd(variable)
To find the variance, use var(variable)
For the second data set in Example 3.2.3, the commands and results would be
productivity_2<-c(60, 58, 66, 59, 58)
mean(productivity_2)
[1] 60.2
median(productivity_2)
[1] 59
range(productivity_2)
[1] 58 66
sd(productivity_2)
[1] 3.34664
var(productivity_2)
[1] 11.2
In general a “small” standard deviation means the data is close together (more consistent) and a “large” standard deviation means
the data is spread out (less consistent). Sometimes you want consistent data and sometimes you don’t. As an example if you are
making bolts, you want to lengths to be very consistent so you want a small standard deviation. If you are administering a test to
see who can be a pilot, you want a large standard deviation so you can tell who are the good pilots and who are the bad ones.
What do “small” and “large” mean? To a bicyclist whose average speed is 20 mph, s = 20 mph is huge. To an airplane whose
average speed is 500 mph, s = 20 mph is nothing. The “size” of the variation depends on the size of the numbers in the problem and
the mean. Another situation where you can determine whether a standard deviation is small or large is when you are comparing two
different samples such as in example #3.2.3. A sample with a smaller standard deviation is more consistent than a sample with a
larger standard deviation.
Many other books and authors stress that there is a computational formula for calculating the standard deviation. However, this
formula doesn’t give you an idea of what standard deviation is and what you are doing. It is only good for doing the calculations
quickly. It goes back to the days when standard deviations were calculated by hand, and the person needed a quick way to calculate
the standard deviation. It is an archaic formula that this author is trying to eradicate it. It is not necessary anymore, since most
calculators and computers will do the calculations for you with as much meaning as this formula gives. It is suggested that you
never use it. If you want to understand what the standard deviation is doing, then you should use the definition formula. If you want
an answer quickly, use a computer or calculator.

Use of Standard Deviation

One of the uses of the standard deviation is to describe how a population is distributed by using Chebyshev’s Theorem. This
theorem works for any distribution, whether it is skewed, symmetric, bimodal, or any other shape. It gives you an idea of how
much data is a certain distance on either side of the mean.

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Definition 3.2.6: Chebyshev's Theorem
For any set of data:
At least 75% of the data fall in the interval from μ σ μ−2 to +2
σ.
At least 88.9% of the data fall in the interval from μ σ μ−3 to +3
σ.
At least 93.8% of the data fall in the interval from μ σ μ−4 to +4
σ.

Example 3.2.4: Using Chebyshev's Theorem

The U.S. Weather Bureau has provided the information in Example 3.2.7
about the total annual number of reported strong to
violent (F3+) tornados in the United States for the years 1954 to 2012. ("U.S. tornado climatology," 17).
Table 3.2.7 : Annual Number of Violent Tornados in the U.S.
46 47 31 41 24 56 56 23 31 59

39 70 73 85 33 38 45 39 35 22

51 39 51 131 37 24 57 42 28 45

98 35 54 45 30 15 35 64 21 84

40 51 44 62 65 27 34 23 32 28

41 98 82 47 62 21 31 29 32

a. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean annual number of strong to violent (F3+) tornados in
which you would expect at least 75% of the years to fall.
b. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean annual number of strong to violent (F3+) tornados in
which you would expect at least 88.9% of the years to fall.
Solution
=
a. Variable: x number of strong or violent (F3+) tornadoes Chebyshev’s theorem says that at least 75% of the data will fall in
the interval from μ −2
σ to μ σ.+2
You do not have the population, so you need to estimate the population mean and standard deviation using the sample mean
and standard deviation. You can find the sample mean and standard deviation using technology:
x̄¯¯ ≈ 46.24, s ≈ 22.18
So,
≈ 46.24, σ ≈ 22.18
μ
μ −2σ to μ +2σ
46.24 −2(22.18) to 46.24 +2(22.18)
46.24 −44.36 to 46.24 +44.36
1.88 to 90.60
Since you can’t have fractional number of tornados, round to the nearest whole number.
At least 75% of the years have between 2 and 91 strong to violent (F3+) tornados. (Actually, all but three years’ values fall in
this interval, that means that
56 ≈ 94.9% actually fall in the interval.)
59
=
b. Variable: x number of strong or violent (F3+) tornadoes Chebyshev’s theorem says that at least 88.9% of the data will fall
in the interval from μ −3
σ to μ σ. +3
−3σ to μ +3σ
μ
46.24 −3(22.18) to 46.24 +3(22.18)

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 46.24 −66.54 to 46.24 +66.54
−20.30 to 112.78
Since you can’t have negative number of tornados, the lower limit is actually 0. Since you can’t have fractional number of
tornados, round to the nearest whole number.
At least 88.9% of the years have between 0 and 113 strong to violent (F3+) tornados.

(Actually, all but one year falls in this interval, that means that
58 ≈ 98.3% actually fall in the interval.)
59
Chebyshev’s Theorem says that at least 75% of the data is within two standard deviations of the mean. That percentage is fairly
high. There isn’t much data outside two standard deviations. A rule that can be followed is that if a data value is within two
standard deviations, then that value is a common data value. If the data value is outside two standard deviations of the mean, either
above or below, then the number is uncommon. It could even be called unusual. An easy calculation that you can do to figure it out
is to find the difference between the data point and the mean, and then divide that answer by the standard deviation. As a formula
this would be
x −μ .
σ
If you don’t know the population mean, μ , and the population standard deviation, σ, then use the sample mean, x̄¯¯, and the sample
standard deviation, s , to estimate the population parameter values. However, realize that using the sample standard deviation may
not actually be very accurate.

Example 3.2.5 determining if a value is unusual

a. In 1974, there were 131 strong or violent (F3+) tornados in the United States. Is this value unusual? Why or why not?
b. In 1987, there were 15 strong or violent (F3+) tornados in the United States. Is this value unusual? Why or why not?
Solution
a. Variable: x = number of strong or violent (F3+) tornadoes
To answer this question, first find how many standard deviations 131 is from the mean. From Example 3.2.4, we know
μ ≈ 46.24 and σ ≈ 22.18
. For x = 131
,
x − μ = 131 −46.24 ≈ 3.82
σ 22.18
Since this value is more than 2, then it is unusual to have 131 strong or violent (F3+) tornados in a year.
b. Variable: x = number of strong or violent (F3+) tornadoes For this question the x = 15,
x −μ 15 −46.24 ≈ −1.41
σ
= 22.18
Since this value is between -2 and 2, then it is not unusual to have only 15 strong or violent (F3+) tornados in a year.

Homework
Exercise 3.2.1
1. Cholesterol levels were collected from patients two days after they had a heart attack (Ryan, Joiner & Ryan, Jr, 1985) and
are in Example 3.2.8
. Find the mean, median, range, variance, and standard deviation using technology.
Table 3.2.8 : Cholesterol Levels
270 236 210 142 280 272 160

220 226 242 186 266 206 318

294 282 234 224 276 282 360

310 280 278 288 288 244 236

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2. The lengths (in kilometers) of rivers on the South Island of New Zealand that flow to the Pacific Ocean are listed in
Example 3.2.9 (Lee, 1994).
Table 3.2.9 : Lengths of Rivers (km) Flowing to Pacific Ocean
River Length (km) River Length (km)

Clarence 209 Clutha 322

Conway 48 Taieri 288

Waiau 169 Shag 72

Hurunui 138 Kakanui 64

Waipara 64 Waitaki 209

Ashley 97 Waihao 64

Waimakariri 161 Pareora 56

Selwyn 95 Rangitata 121

Rakaia 145 Ophi 80

Ashburton 90

a. Find the mean and median.

b. Find the range.
c. Find the variance and standard deviation.
3. The lengths (in kilometers) of rivers on the South Island of New Zealand that flow to the Pacific Ocean are listed in
Example 3.2.9 (Lee, 1994).
River Length (km) River Length (km)

Hollyford 76 Waimea 48

Cascade 64 Motueka 108

Arawhata 68 Takaka 72

Haast 64 Aorere 72

Karangarua 37 Heaphy 35

Cook 32 Karamea 80

Waiho 32 Mokihinui 56

Whataroa 51 Buller 177

Wanganui 56 Grey 121

Waitaha 40 Taramakau 80

Hokitika 64 Arahura 56

Table 3.2.10: Lengths of Rivers (km) Flowing to Tasman Sea

a. Find the mean and median.
b. Find the range.
c. Find the variance and standard deviation.
4. Eyeglassmatic manufactures eyeglasses for their retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made the time
period of January 1 to March 31. Example 3.2.11 gives the defect and the number of defects.
Defect type Number of defects

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 Scratch 5865

Right shaped - small 4613

Flaked 1992

Wrong axis 1838

Chamfer wrong 1596

Crazing, cracks 1546

Wrong shape 1485

Wrong PD 1398

Spots and bubbles 1371

Wrong height 1130

Right shape - big 1105

Lost in lab 976

Spots/bubble - intern 976

Table 3.2.11: Number of Defective Lenses

a. Find the mean and median.
b. Find the range.
c. Find the variance and standard deviation.
5. Print-O-Matic printing company’s employees have salaries that are contained in Example 3.2.12. Find the mean, median,
range, variance, and standard deviation using technology.
Table 3.2.12 : Salaries of Print-O-Matic Printing Company Employees
Employee Salary ($) Employee Salary ($)

CEO 272,500 Administration 66,346

Driver 58,456 Sales 109,739

CD74 100,702 Designer 90,090

CD65 57,380 Platens 69,573

Embellisher 73,877 Polar 75,526

Folder 65,270 ITEK 64,553

GTO 74,235 Mgmt 108,448

Pre Press Manager 108,448 Handwork 52,718

Pre Press Manager/IT 98,837 Horizon 76,029

Pre Press/ Graphic Artist 75,311

6. Print-O-Matic printing company spends specific amounts on fixed costs every month. The costs of those fixed costs are in
Example 3.2.13.
Table 3.2.13 : Fixed Costs for Print-O-Matic Printing Company
Monthly charges Monthly cost ($)

Bank charges 482

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 Monthly charges Monthly cost ($)

Cleaning 2208

Computer expensive 2471

Lease payments 2656

Postage 2117

Uniforms 2600

a. Find the mean and median.

b. Find the range.
c. Find the variance and standard deviation.
7. Compare the two data sets in problems 2 and 3 using the mean and standard deviation. Discuss which mean is higher and
which has a larger spread of the data.
8. Example 3.2.14 contains pulse rates collected from males, who are non-smokers but do drink alcohol ("Pulse rates before,"
2013). The before pulse rate is before they exercised, and the after pulse rate was taken after the subject ran in place for one
minute. Compare the two data sets using the mean and standard deviation. Discuss which mean is higher and which has a
larger spread of the data.
Table 3.2.14 : Pulse Rates of Males Before and After Exercise
Pulse before Pulse after Pulse before Pulse after

76 88 59 92

56 110 60 104

64 126 65 82

50 90 76 150

49 83 145 155

68 136 84 140

68 125 78 141

88 150 85 131

80 146 78 132

78 168

9. Example 3.2.15 contains pulse rates collected from females, who are non-smokers but do drink alcohol ("Pulse rates
before," 2013). The before pulse rate is before they exercised, and the after pulse rate was taken after the subject ran in
place for one minute. Compare the two data sets using the mean and standard deviation. Discuss which mean is higher and
which has a larger spread of the data.
Table 3.2.15 : Pulse Rates of Females Before and After Exercise
Pulse before Pulse after Pulse before Pulse after

96 176 92 120

82 150 70 96

86 150 75 130

72 115 70 119

78 129 70 95

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 Pulse before Pulse after Pulse before Pulse after

90 160 68 84

88 120 47 136

71 125 64 120

66 89 70 98

76 132 74 168

70 120 85 130

10. To determine if Reiki is an effective method for treating pain, a pilot study was carried out where a certified second-degree
Reiki therapist provided treatment on volunteers. Pain was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS) immediately
before and after the Reiki treatment (Olson & Hanson, 1997) and the data is in Example 3.2.16. Compare the two data sets
using the mean and standard deviation. Discuss which mean is higher and which has a larger spread of the data.
Table 3.2.16 : Pain Measurements Before and After Reiki Treatment
VAS before VAS after VAS before VAS after

6 3 5 1

2 1 1 0

2 0 6 4

9 1 6 1

3 0 4 4

3 2 4 1

4 1 7 6

5 2 2 1

2 2 4 3

3 0 8 8

11. Example 3.2.17 contains data collected on the time it takes in seconds of each passage of play in a game of rugby. ("Time
of passages," 2013)
Table 3.2.17 : Times (in seconds) of rugby plays

39.2 2.7 9.2 14.6 1.9 17.8 15.5 53.8 17.5 27.5

4.8 8.6 22.1 29.8 10.4 9.8 27.7 32.7 32 34.3

29.1 6.5 2.8 10.8 9.2 12.9 7.1 23.8 7.6 36.4

35.6 28.4 37.2 16.8 21.2 14.7 44.5 24.7 36.2 20.9

19.9 24.4 7.9 2.8 2.7 3.9 14.1 28.4 45.5 38

18.5 8.3 56.2 10.2 5.5 2.5 46.8 23.1 9.2 10.3

10.2 22 28.5 24 17.3 12.7 15.5 4 5.6 3.8

21.6 49.3 52.4 50.1 30.5 37.2 15 38.7 3.1 11

10 5 48.8 3.6 12.6 9.9 58.6 37.9 19.4 29.2

12.3 39.2 22.2 39.7 6.4 2.5 34

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 a. Using technology, find the mean and standard deviation.
b. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean times of each passage of play in the game of rugby
in which you would expect at least 75% of the times to fall.
c. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean times of each passage of play in the game of rugby
in which you would expect at least 88.9% of the times to fall.
12. Yearly rainfall amounts (in millimeters) in Sydney, Australia, are in table #3.2.18 ("Annual maximums of," 2013).
Table 3.2.18 : Yearly Rainfall Amounts in Sydney, Australia

146.8 383 90.9 178.1 267.5 95.5 156.5 180

90.9 139.7 200.2 171.7 187.2 184.9 70.1 58

84.1 55.6 133.1 271.8 135.9 71.9 99.4 110.6

47.5 97.8 122.7 58.4 154.4 173.7 118.8 88

84.6 171.5 254.3 185.9 137.2 138.9 96.2 85

45.2 74.7 264.9 113.8 133.4 68.1 156.4

a. Using technology, find the mean and standard deviation.

b. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean yearly rainfall amounts in Sydney, Australia, in
which you would expect at least 75% of the amounts to fall.
c. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean yearly rainfall amounts in Sydney, Australia, in
which you would expect at least 88.9% of the amounts to fall.
13. The number of deaths attributed to UV radiation in African countries in the year 2002 is given in Example 3.2.19 ("UV
radiation: Burden," 2013).
Table 3.2.19 : Number of Deaths from UV Radiation

50 84 31 338 6 504 40 7 58

204 15 27 39 1 45 174 98 94

199 9 27 58 356 5 45 5 94

26 171 13 57 138 39 3 171 41

1177 102 123 433 35 40 456 125

a. Using technology, find the mean and standard deviation.

b. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean number of deaths from UV radiation in which you
would expect at least 75% of the numbers to fall.
c. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean number of deaths from UV radiation in which you
would expect at least 88.9% of the numbers to fall.
14. The time (in 1/50 seconds) between successive pulses along a nerve fiber ("Time between nerve," 2013) are given in
Example 3.2.20.
Table 3.2.20 : Time (in 1/50 seconds) Between Successive Pulses

10.5 1.5 2.5 5.5 29.5 3 9 27.5 18.5 4.5

7 9.5 1 7 4.5 2.5 7.5 11.5 7.5 4

12 8 3 5.5 7.5 4.5 1.5 10.5 1 7

12 14.5 8 3.5 3.5 2 1 7.5 6 13

7.5 16.5 3 25.5 5.5 14 18 7 27.5 14

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 a. Using technology, find the mean and standard deviation.
b. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean time between successive pulses along a nerve fiber
in which you would expect at least 75% of the times to fall.
c. Use Chebyshev’s theorem to find an interval centered about the mean time between successive pulses along a nerve fiber
in which you would expect at least 88.9% of the times to fall.
15. Suppose a passage of play in a rugby game takes 75.1 seconds. Would it be unusual for this to happen? Use the mean and
standard deviation that you calculated in problem 11.
16. Suppose Sydney, Australia received 300 mm of rainfall in a year. Would this be unusual? Use the mean and standard
deviation that you calculated in problem 12.
17. Suppose in a given year there were 2257 deaths attributed to UV radiation in an African country. Is this value unusual? Use
the mean and standard deviation that you calculated in problem 13.
18. Suppose it only takes 2 (1/50 seconds) for successive pulses along a nerve fiber. Is this value unusual? Use the mean and
standard deviation that you calculated in problem 14.

Answer
1. mean = 253.93, median = 268, range = 218, variance = 2276.29, st dev = 47.71
3. a. mean = 67.68 km, median = 64 km, b. range = 145 km, c. variance = 1107.9416 km2 , st dev = 33.29 km
5. mean = $89,370.42, median = $75,311, range = $219,782, variance =2298639399, st dev = $47,944.13
7. See solutions
9. x̄¯¯1 ≈ 75.45, s1 ≈ 11.10, x̄¯¯2 ≈ 125.55, s2 ≈ 24.72
11. a. x̄¯¯ ≈ 21.24sec, s ≈ 14.95sec b. (−8.66sec, 51.14sec)c. (−23.61sec, 66.09sec)
13. a. x̄¯¯ ≈ 130.98, s ≈ 205.44b. (−279.90, 541.86)c. (−485.34, 747.3)
15. 3.61
17. 10.35

This page titled 3.2: Measures of Spread is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak
via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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3.3: Ranking
Along with the center and the variability, another useful numerical measure is the ranking of a number. A percentile is a measure
of ranking. It represents a location measurement of a data value to the rest of the values. Many standardized tests give the results as
a percentile. Doctors also use percentiles to track a child’s growth.
The kth percentile is the data value that has k% of the data at or below that value.

Example 3.3.1 interpreting percentile

a. What does a score of the 90th percentile mean?
b. What does a score of the 70th percentile mean?
Solution
a. This means that 90% of the scores were at or below this score. (A person did the same as or better than 90% of the test
takers.)
b. This means that 70% of the scores were at or below this score.

Example 3.3.2 percentile versus score

If the test was out of 100 points and you scored at the 80th percentile, what was your score on the test?
Solution
You don’t know! All you know is that you scored the same as or better than 80% of the people who took the test. If all the
scores were really low, you could have still failed the test. On the other hand, if many of the scores were high you could have
gotten a 95% or so.

There are special percentiles called quartiles. Quartiles are numbers that divide the data into fourths. One fourth (or a quarter) of
the data falls between consecutive quartiles.

Definition 3.3.1
To find the quartiles:
1. Sort the data in increasing order.
2. Find the median, this divides the data list into 2 halves.
3. Find the median of the data below the median. This value is Q1.
4. Find the median of the data above the median. This value is Q3.
Ignore the median in both calculations for Q1 and Q3

If you record the quartiles together with the maximum and minimum you have five numbers. This is known as the five-number
summary. The five-number summary consists of the minimum, the first quartile (Q1), the median, the third quartile (Q3), and the
maximum (in that order).
The interquartile range, IQR, is the difference between the first and third quartiles, Q1 and Q3. Half of the data (50%) falls in the
interquartile range. If the IQR is “large” the data is spread out and if the IQR is “small” the data is closer together.

Definition 3.3.2
Interquartile Range (IQR)
IQR = Q3 - Q1
Determining probable outliers from IQR: fences
A value that is less than Q1-1.5∗IQR (this value is often referred to as a low fence) is considered an outlier.
Similarly, a value that is more than Q3+1.5∗IQR (the high fence) is considered an outlier.

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A box plot (or box-and-whisker plot) is a graphical display of the five-number summary. It can be drawn vertically or horizontally.
The basic format is a box from Q1 to Q3, a vertical line across the box for the median and horizontal lines as whiskers extending
out each end to the minimum and maximum. The minimum and maximum can be represented with dots. Don’t forget to label the
tick marks on the number line and give the graph a title.
An alternate form of a Box-and-Whiskers Plot, known as a modified box plot, only extends the left line to the smallest value
greater than the low fence, and extends the left line to the largest value less than the high fence, and displays markers (dots, circles
or asterisks) for each outlier.
If the data are symmetrical, then the box plot will be visibly symmetrical. If the data distribution has a left skew or a right skew, the
line on that side of the box plot will be visibly long. If the plot is symmetrical, and the four quartiles are all about the same length,
then the data are likely a near uniform distribution. If a box plot is symmetrical, and both outside lines are noticeably longer than
the Q1 to median and median to Q3 distance, the distribution is then probably bell-shaped.

Figure 3.3.1 : Typical Box Plot

Example 3.3.3 five-number summary for an even number of data points

The total assets in billions of Australian dollars (AUD) of Australian banks for the year 2012 are given in Example 3.3.1
("Reserve bank of," 2013). Find the five-number summary and the interquartile range (IQR), and draw a box-and-whiskers
plot.
Table 3.3.1 : Total Assets (in billions of AUD) of Australian Banks

2855 2862 2861 2884 3014 2965

2971 3002 3032 2950 2967 2964

Solution
Variable: x = total assets of Australian banks
First sort the data.
Table 3.3.2 : Sorted Data for Total Assets
2855 2861 2862 2884 2950 2964 2965 2967 2971 3002 3014 3032

The minimum is 2855 billion AUD and the maximum is 3032 billion AUD.
There are 12 data points so the median is the average of the 6th and 7th numbers.

Table 3.3.3: Sorted Data for Total Assets with Median

To find QI, find the median of the first half of the list.

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 Table 3.3.4: Finding QI
To find Q3, find the median of the second half of the list.

Table 3.3.5: Finding Q3

The five-number summary is (all numbers in billion AUD)
Minimum: 2855
Q1: 2873
Median: 2964.5
Q3: 2986.5
Maximum: 3032
To find the interquartile range, IQR, find Q3-Q1
IQR = 2986.5 - 2873 = 113.5 billion AUD
This tells you the middle 50% of assets were within 113.5 billion AUD of each other.
You can use the five-number summary to draw the box-and-whiskers plot.

Figure 3.3.1 : Box Plot of Total Assets of Australian Banks

The distribution is skewed right because the right tail is longer.

Example 3.3.4 five-number summary for an odd number of data points

The life expectancy for a person living in one of 11 countries in the region of South East Asia in 2012 is given below ("Life
expectancy in," 2013). Find the five-number summary for the data and the IQR, then draw a box-and-whiskers plot.
Table 3.3.6 : Life Expectancy of a Person Living in South-East Asia
70 67 69 65 69 77

65 68 75 74 64

Solution

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 Variable: x = life expectancy of a person.
Sort the data first.
Table 3.3.7 : Sorted Life Expectancies
64 65 65 67 68 69 69 70 74 75 77

The minimum is 64 years and the maximum is 77 years.

There are 11 data points so the median is the 6th number in the list.

Table 3.3.8: Finding the Median of Life Expectancies

Finding the Q1 and Q3 you need to find the median of the numbers below the median and above the median. The median is not
included in either calculation.

Table 3.3.9: Finding Q1

Table 3.3.10: Finding Q3

Q1=65 years and Q3=74 years
The five-number summary is (in years)
Minimum: 64
Q1: 65
Median: 69
Q3: 74
Maximum: 77
To find the interquartile range (IQR)
IQR=Q3-Q1=74-65=9 years
The middle 50% of life expectancies are within 9 years.

Figure 3.3.2 : Box Plot of Life Expectancy

This distribution looks somewhat skewed right, since the whisker is longer on the right. However, it could be considered
almost symmetric too since the box looks somewhat symmetric.

You can draw 2 box plots side by side (or one above the other) to compare 2 samples. Since you want to compare the two data sets,
make sure the box plots are on the same axes. As an example, suppose you look at the box-and-whiskers plot for life expectancy

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for European countries and Southeast Asian countries.

Figure 3.3.3 : Box Plot of Life Expectancy of Two Regions

Looking at the box-and-whiskers plot, you will notice that the three quartiles for life expectancy are all higher for the European
countries, yet the minimum life expectancy for the European countries is less than that for the Southeast Asian countries. The life
expectancy for the European countries appears to be skewed left, while the life expectancies for the Southeast Asian countries
appear to be more symmetric. There are of course more qualities that can be compared between the two graphs.
To find the five-number summary using R, the command is:
variable<-c(type in data with commas)
summary(variable)
This command will give you the five number summary and the mean.
For Example 3.3.4, the commands would be
expectancy<-c(70, 67, 69, 65, 69, 77, 65, 68, 75, 74, 64)
summary(expectancy)
The output would be:
Min. Ist Qu. Median Mean 3rd Qu. Max.

64.00 66.00 69.00 69.36 72.00 77.00

To draw the box plot the command is boxplot(variable, main="title you want", xlab="label you want", horizontal = TRUE). The
horizontal = TRUE orients the box plot to be horizontal. If you leave that part off, the box plot will be vertical by default.
For Example 3.3.4, the command is
boxplot(expectancy, main="Life Expectancy of Southeast Asian Countries in 2011",horizontal=TRUE, xlab="Life Expectancy")
You should get the box plot in Graph 3.3.4.

Figure 3.3.4 : Box plot for Life Expectance in Southeast Asian Countries

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This is known as a modified box plot. Instead of plotting the maximum and minimum, the box plot has as a lower line Q1-1.5*IQR
, and as an upper line, Q3+1.5*IQR. Any values below the lower line or above the upper line are considered outliers. Outliers are
plotted as dots on the modified box plot. This data set does not have any outliers.

Example 3.3.5 putting it all together

A random sample was collected on the health expenditures (as a % of GDP) of countries around the world. The data is in
Example 3.3.11. Using graphical and numerical descriptive statistics, analyze the data and use it to predict the health
expenditures of all countries in the world.
Table 3.3.11 : Health Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP
3.35 5.94 10.64 5.24 3.79 5.65 7.66 7.38 5.87 11.15

5.96 4.78 7.75 2.72 9.50 7.69 10.05 11.96 8.18 6.74

5.89 6.20 5.98 8.83 6.78 6.66 9.45 5.41 5.16 8.55

Solution
First, it might be useful to look at a visualization of the data, so create a histogram.

Figure 3.3.5 : Histogram of Health Expenditure

From the graph, the data appears to be somewhat skewed right. So there are some countries that spend more on health based on
a percentage of GDP than other countries, but the majority of countries appear to spend around 4 to 8% of their GDP on health.
Numerical descriptions might also be useful. Using technology, the mean is 7.03%, the standard deviation is 2.27%, and the
five-number summary is minimum = 2.72%, Q1 = 5.71%, median = 6.70%, Q3 = 8.46%, and maximum = 11.96%. To
visualize the five-number summary, create a box plot.

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 Figure 3.3.6 : Box Plot of Health Expenditure
So it appears that countries spend on average about 7% of their GPD on health. The spread is somewhat low, since the standard
deviation is fairly small, which means that the data is fairly consistent. The five-number summary confirms that the data is
slightly skewed right. The box plot shows that there are no outliers. So from all of this information, one could say that
countries spend a small percentage of their GDP on health and that most countries spend around the same amount. There
doesn’t appear to be any country that spends much more than other countries or much less than other countries.

Homework

Exercise 3.3.1

1. Suppose you take a standardized test and you are in the 10th percentile. What does this percentile mean? Can you say that
you failed the test? Explain.
2. Suppose your child takes a standardized test in mathematics and scores in the 96th percentile. What does this percentile
mean? Can you say your child passed the test? Explain.
3. Suppose your child is in the 83rd percentile in height and 24th percentile in weight. Describe what this tells you about your
child’s stature.
4. Suppose your work evaluates the employees and places them on a percentile ranking. If your evaluation is in the 65th
percentile, do you think you are working hard enough? Explain.
5. Cholesterol levels were collected from patients two days after they had a heart attack (Ryan, Joiner & Ryan, Jr, 1985) and
are in Example 3.3.12. Find the five-number summary and interquartile range (IQR), and draw a box-and-whiskers plot.
Table 3.3.12 : Cholesterol Levels

270 236 210 142 280 272 160

220 226 242 186 266 206 318

294 282 234 224 276 282 360

310 280 278 288 288 244 236

6. The lengths (in kilometers) of rivers on the South Island of New Zealand that flow to the Pacific Ocean are listed in
Example 3.3.13 (Lee, 1994). Find the five-number summary and interquartile range (IQR), and draw a box-and-whiskers
plot.
Table 3.3.13 : Lengths of Rivers (km) Flowing to Pacific Ocean
River Length (km) River Length (km)

Clarence 209 Clutha 322

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 River Length (km) River Length (km)

Conway 48 Taieri 288

Waiau 169 Shag 72

Hurunui 169 Kakanui 64

Waipara 64 Waitaki 209

Ashley 97 Waihao 64

Waimakariri 161 Pareora 56

Selwyn 95 Rangitata 121

Rakaia 145 Ophi 80

Ashburton 90

7. The lengths (in kilometers) of rivers on the South Island of New Zealand that flow to the Tasman Sea are listed in Example
3.3.14 (Lee, 1994). Find the five-number summary and interquartile range (IQR), and draw a box-and-whiskers plot.

Table 3.3.14 : Lengths of Rivers (km) Flowing to Tasman Sea

River Length (km) River Length (km)

Hollyford 76 Waimea 48

Cascade 64 Motueka 108

Arawhata 68 Takaka 72

Haast 64 Aorere 72

Karangarua 37 Heaphy 35

Cook 32 Karamea 80

Waiho 32 Mokihinui 56

Whataroa 51 Buller 177

Wanganui 56 Grey 121

Waitaha 40 Taramakau 80

Hokitika 64 Arahura 56

8. Eyeglassmatic manufactures eyeglasses for their retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made the time
period of January 1 to March 31. Example 3.3.15 gives the defect and the number of defects. Find the five-number
summary and interquartile range (IQR), and draw a box-and-whiskers plot.
Table 3.3.15 : Number of Defective Lenses
Defect type Number of defects

Scratch 5865

Right shaped - small 4613

Flaked 1992

Wrong axis 1838

Chamfer wrong 1596

Crazing, cracks 1546

3.3.8 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5173
 Defect type Number of defects

Wrong shape 1485

Wrong PD 1398

Spots and bubbles 1371

Wrong height 1130

Right shape - big 1105

Lost in lab 976

Spots/bubble - intern 976

9. A study was conducted to see the effect of exercise on pulse rate. Male subjects were taken who do not smoke, but do
drink. Their pulse rates were measured ("Pulse rates before," 2013). Then they ran in place for one minute and then
measured their pulse rate again. Graph 3.3.7 is of box-and-whiskers plots that were created of the before and after pulse
rates. Discuss any conclusions you can make from the graphs.

Graph 3.3.7: Box-and-Whiskers Plot of Pulse Rates for Males

10. A study was conducted to see the effect of exercise on pulse rate. Female subjects were taken who do not smoke, but do
drink. Their pulse rates were measured ("Pulse rates before," 2013). Then they ran in place for one minute, and after
measured their pulse rate again. Graph 3.3.8 is of box-and-whiskers plots that were created of the before and after pulse
rates. Discuss any conclusions you can make from the graphs.

Graph 3.3.8: Box-and-Whiskers Plot of Pulse Rates for Females

11. To determine if Reiki is an effective method for treating pain, a pilot study was carried out where a certified second-degree
Reiki therapist provided treatment on volunteers. Pain was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS) immediately
before and after the Reiki treatment (Olson & Hanson, 1997). Graph 3.3.9 is of box-and-whiskers plots that were created of
the before and after VAS ratings. Discuss any conclusions you can make from the graphs.

Graph 3.3.9: Box-and-Whiskers Plot of Pain Using Reiki

3.3.9 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5173
 12. The number of deaths attributed to UV radiation in African countries and Middle Eastern countries in the year 2002 were
collected by the World Health Organization ("UV radiation: Burden," 2013). Graph 3.3.10 is of box-and-whiskers plots that
were created of the deaths in African countries and deaths in Middle Eastern countries. Discuss any conclusions you can
make from the graphs.

Graph 3.3.10: Box-and-Whiskers Plot of UV Radiation Deaths in Different Regions

Answer
Note: Q1, Q3, and IQR may differ slightly due to how technology finds them.
1. See solutions
3. See solutions
5. min = 142, Q1 = 225, med = 268, Q3 = 282, max = 360, IQR = 57, see solutions
7. min = 32 km, Q1 = 46 km, med = 64 km, Q3 = 77 km, max = 177 km, IQR = 31 km, see solutions
9. See solutions
11. See solutions

Data Sources:
Annual maximums of daily rainfall in Sydney. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/sydrain.html
Lee, A. (1994). Data analysis: An introduction based on r. Auckland. Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/nzrivers.html
Life expectancy in southeast Asia. (2013, September 23). Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.688
Olson, K., & Hanson, J. (1997). Using reiki to manage pain: a preliminary report. Cancer Prev Control, 1(2), 108-13. Retrieved
from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9765732
Pulse rates before and after exercise. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/ms212.html
Reserve bank of Australia. (2013, September 23). Retrieved from http://data.gov.au/dataset/banks-assets
Ryan, B. F., Joiner, B. L., & Ryan, Jr, T. A. (1985). Cholesterol levels after heart attack. Retrieved from
http://www.statsci.org/data/general/cholest.html
Time between nerve pulses. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/general/nerve.html
Time of passages of play in rugby. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/rugby.html
U.S. tornado climatology. (17, May 2013). Retrieved from www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/...tornadoes.html
UV radiation: Burden of disease by country. (2013, September 4). Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.165?
lang=en

This page titled 3.3: Ranking is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak via source
content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

3.3.10 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5173
 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

4: Probability
4.1: Empirical Probability
4.2: Theoretical Probability
4.3: Conditional Probability
4.4: Counting Techniques

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content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
4.1: Empirical Probability
One story about how probability theory was developed is that a gambler wanted to know when to bet more and when to bet less. He
talked to a couple of friends of his that happened to be mathematicians. Their names were Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal.
Since then many other mathematicians have worked to develop probability theory.
Understanding probabilities are important in life. Examples of mundane questions that probability can answer for you are if you
need to carry an umbrella or wear a heavy coat on a given day. More important questions that probability can help with are your
chances that the car you are buying will need more maintenance, your chances of passing a class, your chances of winning the
lottery, your chances of being in a car accident, and the chances that the U.S. will be attacked by terrorists. Most people do not have
a very good understanding of probability, so they worry about being attacked by a terrorist but not about being in a car accident.
The probability of being in a terrorist attack is much smaller than the probability of being in a car accident, thus it actually would
make more sense to worry about driving. Also, the chance of you winning the lottery is very small, yet many people will spend the
money on lottery tickets. Yet, if instead they saved the money that they spend on the lottery, they would have more money. In
general, events that have a low probability (under 5%) are unlikely to occur. Whereas if an event has a high probability of
happening (over 80%), then there is a good chance that the event will happen. This chapter will present some of the theory that you
need to help make a determination of whether an event is likely to happen or not.
First you need some definitions.

Definition 4.1.1

Experiment: an activity that has specific result that can occur, but it is unknown which results will occur.

Definition 4.1.2

Outcomes: the result of an experiment.

Definition 4.1.3

Event: a set of certain outcomes of an experiment that you want to have happen.

Definition 4.1.4

Sample Space: collection of all possible outcomes of the experiment. Usually denoted as SS.

Definition 4.1.5

Event Space: the set of outcomes that make up an event. The symbol is usually a capital letter.

Start with an experiment. Suppose that the experiment is rolling a die. The sample space is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. The event that you
want is to get a 6, and the event space is {6}. To do this, roll a die 10 times. When you do that, you get a 6 two times. Based on this
experiment, the probability of getting a 6 is 2 out of 10 or 1/5. To get more accuracy, repeat the experiment more times. It is easiest
to put this in a table, where n represents the number of times the experiment is repeated. When you put the number of 6s found over
the number of times you repeat the experiment, this is the relative frequency.
Table 4.1.1 : Trials for Die Experiment
n Number of 6s Relative Frequency

10 2 0.2

50 6 0.12

100 18 0.18

500 81 0.162

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 n Number of 6s Relative Frequency

1000 163 0.163

Notice that as n increased, the relative frequency seems to approach a number. It looks like it is approaching 0.163. You can say
that the probability of getting a 6 is approximately 0.163. If you want more accuracy, then increase n even more.
These probabilities are called experimental probabilities since they are found by actually doing the experiment. They come about
from the relative frequencies and give an approximation of the true probability. The approximate probability of an event A, P(A), is

Definition 4.1.6

Experimental Probabilities

PA
( ) =
number of times A occurs

number of times the experiment was repeated

163
For the event of getting a 6, the probability would by = 0.163 .
1000

You must do experimental probabilities whenever it is not possible to calculate probabilities using other means. An example is if
you want to find the probability that a family has 5 children, you would have to actually look at many families, and count how
many have 5 children. Then you could calculate the probability. Another example is if you want to figure out if a die is fair. You
would have to roll the die many times and count how often each side comes up. Make sure you repeat an experiment many times,
because otherwise you will not be able to estimate the true probability. This is due to the law of large numbers.

Definition 4.1.7

Law of large numbers: as n increases, the relative frequency tends towards the actual probability value.

Note

Probability, relative frequency, percentage, and proportion are all different words for the same concept. Also, probabilities can
be given as percentages, decimals, or fractions.

Homework
Exercise 4.1.1

1. Example 4.1.2 contains the number of M&M’s of each color that were found in a case (Madison, 2013). Find the
probability of choosing each color based on this experiment.
Table 4.1.2 : M&M Distribution

Blue Brown Green Orange Red Yellow Total

481 371 483 544 372 369 2620

2. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made the
time period of January 1 to March 31. Example 4.1.3 gives the defect and the number of defects. Find the probability of
each defect type based on this data.
Table 4.1.3 : Number of Defective Lenses
Defect type Number of defects

Scratch 5865

Right shaped - small 4613

Flaked 1992

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 Defect type Number of defects

Wrong axis 1838

Chamfer wrong 1596

Crazing, cracks 1546

Wrong shape 1485

Wrong PD 1398

Spots and bubbles 1371

Wrong height 1130

Right shape - big 1105

Lost in lab 976

Spots/bubble - intern 976

3. In Australia in 1995, of the 2907 indigenous people in prison 17 of them died. In that same year, of the 14501 non-
indigenous people in prison 42 of them died ("Aboriginal deaths in," 2013). Find the probability that an indigenous person
dies in prison and the probability that a non-indigenous person dies in prison. Compare these numbers and discuss what the
numbers may mean.
4. A project conducted by the Australian Federal Office of Road Safety asked people many questions about their cars. One
question was the reason that a person chooses a given car, and that data is in Example 4.1.4 ("Car preferences," 2013). Find
the probability a person chooses a car for each of the given reasons.
Table 4.1.4 : Reason for Choosing a Car

Safety Reliability Cost Performance Comfort Looks

84 62 46 34 47 27

Answer
1. P(blue) = 0.184, P(brow) = 0.142, P(green) = 0.184, P(orange) = 0.208, P(red) = 0.142, P(yellow) = 0.141
3. P(indigenous person dies) = 0.0058, P(non-indigenous person dies) = 0.0029, see solutions

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via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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4.2: Theoretical Probability
It is not always feasible to conduct an experiment over and over again, so it would be better to be able to find the probabilities
without conducting the experiment. These probabilities are called Theoretical Probabilities.
To be able to do theoretical probabilities, there is an assumption that you need to consider. It is that all of the outcomes in the
sample space need to be equally likely outcomes. This means that every outcome of the experiment needs to have the same chance
of happening.

Example 4.2.1 Equally likely outcomes

Which of the following experiments have equally likely outcomes?

a. Rolling a fair die.
b. Flip a coin that is weighted so one side comes up more often than the other.
c. Pull a ball out of a can containing 6 red balls and 8 green balls. All balls are the same size.
d. Picking a card from a deck.
e. Rolling a die to see if it is fair.
Solution
a. Since the die is fair, every side of the die has the same chance of coming up. The outcomes are the different sides, so each
outcome is equally likely.
b. Since the coin is weighted, one side is more likely to come up than the other side. The outcomes are the different sides, so
each outcome is not equally likely.
c. Since each ball is the same size, then each ball has the same chance of being chosen. The outcomes of this experiment are
the individual balls, so each outcome is equally likely. Don’t assume that because the chances of pulling a red ball are less
than pulling a green ball that the outcomes are not equally likely. The outcomes are the individual balls and they are equally
likely.
d. If you assume that the deck is fair, then each card has the same chance of being chosen. Thus the outcomes are equally
likely outcomes. You do have to make this assumption. For many of the experiments you will do, you do have to make this
kind of assumption.
e. In this case you are not sure the die is fair. The only way to determine if it is fair is to actually conduct the experiment,
since you don’t know if the outcomes are equally likely. If the experimental probabilities are fairly close to the theoretical
probabilities, then the die is fair.

If the outcomes are not equally likely, then you must do experimental probabilities. If the outcomes are equally likely, then you can
do theoretical probabilities.

Definition 4.2.1: Theoretical Probabilities

If the outcomes of an experiment are equally likely, then the probability of event A happening is

PA( ) =
# of outcomes in event space

# of outcomes in sample space

Example 4.2.2 calculating theoretical probabilities

Suppose you conduct an experiment where you flip a fair coin twice.
a. What is the sample space?
b. What is the probability of getting exactly one head?
c. What is the probability of getting at least one head?
d. What is the probability of getting a head and a tail?
e. What is the probability of getting a head or a tail?
f. What is the probability of getting a foot?
g. What is the probability of each outcome? What is the sum of these probabilities?

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 Solution
a. There are several different sample spaces you can do. One is SS={0, 1, 2} where you are counting the number of heads.
However, the outcomes are not equally likely since you can get one head by getting a head on the first flip and a tail on the
second or a tail on the first flip and a head on the second. There are 2 ways to get that outcome and only one way to get the
other outcomes. Instead it might be better to give the sample space as listing what can happen on each flip. Let H = head and T
= tail, and list which can happen on each flip.
SS={HH, HT, TH, TT}
b. Let A = getting exactly one head. The event space is A = {HT, TH}. So

P (A) = 24 or 12
It may not be advantageous to reduce the fractions to lowest terms, since it is easier to compare fractions if they have the same
denominator.
c. Let B = getting at least one head. At least one head means get one or more. The event space is B = {HT, TH, HH} and

P (B) = 34
Since P(B) is greater than the P(A), then event B is more likely to happen than event A.
d. Let C = getting a head and a tail = {HT, TH} and

P (C ) = 2
4
This is the same event space as event A, but it is a different event. Sometimes two different events can give the same event
space.
e. Let D = getting a head or a tail. Since or means one or the other or both and it doesn’t specify the number of heads or tails,
then D = {HH, HT, TH, TT} and

P (D) = 44 = 1
f. Let E = getting a foot. Since you can’t get a foot, E = {} or the empty set and

P (E) = 0 = 0
4

g. P (HH ) = P (HT ) = P (TH ) = P (TT ) =

1
. If you add all of these probabilities together you get 1.
4

This example had some results in it that are important concepts. They are summarized below:

Probability Properties
1. 0 ≤ P ( event ) ≤ 1
2. If the P(event)=1, then it will happen and is called the certain event.
3. If the P(event)=0, then it cannot happen and is called the impossible event.
∑
4. P ( outcome ) = 1

Example 4.2.3 calculating theoretical probabilities

Suppose you conduct an experiment where you pull a card from a standard deck.
a. What is the sample space?
b. What is the probability of getting a Spade?
c. What is the probability of getting a Jack?
d. What is the probability of getting an Ace?
e. What is the probability of not getting an Ace?
f. What is the probability of getting a Spade and an Ace?
g. What is the probability of getting a Spade or an Ace?

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 h. What is the probability of getting a Jack and an Ace?
i. What is the probability of getting a Jack or an Ace?
Solution
a. SS = {2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, JS, QS, KS, AS, 2C, 3C, 4C, 5C, 6C, 7C, 8C, 9C, 10C, JC, QC, KC, AC, 2D, 3D,
4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D, 10D, JD, QD, KD, AD, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, 9H, 10H, JH, QH, KH, AH}
b. Let A = getting a spade = {2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, JS, QS, KS, AS} so

P (A) = 13
52
c. Let B = getting a Jack = {JS, JC, JH, JD} so

P (B) = 52
4

d. Let C = getting an Ace = {AS, AC, AH, AD} so

4
P (C ) = 52
e. Let D = not getting an Ace = {2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, JS, QS, KS, 2C, 3C, 4C, 5C, 6C, 7C, 8C, 9C, 10C, JC,
QC, KC, 2D, 3D, 4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D, 10D, JD, QD, KD, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, 9H, 10H, JH, QH, KH} so

P (D) = 48
52

Notice, P (D) + P (C ) =
48 4
+
=1 , so you could have found the probability of D by doing 1 minus the probability of C
52
52
P (D) = 1 − P (C )=1−
52
=
448
52
.

f. Let E = getting a Spade and an Ace = {AS} so

P (E) = 52
1

g. Let F = getting a Spade and an Ace ={2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, JS, QS, KS, AS, AC, AD, AH} so

P (F ) = 16
52
h. Let G = getting a Jack and an Ace = { } since you can’t do that with one card. So
P (G) = 0
i. Let H = getting a Jack or an Ace = {JS, JC, JD, JH, AS, AC, AD, AH} so

P (H ) = 52
8

Example 4.2.4 calculating theoretical probabilities

Suppose you have an iPod Shuffle with the following songs on it: 5 Rolling Stones songs, 7 Beatles songs, 9 Bob Dylan songs,
4 Faith Hill songs, 2 Taylor Swift songs, 7 U2 songs, 4 Mariah Carey songs, 7 Bob Marley songs, 6 Bunny Wailer songs, 7
Elton John songs, 5 Led Zeppelin songs, and 4 Dave Mathews Band songs. The different genre that you have are rock from the
60s which includes Rolling Stones, Beatles, and Bob Dylan; country includes Faith Hill and Taylor Swift; rock of the 90s
includes U2 and Mariah Carey; Reggae includes Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer; rock of the 70s includes Elton John and Led
Zeppelin; and bluegrasss/rock includes Dave Mathews Band.
The way an iPod Shuffle works, is it randomly picks the next song so you have no idea what the next song will be. Now you
would like to calculate the probability that you will hear the type of music or the artist that you are interested in. The sample
set is too difficult to write out, but you can figure it from looking at the number in each set and the total number. The total
number of songs you have is 67.
a. What is the probability that you will hear a Faith Hill song?

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 b. What is the probability that you will hear a Bunny Wailer song?
c. What is the probability that you will hear a song from the 60s?
d. What is the probability that you will hear a Reggae song?
e. What is the probability that you will hear a song from the 90s or a bluegrass/rock song?
f. What is the probability that you will hear an Elton John or a Taylor Swift song?
g. What is the probability that you will hear a country song or a U2 song?
Solution
a. There are 4 Faith Hill songs out of the 67 songs, so

P ( Faith Hill song ) =

4

67

b. There are 6 Bunny Wailer songs, so

P ( Bunny Wailer ) =
6

67

c. There are 5, 7, and 9 songs that are classified as rock from the 60s, which is 21 total, so

P ( rock from the 60s) =

21

67

d. There are 6 and 7 songs that are classified as Reggae, which is 13 total, so

P ( Reggae ) =
13

67

e. There are 7 and 4 songs that are songs from the 90s and 4 songs that are bluegrass/rock, for a total of 15, so

P ( rock from the 90 s or bluegrass/rock ) =

15

67

f. There are 7 Elton John songs and 2 Taylor Swift songs, for a total of 9, so

P
9
( Elton John or Taylor Swift song ) =
67

g. There are 6 country songs and 7 U2 songs, for a total of 13, so

P ( country or U2 song ) =
13

67

Of course you can do any other combinations you would like.

Notice in Example 4.2.3 part e, it was mentioned that the probability of event D plus the probability of event C was 1. This is
because these two events have no outcomes in common, and together they make up the entire sample space. Events that have this
property are called complementary events.

Definition 4.2.2: complementary events

If two events are complementary events then to find the probability of one just subtract the probability of the other from one.
Notation used for complement of A is not A or Ac .
P A P Ac
( )+ ( ) = 1, or PA ( ) =1− P Ac( )

Example 4.2.5 complementary events

a. Suppose you know that the probability of it raining today is 0.45. What is the probability of it not raining?
b. Suppose you know the probability of not getting the flu is 0.24. What is the probability of getting the flu?
c. In an experiment of picking a card from a deck, what is the probability of not getting a card that is a Queen?
Solution
a. Since not raining is the complement of raining, then
P ( not raining ) = 1 − P ( raining ) = 1 − 0.45 = 0.55

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 b. Since getting the flu is the complement of not getting the flu, then
P ( getting the flu ) = 1 − P ( not getting the flu ) = 1 − 0.24 = 0.76

c. You could do this problem by listing all the ways to not get a queen, but that set is fairly large. One advantage of the
complement is that it reduces the workload. You use the complement in many situations to make the work shorter and easier. In
this case it is easier to list all the ways to get a Queen, find the probability of the Queen, and then subtract from one. Queen =
{QS, QC, QD, QH} so

P
4
( Queen ) = and
52

P P
4 48
( not Queen ) = 1 − ( Queen ) = 1 − =
52 52

The complement is useful when you are trying to find the probability of an event that involves the words at least or an event that
involves the words at most. As an example of an at least event is suppose you want to find the probability of making at least
$50,000 when you graduate from college. That means you want the probability of your salary being greater than or equal to
$50,000. An example of an at most event is suppose you want to find the probability of rolling a die and getting at most a 4. That
means that you want to get less than or equal to a 4 on the die. The reason to use the complement is that sometimes it is easier to
find the probability of the complement and then subtract from 1. Example 4.2.6 demonstrates how to do this.

Example 4.2.6 using the complement to find probabilities

a. In an experiment of rolling a fair die one time, find the probability of rolling at most a 4 on the die.
b. In an experiment of pulling a card from a fair deck, find the probability of pulling at least a 5 (ace is a high card in this
example).
Solution
a. The sample space for this experiment is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. You want the event of getting at most a 4, which is the same as
thinking of getting 4 or less. The event space is {1, 2, 3, 4}. The probability is

P
4
( at most 4) =
6

Or you could have used the complement. The complement of rolling at most a 4 would be rolling number bigger than 4. The
2
event space for the complement is {5, 6}. The probability of the complement is . The probability of at most 4 would be
6

P P
2 4
( at most 4) = 1 − ( more than 4) = 1 − =
6 6

Notice you have the same answer, but the event space was easier to write out. On this example it probability wasn’t that useful,
but in the future there will be events where it is much easier to use the complement.
b. The sample space for this experiment is
SS = {2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, JS, QS, KS, AS, 2C, 3C, 4C, 5C, 6C, 7C, 8C, 9C, 10C, JC, QC, KC, AC, 2D, 3D,
4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D, 10D, JD, QD, KD, AD, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, 9H, 10H, JH, QH, KH, AH}
Pulling a card that is at least a 5 would involve listing all of the cards that are a 5 or more. It would be much easier to list the
outcomes that make up the complement. The complement of at least a 5 is less than a 5. That would be the event of 4 or less.
The event space for the complement would be {2S, 3S, 4S, 2C, 3C, 4C, 2D, 3D, 4D, 2H, 3H, 4H}. The probability of the
12
complement would be . The probability of at least a 5 would be
52

P a5) = 1 − P (4 or less ) = 1 −
12 40
( at least =
52 52

Another concept was show in Example 4.2.3 parts g and i. The problems were looking for the probability of one event or another.
16
In part g, it was looking for the probability of getting a Spade or an Ace. That was equal to . In part i, it was looking for the
52

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 8
probability of getting a Jack or an Ace. That was equal to . If you look back at the parts b, c, and d, you might notice the
52
following result:
P ( Jack ) + P ( Ace ) = P ( Jack or Ace ) but P ( Spade ) + P ( Ace ) ≠ P ( Spade or Ace )

Why does adding two individual probabilities together work in one situation to give the probability of one or another event and not
give the correct probability in the other?
The reason this is true in the case of the Jack and the Ace is that these two events cannot happen together. There is no overlap
between the two events, and in fact the P ( Jack and Acc) = 0 . However, in the case of the Spade and Ace, they can happen
together. There is overlap, mainly the ace of spades. The P ( Spade and Ace) ≠ 0 .
When two events cannot happen at the same time, they are called mutually exclusive. In the above situation, the events Jack and
Ace are mutually exclusive, while the events Spade and Ace are not mutually exclusive.

Addition Rules:
If two events A and B are mutually exclusive, then
PA B
( or ) = PA PB
( )+ ( ) and PA
( and B) =0

If two events A and B are not mutually exclusive, then

PA B( or ) = PA PB PA
( )+ ( )− ( and B )

Example 4.2.7 using addition rules

Suppose your experiment is to roll two fair dice.

a. What is the sample space?
b. What is the probability of getting a sum of 5?
c. What is the probability of getting the first die a 2?
d. What is the probability of getting a sum of 7?
e. What is the probability of getting a sum of 5 and the first die a 2?
f. What is the probability of getting a sum of 5 or the first die a 2?
g. What is the probability of getting a sum of 5 and sum of 7?
h. What is the probability of getting a sum of 5 or sum of 7?
Solution
a. As with the other examples you need to come up with a sample space that has equally likely outcomes. One sample space is
to list the sums possible on each roll. That sample space would look like: SS = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}. However,
there are more ways to get a sum of 7 then there are to get a sum of 2, so these outcomes are not equally likely. Another
thought is to list the possibilities on each roll. As an example you could roll the dice and on the first die you could get a 1. The
other die could be any number between 1 and 6, but say it is a 1 also. Then this outcome would look like (1,1). Similarly, you
could get (1, 2), (1, 3), (1,4), (1, 5), or (1, 6). Also, you could get a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 on the first die instead. Putting this all
together, you get the sample space:
SS = {(1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (1, 6)

(2, 1), (2, 2), (2, 3), (2, 4), (2, 5), (2, 6)

(3, 1), (3, 2), (3, 3), (3, 4), (3, 5), (3, 6)

(4, 1), (4, 2), (4, 3), (4, 4), (4, 5), (4, 6)

(5, 1), (5, 2), (5, 3), (5, 4), (5, 5), (5, 6)

(6, 1), (6, 2), (6, 3), (6, 4), (6, 5), (6, 6)}

Notice that a (2,3) is different from a (3,2), since the order that you roll the die is important and you can tell the difference
between these two outcomes. You don’t need any of the doubles twice, since these are not distinguishable from each other in
either order. This will always be the sample space for rolling two dice.
b. Let A = getting a sum of 5 = {(4,1), (3,2), (2,3), (1,4)} so

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 P (A) = 36
4

c. Let B = getting first die a 2 = {(2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (2,5), (2,6)} so

P (B) = 36
6

d. Let C = getting a sum of 7 = {(6,1), (5,2), (4,3), (3,4), (2,5), (1,6)} so

P (C ) = 36
6

e. This is events A and B which contains the outcome {(2,3)} so

P (A and B) = 36
1

f. Notice from part e, that these two events are not mutually exclusive, so
P (A or B) = P (A) + P (B) − P (A and B)
4 6 1
= + −
36 36 36
9
=
36
g. These are the events A and C, which have no outcomes in common. Thus A and C = { } so
P (A and C ) = 0
h. From part g, these two events are mutually exclusive, so
P (A or C ) = P (A) + P (C )
4 6
= +
36 36
10
=
36

Odds
Many people like to talk about the odds of something happening or not happening. Mathematicians, statisticians, and scientists
prefer to deal with probabilities since odds are difficult to work with, but gamblers prefer to work in odds for figuring out how
much they are paid if they win.

Definition 4.2.3

The actual odds against event A occurring are the ratio P (Ac ) /P (A), usually expressed in the form a:b or a to b, where a
and b are integers with no common factors.

Definition 4.2.4

The actual odds in favor event A occurring are the ratio P (A)/P (Ac ), which is the reciprocal of the odds against. If the odds
against event A are a:b, then the odds in favor event A are b:a.

Definition 4.2.5

The payoff odds against event A occurring are the ratio of the net profit (if you win) to the amount bet.
payoff odds against event A = (net profit) : (amount bet)

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Example 4.2.8 odds against and payoff odds

In the game of Craps, if a shooter has a come-out roll of a 7 or an 11, it is called a natural and the pass line wins. The payoff
odds are given by a casino as 1:1.
a. Find the probability of a natural.
b. Find the actual odds for a natural.
c. Find the actual odds against a natural.
d. If the casino pays 1:1, how much profit does the casino make on a $10 bet?
Solution
a. A natural is a 7 or 11. The sample space is
SS = {(1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (1, 6)
(2, 1), (2, 2), (2, 3), (2, 4), (2, 5), (2, 6)
(3, 1), (3, 2), (3, 3), (3, 4), (3, 5), (3, 6)
(4, 1), (4, 2), (4, 3), (4, 4), (4, 5), (4, 6)
(5, 1), (5, 2), (5, 3), (5, 4), (5, 5), (5, 6)
(6, 1), (6, 2), (6, 3), (6, 4), (6, 5), (6, 6)}
The event space is {(1,6), (2,5), (3,4), (4,3), (5,2), (6,1), (5,6), (6,5)}
8
So P (7 or 11) =
36
b.
P (7 or 11)
odd for a natural =
P (not7 or 11)
8/36
=
1 − 8/36
8/36
=
28/36
8
=
28
2
=
7
c.
P ( not 7 or 11) 28 7 3.5
odds against a natural = = = =
P (7 or 11) 8 2 1
d. The actual odds are 3.5 to 1 while the payoff odds are 1 to 1. The casino pays you $10 for your $10 bet. If the casino paid
you the actual odds, they would pay $3.50 on every $1 bet, and on $10, they pay 3.5 ∗ $10 = $35. Their profit is
$35 − $10 = $25.

Homework
Exercise 4.2.1

1. Example 4.2.1 contains the number of M&M’s of each color that were found in a case (Madison, 2013).
Blue Brown Green Orange Red Yellow Total

481 371 483 544 372 369 2620

Table 4.2.1: M&M Distribution

a. Find the probability of choosing a green or red M&M.

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 b. Find the probability of choosing a blue, red, or yellow M&M.
c. Find the probability of not choosing a brown M&M.
d. Find the probability of not choosing a green M&M.
2. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made in a
time period. Example 4.2.2 gives the defect and the number of defects.
Defect type Number of defects

Scratch 5865

Right shaped - small 4613

Flaked 1992

Wrong axis 1838

Chamfer wrong 1596

Crazing, cracks 1546

Wrong shape 1485

Wrong PD 1398

Spots and bubbles 1371

Wrong height 1130

Right shape - big 1105

Lost in lab 976

Spots/bubble 976

Table 4.2.2: Number of Defective Lenses

a. Find the probability of picking a lens that is scratched or flaked.
b. Find the probability of picking a lens that is the wrong PD or was lost in lab.
c. Find the probability of picking a lens that is not scratched.
d. Find the probability of picking a lens that is not the wrong shape.
3. An experiment is to flip a fair coin three times.
a. State the sample space.
b. Find the probability of getting exactly two heads. Make sure you state the event space.
c. Find the probability of getting at least two heads. Make sure you state the event space.
d. Find the probability of getting an odd number of heads. Make sure you state the event space.
e. Find the probability of getting all heads or all tails. Make sure you state the event space.
f. Find the probability of getting exactly two heads or exactly two tails.
g. Find the probability of not getting an odd number of heads.
4. An experiment is rolling a fair die and then flipping a fair coin.
a. State the sample space.
b. Find the probability of getting a head. Make sure you state the event space.
c. Find the probability of getting a 6. Make sure you state the event space.
d. Find the probability of getting a 6 or a head.
e. Find the probability of getting a 3 and a tail.
5. An experiment is rolling two fair dice.
a. State the sample space.
b. Find the probability of getting a sum of 3. Make sure you state the event space.
c. Find the probability of getting the first die is a 4. Make sure you state the event space.
d. Find the probability of getting a sum of 8. Make sure you state the event space.

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 e. Find the probability of getting a sum of 3 or sum of 8.
f. Find the probability of getting a sum of 3 or the first die is a 4.
g. Find the probability of getting a sum of 8 or the first die is a 4.
h. Find the probability of not getting a sum of 8.
6. An experiment is pulling one card from a fair deck.
a. State the sample space.
b. Find the probability of getting a Ten. Make sure you state the event space.
c. Find the probability of getting a Diamond. Make sure you state the event space.
d. Find the probability of getting a Club. Make sure you state the event space.
e. Find the probability of getting a Diamond or a Club.
f. Find the probability of getting a Ten or a Diamond.
7. An experiment is pulling a ball from an urn that contains 3 blue balls and 5 red balls.
a. Find the probability of getting a red ball.
b. Find the probability of getting a blue ball.
c. Find the odds for getting a red ball.
d. Find the odds for getting a blue ball.
8. In the game of roulette, there is a wheel with spaces marked 0 through 36 and a space marked 00.
a. Find the probability of winning if you pick the number 7 and it comes up on the wheel.
b. Find the odds against winning if you pick the number 7.
c. The casino will pay you $20 for every dollar you bet if your number comes up. How much profit is the casino making
on the bet?

Answer
1. a. P(green or red) = 0.326, b. P(blue, red, or yellow) = 0.466, c. P(not brown) = 0.858, d. P(not green) = 0.816
3. a. See solutions, b. P(2 heads) = 0.375, c. P(at least 2 heads) = 0.50, d. P(odd number of heads) = 0.50, e. P(all heads or
all tails) = 0.25, f. P(two heads or two tails) = 0.75, g. P(no an odd number of heads) = 0.50
5. a. See solutions, b. P(sum of 3) = 0.056, c. P(1st die a 4) = 0.167, d. P(sum of 8) = 0.139, e. P(sum of 3 or sum of 8) =
0.194, f. P(sum of 3 or 1st die a 4) = 0.222, g. P(sum of 8 or 1st die a 4) = 0.278, h. P(not getting a sum of 8) = 0.861
7. a. P(red ball) = 0.625, b. P(blue ball) = 0.375, c. 5 to 3 d. 3 to 5

This page titled 4.2: Theoretical Probability is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn
Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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4.3: Conditional Probability
Suppose you want to figure out if you should buy a new car. When you first go and look, you find two cars that you like the most.
In your mind they are equal, and so each has a 50% chance that you will pick it. Then you start to look at the reviews of the cars
and realize that the first car has had 40% of them needing to be repaired in the first year, while the second car only has 10% of the
cars needing to be repaired in the first year. You could use this information to help you decide which car you want to actually
purchase. Both cars no longer have a 50% chance of being the car you choose. You could actually calculate the probability you will
buy each car, which is a conditional probability. You probably wouldn’t do this, but it gives you an example of what a conditional
probability is.
Conditional probabilities are probabilities calculated after information is given. This is where you want to find the probability of
event A happening after you know that event B has happened. If you know that B has happened, then you don’t need to consider
the rest of the sample space. You only need the outcomes that make up event B. Event B becomes the new sample space, which is
called the restricted sample space, R. If you always write a restricted sample space when doing conditional probabilities and use
this as your sample space, you will have no trouble with conditional probabilities. The notation for conditional probabilities is
P (A, given B) = P (A|B) . The event following the vertical line is always the restricted sample space.
Example 4.3.1 conditional probabilities

a. Suppose you roll two dice. What is the probability of getting a sum of 5, given that the first die is a 2?
b. Suppose you roll two dice. What is the probability of getting a sum of 7, given the first die is a 4?
c. Suppose you roll two dice. What is the probability of getting the second die a 2, given the sum is a 9?
d. Suppose you pick a card from a deck. What is the probability of getting a Spade, given that the card is a Jack?
e. Suppose you pick a card from a deck. What is the probability of getting an Ace, given the card is a Queen?
Solution
a. Since you know that the first die is a 2, then this is your restricted sample space, so
R = {(2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (2,5), (2,6)}
Out of this restricted sample space, the way to get a sum of 5 is {(2,3)}. Thus

P ( sum of 5| the first die is a 2) =

1

b. Since you know that the first die is a 4, this is your restricted sample space, so
R = {(4,1), (4,2), (4,3), (4,4), (4,5), (4,6)}
Out of this restricted sample space, the way to get a sum of 7 is {(4,3)}. Thus

P ( sum of 7| the first die is a 4) =

1

c. Since you know the sum is a 9, this is your restricted sample space, so
R = {(3,6), (4,5), (5,4), (6,3)}
Out of this restricted sample space there is no way to get the second die a 2. Thus
P ( second die is a 2| sum is 9) = 0

d. Since you know that the card is a Jack, this is your restricted sample space, so
R = {JS, JC, JD, JH}
Out of this restricted sample space, the way to get a Spade is {JS}. Thus

P ( Spade |Jack) =
1

e. on: Since you know that the card is a Queen, then this is your restricted sample space, so
R = {QS, QC, QD, QH}
Out of this restricted sample space, there is no way to get an Ace, thus

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 P ( Ace | Queen ) = 0

If you look at the results of Example 4.3.7 part d and Example 4.3.1 part b, you will notice that you get the same answer. This
means that knowing that the first die is a 4 did not change the probability that the sum is a 7. This added knowledge did not help
you in any way. It is as if that information was not given at all. However, if you compare Example 4.3.7 part b and Example 4.3.1
part a, you will notice that they are not the same answer. In this case, knowing that the first die is a 2 did change the probability of
getting a sum of 5. In the first case, the events sum of 7 and first die is a 4 are called independent events. In the second case, the
events sum of 5 and first die is a 2 are called dependent events.
Events A and B are considered independent events if the fact that one event happens does not change the probability of the other
event happening. In other words, events A and B are independent if the fact that B has happened does not affect the probability of
event A happening and the fact that A has happened does not affect the probability of event B happening. Otherwise, the two
events are dependent. In symbols, A and B are independent if
P AB
( | ) = PA
( ) or P BA
( | ) = PB
( )

Example 4.3.2 independent events

a. Suppose you roll two dice. Are the events “sum of 7” and “first die is a 3” independent?
b. Suppose you roll two dice. Are the events “sum of 6” and “first die is a 4” independent?
c. Suppose you pick a card from a deck. Are the events “Jack” and “Spade” independent?
d. Suppose you pick a card from a deck. Are the events “Heart” and “Red” card independent?
e. Suppose you have two children via separate births. Are the events “the first is a boy” and “the second is a girl”
independent?
f. Suppose you flip a coin 50 times and get a head every time, what is the probability of getting a head on the next flip?
Solution
a. To determine if they are independent, you need to see if P (A|B) = P (A) . It doesn’t matter which event is A or B, so just
assign one as A and one as B.
Let A = sum of 7 = {(1,6), (2,5), (3,4), (4,3), (5,2), (6,1)} and B = first die is a 3 = {(3,1), (3,2), (3,3), (3,4), (3,5), (3,6)}
P AB
( | ) means that you assume that B has happened. The restricted sample space is B,

R = {(3,1), (3,2), (3,3), (3,4), (3,5), (3,6)}

In this restricted sample space, the way for A to happen is {(3,4)}, so

P AB ( | ) =
1

The P (A) =
6 1
=
36 6

P AB
( | ) = PA
( ) Thus “sum of 7” and “first die is a 3” are independent events.
b. To determine if they are independent, you need to see if P (A|B) = P (A) . It doesn’t matter which event is A or B, so just
assign one as A and one as B.
Let A = sum of 6 = {(1,5), (2,4), (3,3), (4,2), (5,1)} and B = first die is a 4 = {(4,1), (4,2), (4,3), (4,4), (4,5), (4,6)}, so

PA ( ) =
5

36

For P (A|B), the restricted sample space is B,

R = {(4,1), (4,2), (4,3), (4,4), (4,5), (4,6)}
In this restricted sample space, the way for A to happen is {(4,2)}, so

P AB
( | ) =
1

6
.

In this case, “sum of 6” and “first die is a 4” are dependent since P (A|B) ≠ P (A) .

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 c. To determine if they are independent, you need to see if P (A|B) = P (A) . It doesn’t matter which event is A or B, so just
assign one as A and one as B.
Let A = Jack = {JS, JC, JD, JH} and B = Spade {2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, JS, QS, KS, AS}

P (A) = 52
4
=
1
13
For P (A|B), the restricted sample space is B,
R = {2S, 3S, 4S, 5S, 6S, 7S, 8S, 9S, 10S, JS, QS, KS, AS}
In this restricted sample space, the way A happens is {JS}, so

P (A|B) = 131

In this case, “Jack” and “Spade” are independent since P (A|B) = P (A) .
d. To determine if they are independent, you need to see if P (A|B) = P (A) . It doesn’t matter which event is A or B, so just
assign one as A and one as B.
Let A = Heart = {2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, 9H, 10H, JH, QH, KH, AH} and B = Red card = {2D, 3D, 4D, 5D, 6D, 7D,
8D, 9D, 10D, JD, QD, KD, AD, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, 9H, 10H, JH, QH, KH, AH}, so

P (A) = 13
52
=
1
4
For P (A|B), the restricted sample space is B,
R = {2D, 3D, 4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D, 9D, 10D, JD, QD, KD, AD, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H, 9H, 10H, JH, QH, KH, AH}
In this restricted sample space, the way A can happen is 13,

P (A|B) = 13 = 1 .
26 2
In this case, “Heart” and “Red” card are dependent, since P (A|B) ≠ P (A) .
e. In this case, you actually don’t need to do any calculations. The gender of one child does not affect the gender of the second
child, the events are independent.
f. Since one flip of the coin does not affect the next flip (the coin does not remember what it did the time before), the
probability of getting a head on the next flip is still one-half.

Multiplication Rule:
Two more useful formulas: If two events are dependent, then P (A and B) = P (A) ∗ P (B|A)
If two events are independent, then P (A and B) = P (A)∗ P (B)
P (A and B)
If you solve the first equation for P (B|A), you obtain P (B|A) = P (A) , which is a formula to calculate a conditional
probability. However, it is easier to find a conditional probability by using the restricted sample space and counting unless the
sample space is large.

Example 4.3.3 Multiplication rule

a. Suppose you pick three cards from a deck, what is the probability that they are all Queens if the cards are not replaced after
they are picked?
b. Suppose you pick three cards from a deck, what is the probability that they are all Queens if the cards are replaced after
they are picked and before the next card is picked?
Solution
a. This sample space is too large to write out, so using the multiplication rule makes sense. Since the cards are not replaced,
then the probability will change for the second and third cards. They are dependent events. This means that on the second draw
there is one less Queen and one less card, and on the third draw there are two less Queens and 2 less cards.

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 P(3 Queens)=P(Q on 1st and Q on 2nd and Q on 3rd)
=P(Q on 1st)*P(Q on 2nd|Q on 1st)*P(Q on 3rd|1st and 2nd Q)
4 3 2
= ∗ ∗
52 51 50

24
=
132600

b. Again, the sample space is too large to write out, so using the multiplication rule makes sense. Since the cards are put back,
one draw has no affect on the next draw and they are all independent.
P(3 Queens)=P(Queen on 1st and Queen on 2nd and Queen on 3rd)
=P(Queen on 1st)*P(Queen on 2nd)*P(Queen on 3rd)
4 4 4
= ∗ ∗
52 52 52

= ( ) 4

52

64
=
140608

Example 4.3.4 application problem

The World Health Organization (WHO) keeps track of how many incidents of leprosy there are in the world. Using the WHO
regions and the World Banks income groups, one can ask if an income level and a WHO region are dependent on each other in
terms of predicting where the disease is. Data on leprosy cases in different countries was collected for the year 2011 and a
summary is presented in Example 4.3.1 ("Leprosy: Number of," 2013).
Table 4.3.1 : Number of Leprosy Cases
World Bank Income Group
WHO Region Upper Middle Lower Middle Row Total
High Income Low Income
Income Income

Americas 174 36028 615 0 36817

Eastern
54 6 1883 604 2547
Mediterranean

Europe 10 0 0 0 10

Western Pacific 26 216 3689 1155 5086

Africa 0 39 1986 15928 17953

South-East Asia 0 0 149896 10236 160132

Column Total 264 36289 158069 27923 222545

a. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from the Americas.
b. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from a high-income country.
c. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from the Americas and a high-income country.
d. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from a high-income country, given they are from the Americas.
e. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from a low-income country.
f. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from Africa.
g. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from Africa and a low-income country.
h. Find the probability that a person with leprosy is from Africa, given they are from a low-income country.
i. Are the events that a person with leprosy is from “Africa” and “low-income country” independent events? Why or why
not?

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 j. Are the events that a person with leprosy is from “Americas” and “high-income country” independent events? Why or why
not?
Solution
a. There are 36817 cases of leprosy in the Americas out of 222,545 cases worldwide. So,

P
36817
( Americas ) = ≈ 0.165
222545

There is about a 16.5% chance that a person with leprosy lives in a country in the Americas.
b. There are 264 cases of leprosy in high-income countries out of 222,545 cases worldwide. So,

P
264
( high-income ) = ≈ 0.0001
222545

There is about a 0.1% chance that a person with leprosy lives in a high-income country.
c. There are 174 cases of leprosy in countries in a high-income country in the Americas out the 222,545 cases worldwide. So,

P
174
( Americas and high-income ) = 0.0008
222545

There is about a 0.08% chance that a person with leprosy lives in a high-income country in the Americas.
d. In this case you know that the person is in the Americas. You don’t need to consider people from Easter Mediterranean,
Europe, Western Pacific, Africa, and South-east Asia. You only need to look at the row with Americas at the start. In that row,
look to see how many leprosy cases there are from a high-income country. There are 174 countries out of the 36,817 leprosy
cases in the Americas. So,

P
174
( high-income | Americas ) = ≈ 0.0047
36817

There is 0.47% chance that a person with leprosy is from a high-income country given that they are from the Americas.
e. There are 27,923 cases of leprosy in low-income countries out of the 222,545 leprosy cases worldwide. So,

P
27923
( low-income ) = ≈ 0.125
222545

There is a 12.5% chance that a person with leprosy is from a low-income country.
f. There are 17,953 cases of leprosy in Africa out of 222,545 leprosy cases worldwide. So,

P
17953
( Africa ) = ≈ 0.081
222545

There is an 8.1% chance that a person with leprosy is from Africa.

g. There are 15,928 cases of leprosy in low-income countries in Africa out of all the 222,545 leprosy cases worldwide. So,

P
15928
( Africa and low-income ) = ≈ 0.072
222545

There is a 7.2% chance that a person with leprosy is from a low-income country in Africa.
h. In this case you know that the person with leprosy is from low-income country. You don’t need to include the high income,
upper-middle income, and lowermiddle income country. You only need to consider the column headed by lowincome. In that
column, there are 15,928 cases of leprosy in Africa out of the 27,923 cases of leprosy in low-income countries. So,

P
15928
( Africa | low-income ) = ≈ 0.570
27923

There is a 57.0% chance that a person with leprosy is from Africa, given that they are from a low-income country.
i. In order for these events to independent, either P ( Africa | low-income ) = P ( Africa )
be or
P ( low-income | Africa ) = P have to be true. Part (h) showed P ( Africa | low-income ) ≈ 0.570 and part
( low-income )

(f) showed P ( Africa ) ≈ 0.081 . Since these are not equal, then these two events are dependent.
j. In order for these events to be independent, either P ( Americas | high-income ) = P ( Americas ) or
P ( high-income | Americas ) = P ( high-income ) have to be true. Part (d) showed

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 P ( high-income | Americas ) ≈ 0.0047 and part (b) showed P ( high-income ) ≈ 0.001. Since these are not equal, then
these two events are dependent.

A big deal has been made about the difference between dependent and independent events while calculating the probability of and
compound events. You must multiply the probability of the first event with the conditional probability of the second event.
Why do you care? You need to calculate probabilities when you are performing sampling, as you will learn later. But here is a
simplification that can make the calculations a lot easier: when the sample size is very small compared to the population size, you
can assume that the conditional probabilities just don't change very much over the sample.
For example, consider acceptance sampling. Suppose there is a big population of parts delivered to you factory, say 12,000 parts.
Suppose there are 85 defective parts in the population. You decide to randomly select ten parts, and reject the shipment. What is the
probability of rejecting the shipment?
There are many different ways you could reject the shipment. For example, maybe the first three parts are good, one is bad, and the
rest are good. Or all ten parts could be bad, or maybe the first five. So many ways to reject! But there is only one way that you’d
accept the shipment: if all ten parts are good. That would happen if the first part is good, and the second part is good, and the third
part is good, and so on. Since the probability of the second part being good is (slightly) dependent on whether the first part was
good, technically you should take this into consideration when you calculate the probability that all ten are good.

The probability of getting the first sampled part good is

12000 −85 = 11915 . So the probability that all ten being good is
12000 12000
11915 ∗ 11914 ∗ 11913 ∗ … ∗ 11906 ≈ 93.1357% . If instead you assume that the probability doesn’t change much, you get
12000 11999 11998 11991
11915 10
(
12000 ) ≈ 93.1382%. So as you can see, there is not much difference. So here is the rule: if the sample is very small
compared to the size of the population, then you can assume that the probabilities are independent, even though they aren’t
technically. By the way, the probability of rejecting the shipment is 1 −0.9314 = 0.0686 = 6.86%.

Homework
Exercise 4.3.1
1. Are owning a refrigerator and owning a car independent events? Why or why not?
2. Are owning a computer or tablet and paying for Internet service independent events? Why or why not?
3. Are passing your statistics class and passing your biology class independent events? Why or why not?
4. Are owning a bike and owning a car independent events? Why or why not?
5. An experiment is picking a card from a fair deck.
a. What is the probability of picking a Jack given that the card is a face card?
b. What is the probability of picking a heart given that the card is a three?
c. What is the probability of picking a red card given that the card is an ace?
d. Are the events Jack and face card independent events? Why or why not?
e. Are the events red card and ace independent events? Why or why not?
6. An experiment is rolling two dice.
a. What is the probability that the sum is 6 given that the first die is a 5?
b. What is the probability that the first die is a 3 given that the sum is 11?
c. What is the probability that the sum is 7 given that the fist die is a 2?
d. Are the two events sum of 6 and first die is a 5 independent events? Why or why not?
e. Are the two events sum of 7 and first die is a 2 independent events? Why or why not?
7. You flip a coin four times. What is the probability that all four of them are heads?
8. You flip a coin six times. What is the probability that all six of them are heads?
9. You pick three cards from a deck with replacing the card each time before picking the next card. What is the probability
that all three cards are kings?
10. You pick three cards from a deck without replacing a card before picking the next card. What is the probability that all three
cards are kings?

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11. The number of people who survived the Titanic based on class and sex is in Example 4.3.2 ("Encyclopedia Titanica,"
2013). Suppose a person is picked at random from the survivors.
Sex
Class Total
Female Male

1st 134 59 193

2nd 94 25 119

3rd 80 58 138

Total 308 142 450

Table 4.3.2: Surviving the Titanic

a. What is the probability that a survivor was female?
b. What is the probability that a survivor was in the 1st class?
c. What is the probability that a survivor was a female given that the person was in 1st class?
d. What is the probability that a survivor was a female and in the 1st class?
e. What is the probability that a survivor was a female or in the 1st class?
f. Are the events survivor is a female and survivor is in 1st class mutually exclusive? Why or why not?
g. Are the events survivor is a female and survivor is in 1st class independent? Why or why not?
12. Researchers watched groups of dolphins off the coast of Ireland in 1998 to determine what activities the dolphins partake in
at certain times of the day ("Activities of dolphin," 2013). The numbers in Example 4.3.3 represent the number of groups
of dolphins that were partaking in an activity at certain times of days.
Period
Activity Total
Morning Noon Afternoon Evening

Travel 6 6 14 13 39

Feed 28 4 0 56 88

Social 38 5 9 10 62

Total 72 15 23 79 189

Table 4.3.3: Dolphin Activity

a. What is the probability that a dolphin group is partaking in travel?
b. What is the probability that a dolphin group is around in the morning?
c. What is the probability that a dolphin group is partaking in travel given that it is morning?
d. What is the probability that a dolphin group is around in the morning given that it is partaking in socializing?
e. What is the probability that a dolphin group is around in the afternoon given that it is partaking in feeding?
f. What is the probability that a dolphin group is around in the afternoon and is partaking in feeding?
g. What is the probability that a dolphin group is around in the afternoon or is partaking in feeding?
h. Are the events dolphin group around in the afternoon and dolphin group feeding mutually exclusive events? Why or why
not?
i. Are the events dolphin group around in the morning and dolphin group partaking in travel independent events? Why or
why not?

Answer
1. Independent, see solutions
3. Dependent, see solutions
5. a. P(Jack/face card) = 0.333, b. P(heart/card a 3) = 0.25, c. P(red card/ace) = 0.50, d. not independent, see solutions, e.
independent, see solutions

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 7. 0.0625
9. 4.55 × 10−4
11. a. P(female) = 0.684, b. P(1st class) = 0.429, c. P(female/1st class) = 0.694, d. P(female and 1st class) = 0.298, e.
P(female or 1st class) = 0.816, f. No, see solutions, g. Dependent, see solutions

This page titled 4.3: Conditional Probability is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn
Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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4.4: Counting Techniques
There are times when the sample space or event space are very large, that it isn’t feasible to write it out. In that case, it helps to
have mathematical tools for counting the size of the sample space and event space. These tools are known as counting techniques.

Definition 4.4.1

Multiplication Rule in Counting Techniques

If task 1 can be done m
1 ways, task 2 can be donem 2 ways, and so forth to task n being done mn ways. Then the number of
ways to do task 1, 2,…, n together would be 1 2m m r mn
∗ ∗ Δ∗
.

Example 4.4.1 multiplication rule in counting

A menu offers a choice of 3 salads, 8 main dishes, and 5 desserts. How many different meals consisting of one salad, one main
dish, and one dessert are possible?
Solution
There are three tasks, picking a salad, a main dish, and a dessert. The salad task can be done 3 ways, the main dish task can be
done 8 ways, and the dessert task can be done 5 ways. The ways to pick a salad, main dish, and dessert are
3 8 5
= 120 different meals
salad main dessert

Example 4.4.2 Multiplication rule in counting

How many three letter “words” can be made from the letters a, b, and c with no letters repeating? A “word” is just an ordered
group of letters. It doesn’t have to be a real word in a dictionary.
Solution
There are three tasks that must be done in this case. The tasks are to pick the first letter, then the second letter, and then the
third letter. The first task can be done 3 ways since there are 3 letters. The second task can be done 2 ways, since the first task
took one of the letters. The third task can be done 1 ways, since the first and second task took two of the letters. There are
3 2 1
∗ ∗
first letter second letter third letter

Which is
∗ ∗
3 2 1 =6

You can also look at this in a tree diagram:

Figure 4.4.1 : Tree diagram

So, there are 6 different “words.”

In Example 4.4.2, the solution was found by find 3 ∗ 2 ∗ 1 = 6 . Many counting problems involve multiplying a list of decreasing
numbers. This is called a factorial. There is a special symbol for this and a special button on your calculator.

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 Definition 4.4.2

Factorial
n ! = nn
( − 1)(n − 2) ⋯ (3)(2)(1)

As an example:
5! = 5 ∗ 4 ∗ 3 ∗ 2 ∗ 1 = 120

8! = 8 ∗ 7 ∗ 6 ∗ 5 ∗ 4 ∗ 3 ∗ 2 ∗ 1 = 40320

0 factorial is defined to be 0!=1 and 1 factorial is defined to be 1!=1.

Sometimes you are trying to select r objects from n total objects. The number of ways to do this depends on if the order you choose
the r objects matters or if it doesn’t. As an example if you are trying to call a person on the phone, you have to have their number in
the right order. Otherwise, you call someone you didn’t mean to. In this case, the order of the numbers matters. If however you
were picking random numbers for the lottery, it doesn’t matter which number you pick first. As long as you have the same numbers
that the lottery people pick, you win. In this case the order doesn’t matter. A permutation is an arrangement of items with a
specific order. You use permutations to count items when the order matters. When the order doesn’t matter you use combinations.
A combination is an arrangement of items when order is not important. When you do a counting problem, the first thing you
should ask yourself is “does order matter?”

Definition 4.4.3

Permutation Formula
Picking r objects from n total objects when order matters
n
n Pr =
!

(n r − )!

Definition 4.4.4

Combination Formula
Picking r objects from n total objects when order doesn’t matter
n
n Cr =
!

r n r
!( − )!

Example 4.4.3 calculating the number of ways

In a club with 15 members, how many ways can a slate of 3 officers consisting of a president, vice-president, and
secretary/treasurer be chosen?
Solution
In this case the order matters. If you pick person 1 for president, person 2 for vice-president, and person 3 for
secretary/treasurer you would have different officers than if you picked person 2 for president, person 1 for vice-president, and
person 3 for secretary/treasurer. This is a permutation problem with n=15 and r=3.

15 P3 =
15!

(15 − 3)!
=
15!

12!
= 2730

Example 4.4.4 calculating the number of ways

Suppose you want to pick 7 people out of 20 people to take part in a survey. How many ways can you do this?
Solution
In this case the order doesn’t matter, since you just want 7 people. This is a combination with n=20 and r=7.

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 20 C
7 =
20!
=
20!

7!13!
= 77520
7!(20 − 7)!

Most calculators have a factorial button on them, and many have the combination and permutation functions also. R has a
combination command.

Homework
Exercise 4.4.1

1. You are going to a benefit dinner, and need to decide before the dinner what you want for salad, main dish, and dessert. You
have 2 different salads to choose from, 3 main dishes, and 5 desserts. How many different meals are available?
2. How many different phone numbers are possible in the area code 928?
3. You are opening a T-shirt store. You can have long sleeves or short sleeves, three different colors, five different designs,
and four different sizes. How many different shirts can you make?
4. The California license plate has one number followed by three letters followed by three numbers. How many different
license plates are there?
5. Find 9 P4
6. Find 10 P6
7. Find 10 P5
8. Find 20 P4
9. You have a group of twelve people. You need to pick a president, treasurer, and secretary from the twelve. How many
different ways can you do this?
10. A baseball team has a 25-man roster. A batting order has nine people. How many different batting orders are there?
11. An urn contains five red balls, seven yellow balls, and eight white balls. How many different ways can you pick two red
balls?
12. How many ways can you choose seven people from a group of twenty?

Answer
1. 30 meals
3. 120 shirts
5. 3024
7. 252
9. 1320
11. 10

Data sources
Aboriginal deaths in custody. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/custody.html
Activities of dolphin groups. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/general/dolpacti.html
Car preferences. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/carprefs.html
Encyclopedia Titanica. (2013, November 09). Retrieved from www.encyclopediatitanica.org/
Leprosy: Number of reported cases by country. (2013, September 04). Retrieved from
http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A1639
Madison, J. (2013, October 15). M&M's color distribution analysis. Retrieved from http://joshmadison.com/2007/12/02/mm...tion-
analysis/

This page titled 4.4: Counting Techniques is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak
via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

5: Discrete Probability Distributions

5.1: Basics of Probability Distributions
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution
5.3: Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial Distribution

This page titled 5: Discrete Probability Distributions is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by
Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
5.1: Basics of Probability Distributions
As a reminder, a variable or what will be called the random variable from now on, is represented by the letter x and it represents a
quantitative (numerical) variable that is measured or observed in an experiment.
Also remember there are different types of quantitative variables, called discrete or continuous. What is the difference between
discrete and continuous data? Discrete data can only take on particular values in a range. Continuous data can take on any value in
a range. Discrete data usually arises from counting while continuous data usually arises from measuring.

Examples of each
How tall is a plant given a new fertilizer? Continuous. This is something you measure. How many fleas are on prairie dogs in a
colony? Discrete. This is something you count.
If you have a variable, and can find a probability associated with that variable, it is called a random variable. In many cases the
random variable is what you are measuring, but when it comes to discrete random variables, it is usually what you are counting. So
for the example of how tall is a plant given a new fertilizer, the random variable is the height of the plant given a new fertilizer. For
the example of how many fleas are on prairie dogs in a colony, the random variable is the number of fleas on a prairie dog in a
colony.
Now suppose you put all the values of the random variable together with the probability that that random variable would occur.
You could then have a distribution like before, but now it is called a probability distribution since it involves probabilities. A
probability distribution is an assignment of probabilities to the values of the random variable. The abbreviation of pdf is used for
a probability distribution function.
For probability distributions, 0 ≤ P (x ) ≤ 1 and ∑P x( )=1

Example 5.1.1: Probability Distribution

The 2010 U.S. Census found the chance of a household being a certain size. The data is in Example 5.1.1 ("Households by
age," 2013).
Table 5.1.1 : Household Size from US Census of 2010
Size of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
household

Probability 26.7% 33.6% 15.8% 13.7% 6.3% 2.4% 1.5%

Solution
In this case, the random variable is x = number of people in a household. This is a discrete random variable, since you are
counting the number of people in a household.
This is a probability distribution since you have the x value and the probabilities that go with it, all of the probabilities are
between zero and one, and the sum of all of the probabilities is one.

You can give a probability distribution in table form (as in Example 5.1.1) or as a graph. The graph looks like a histogram. A
probability distribution is basically a relative frequency distribution based on a very large sample.

Example 5.1.2 graphing a probability distribution

The 2010 U.S. Census found the chance of a household being a certain size. The data is in the table ("Households by age,"
2013). Draw a histogram of the probability distribution.
Table 5.1.2 : Household Size from US Census of 2010
Size of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
household

Probability 26.7% 33.6% 15.8% 13.7% 6.3% 2.4% 1.5%

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 Solution
State random variable:
x = number of people in a household
You draw a histogram, where the x values are on the horizontal axis and are the x values of the classes (for the 7 or more
category, just call it 7). The probabilities are on the vertical axis.

Figure 5.1.1 : Histogram of Household Size from US Census of 2010

Notice this graph is skewed right.

Just as with any data set, you can calculate the mean and standard deviation. In problems involving a probability distribution
function (pdf), you consider the probability distribution the population even though the pdf in most cases come from repeating an
experiment many times. This is because you are using the data from repeated experiments to estimate the true probability. Since a
pdf is basically a population, the mean and standard deviation that are calculated are actually the population parameters and not the
sample statistics. The notation used is the same as the notation for population mean and population standard deviation that was
used in chapter 3.

Note
The mean can be thought of as the expected value. It is the value you expect to get if the trials were repeated infinite number
of times. The mean or expected value does not need to be a whole number, even if the possible values of x are whole numbers.

For a discrete probability distribution function,

The mean or expected value is μ = ∑ xP x ( )

The variance is σ 2 = ∑x μ P x
( − )2 ( )

The standard deviation σ

is = √∑
−−−−−−−−
x μ P x−−−−
( − )2 ( )

where x = the value of the random variable and P(x) = the probability corresponding to a particular x value.

Example 5.1.3: Calculating mean, variance, and standard deviation for a discrete probability distribution

The 2010 U.S. Census found the chance of a household being a certain size. The data is in the table ("Households by age,"
2013).
Table 5.1.3 : Household Size from US Census of 2010
Size of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
household

Probability 26.7% 33.6% 15.8% 13.7% 6.3% 2.4% 1.5%

a. Find the mean

b. Find the variance
c. Find the standard deviation

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 d. Use a TI-83/84 to calculate the mean and standard deviation
e. Using R to calculate the mean
Solution
State random variable:
x= number of people in a household
a. To find the mean it is easier to just use a table as shown below. Consider the category 7 or more to just be 7. The formula for
the mean says to multiply the x value by the P(x) value, so add a row into the table for this calculation. Also convert all P(x) to
decimal form.
Table 5.1.4 : Calculating the Mean for a Discrete PDF
x 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

P(x) 0.267 0.336 0.158 0.137 0.063 0.024 0.015

xP(x) 0.267 0.672 0.474 0.548 0.315 0.144 0.098

Now add up the new row and you get the answer 2.525. This is the mean or the expected value, μ = 2.525 people. This means
that you expect a household in the U.S. to have 2.525 people in it. Now of course you can’t have half a person, but what this
tells you is that you expect a household to have either 2 or 3 people, with a little more 3-person households than 2-person
households.
b. To find the variance, again it is easier to use a table version than try to just the formula in a line. Looking at the formula, you
will notice that the first operation that you should do is to subtract the mean from each x value. Then you square each of these
values. Then you multiply each of these answers by the probability of each x value. Finally you add up all of these values.
Table 5.1.5 : Calculating the Variance for a Discrete PDF
x 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

P(x) 0.267 0.336 0.158 0.137 0.063 0.024 0.015

x−μ -1.525 -0.525 0.475 1.475 2.475 3.475 4.475

x μ)2
( − 2.3256 0.2756 0.2256 2.1756 6.1256 12.0756 20.0256

x μ)2 P (x)
( − 0.6209 0.0926 0.0356 0.2981 0.3859 0.2898 0.3004

Now add up the last row to find the variance, σ 2 = 2.02375 people 2. (Note: try not to round your numbers too much so you
aren’t creating rounding error in your answer. The numbers in the table above were rounded off because of space limitations,
but the answer was calculated using many decimal places.)
−−−−−−−
c. To find the standard deviation, just take the square root of the variance, σ = √2.023375 ≈ 1.422454 people. This means
that you can expect a U.S. household to have 2.525 people in it, with a standard deviation of 1.42 people.
d. Go into the STAT menu, then the Edit menu. Type the x values into L1 and the P(x) values into L2. Then go into the STAT
menu, then the CALC menu. Choose 1:1-Var Stats. This will put 1-Var Stats on the home screen. Now type in L1,L2 (there is a
comma between L1 and L2) and then press ENTER. If you have the newer operating system on the TI-84, then your input will
be slightly different. You will see the output in Figure 5.1.1.

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 Figure 5.1.1 : TI-83/84 Output
The mean is 2.525 people and the standard deviation is 1.422 people.
e. The command would be weighted.mean(x, p). So for this example, the process would look like:
x<-c(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
p<-c(0.267, 0.336, 0.158, 0.137, 0.063, 0.024, 0.015)
weighted.mean(x, p)
Output:
[1] 2.525
So the mean is 2.525.
To find the standard deviation, you would need to program the process into R. So it is easier to just do it using the formula.

Example 5.1.4 Calculating the expected value

In the Arizona lottery called Pick 3, a player pays $1 and then picks a three-digit number. If those three numbers are picked in
that specific order the person wins $500. What is the expected value in this game?
Solution
To find the expected value, you need to first create the probability distribution. In this case, the random variable x = winnings.
If you pick the right numbers in the right order, then you win $500, but you paid $1 to play, so you actually win $499. If you
didn’t pick the right numbers, you lose the $1, the x value is -$1. You also need the probability of winning and losing. Since
you are picking a three-digit number, and for each digit there are 10 numbers you can pick with each independent of the others,
you can use the multiplication rule. To win, you have to pick the right numbers in the right order. The first digit, you pick 1
number out of 10, the second digit you pick 1 number out of 10, and the third digit you pick 1 number out of 10. The
1 1 1 1
probability of picking the right number in the right order is ∗ ∗ = = 0.001 . The probability of losing (not
10 10 10 1000
1 999
winning) would be 1 − = = 0.999 . Putting this information into a table will help to calculate the expected value.
1000 1000
Table 5.1.6 : Finding Expected Value
Win or lose x P(x) xP(x)

Win $499 0.001 $0.499

Lose -$1 0.999 -$0.999

Now add the two values together and you have the expected value. It is $0.499 + (−$0.999) = −$0.50. In the long run, you
will expect to lose $0.50. Since the expected value is not 0, then this game is not fair. Since you lose money, Arizona makes
money, which is why they have the lottery.

The reason probability is studied in statistics is to help in making decisions in inferential statistics. To understand how that is done
the concept of a rare event is needed.

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 Definition 5.1.1: Rare Event Rule for Inferential Statistics
If, under a given assumption, the probability of a particular observed event is extremely small, then you can conclude that the
assumption is probably not correct.

An example of this is suppose you roll an assumed fair die 1000 times and get a six 600 times, when you should have only rolled a
six around 160 times, then you should believe that your assumption about it being a fair die is untrue.

Determining if an event is unusual

If you are looking at a value of x for a discrete variable, and the P(the variable has a value of x or more) < 0.05, then you can
consider the x an unusually high value. Another way to think of this is if the probability of getting such a high value is less than
0.05, then the event of getting the value x is unusual.
Similarly, if the P(the variable has a value of x or less) < 0.05, then you can consider this an unusually low value. Another way to
think of this is if the probability of getting a value as small as x is less than 0.05, then the event x is considered unusual.
Why is it "x or more" or "x or less" instead of just "x" when you are determining if an event is unusual? Consider this example: you
and your friend go out to lunch every day. Instead of Going Dutch (each paying for their own lunch), you decide to flip a coin, and
the loser pays for both. Your friend seems to be winning more often than you'd expect, so you want to determine if this is unusual
before you decide to change how you pay for lunch (or accuse your friend of cheating). The process for how to calculate these
probabilities will be presented in the next section on the binomial distribution. If your friend won 6 out of 10 lunches, the
probability of that happening turns out to be about 20.5%, not unusual. The probability of winning 6 or more is about 37.7%. But
what happens if your friend won 501 out of 1,000 lunches? That doesn't seem so unlikely! The probability of winning 501 or more
lunches is about 47.8%, and that is consistent with your hunch that this isn't so unusual. But the probability of winning exactly 501
lunches is much less, only about 2.5%. That is why the probability of getting exactly that value is not the right question to ask: you
should ask the probability of getting that value or more (or that value or less on the other side).
The value 0.05 will be explained later, and it is not the only value you can use.

Example 5.1.5 is the event unusual

The 2010 U.S. Census found the chance of a household being a certain size. The data is in the table ("Households by age,"
2013).
Table 5.1.7 : Household Size from US Census of 2010
Size of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or more
household

Probability 26.7% 33.6% 15.8% 13.7% 6.3% 2.4% 1.5%

a. Is it unusual for a household to have six people in the family?

b. If you did come upon many families that had six people in the family, what would you think?
c. Is it unusual for a household to have four people in the family?
d. If you did come upon a family that has four people in it, what would you think?
Solution
State random variable:
x= number of people in a household
a. To determine this, you need to look at probabilities. However, you cannot just look at the probability of six people. You need
to look at the probability of x being six or more people or the probability of x being six or less people. The
P (x ≤ 6) = P (x = 1)+ P (x = 2)+ P (x = 3)+ P (x = 4)+ P (x = 5)+ P (x = 6)
= 26.7%+33.6%+15.8%+13.7%+6.3%+2.4%
= 98.5%
Since this probability is more than 5%, then six is not an unusually low value. The

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 P (x ≥ 6) = P (x = 6)+ P (x ≥ 7)
= 2.4%+1.5%
= 3.9%
Since this probability is less than 5%, then six is an unusually high value. It is unusual for a household to have six people in the
family.
b. Since it is unusual for a family to have six people in it, then you may think that either the size of families is increasing from
what it was or that you are in a location where families are larger than in other locations.
c. To determine this, you need to look at probabilities. Again, look at the probability of x being four or more or the probability
of x being four or less. The
P (x ≥ 4) = P (x = 4)+ P (x = 5)+ P (x = 6)+ P (x = 7)
= 13.7%+6.3%+2.4%+1.5%
= 23.9%
Since this probability is more than 5%, four is not an unusually high value. The
P (x ≤ 4) = P (x = 1)+ P (x = 2)+ P (x = 3)+ P (x = 4)
= 26.7%+33.6%+15.8%+13.7%
= 89.8%
Since this probability is more than 5%, four is not an unusually low value. Thus, four is not an unusual size of a family.
d. Since it is not unusual for a family to have four members, then you would not think anything is amiss.

Homework
Exercise 5.1.1
1. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. The number of days it takes to fix defects in an eyeglass and
the probability that it will take that number of days are in the table.
Number of days Probabilities

1 24.9%

2 10.8%

3 9.1%

4 12.3%

5 13.3%

6 11.4%

7 7.0%

8 4.6%

9 1.9%

10 1.3%

11 1.0%

12 0.8%

13 0.6%

14 0.4%

15 0.2%

16 0.2%

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 17 0.1%

18 0.1%

Table 5.1.8: Number of Days to Fix Defects

a. State the random variable.
b. Draw a histogram of the number of days to fix defects
c. Find the mean number of days to fix defects.
d. Find the variance for the number of days to fix defects.
e. Find the standard deviation for the number of days to fix defects.
f. Find probability that a lens will take at least 16 days to make a fix the defect.
g. Is it unusual for a lens to take 16 days to fix a defect?
h. If it does take 16 days for eyeglasses to be repaired, what would you think?
2. Suppose you have an experiment where you flip a coin three times. You then count the number of heads.
a. State the random variable.
b. Write the probability distribution for the number of heads.
c. Draw a histogram for the number of heads.
d. Find the mean number of heads.
e. Find the variance for the number of heads.
f. Find the standard deviation for the number of heads.
g. Find the probability of having two or more number of heads.
h. Is it unusual for to flip two heads?
3. The Ohio lottery has a game called Pick 4 where a player pays $1 and picks a four-digit number. If the four numbers come
up in the order you picked, then you win $2,500. What is your expected value?
4. An LG Dishwasher, which costs $800, has a 20% chance of needing to be replaced in the first 2 years of purchase. A two-
year extended warrantee costs $112.10 on a dishwasher. What is the expected value of the extended warranty assuming it is
replaced in the first 2 years?

Answer
1. a. See solutions, b. See solutions, c. 4.175 days, d. 8.414375 days
2
, e. 2.901 days, f. 0.004, g. See solutions, h. See
solutions
3. -$0.75

This page titled 5.1: Basics of Probability Distributions is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by
Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution
Section 5.1 introduced the concept of a probability distribution. The focus of the section was on discrete probability distributions
(pdf). To find the pdf for a situation, you usually needed to actually conduct the experiment and collect data. Then you can
calculate the experimental probabilities. Normally you cannot calculate the theoretical probabilities instead. However, there are
certain types of experiment that allow you to calculate the theoretical probability. One of those types is called a Binomial
Experiment.

Properties of a binomial experiment (or Bernoulli trial)

1. Fixed number of trials, n, which means that the experiment is repeated a specific number of times.
2. The n trials are independent, which means that what happens on one trial does not influence the outcomes of other trials.
3. There are only two outcomes, which are called a success and a failure.
4. The probability of a success doesn’t change from trial to trial, where p = probability of success and q = probability of failure, q
= 1-p.
If you know you have a binomial experiment, then you can calculate binomial probabilities. This is important because binomial
probabilities come up often in real life. Examples of binomial experiments are:
Toss a fair coin ten times, and find the probability of getting two heads.
Question twenty people in class, and look for the probability of more than half being women?
Shoot five arrows at a target, and find the probability of hitting it five times?
To develop the process for calculating the probabilities in a binomial experiment, consider Example 5.2.1.

Example 5.2.1: Deriving the Binomial Probability Formula

Suppose you are given a 3 question multiple-choice test. Each question has 4 responses and only one is correct. Suppose you
want to find the probability that you can just guess at the answers and get 2 questions right. (Teachers do this all the time when
they make up a multiple-choice test to see if students can still pass without studying. In most cases the students can’t.) To help
with the idea that you are going to guess, suppose the test is in Martian.
a. What is the random variable?
b. Is this a binomial experiment?
c. What is the probability of getting 2 questions right?
d. What is the probability of getting zero right, one right, and all three right?
Solution
a. x = number of correct answers
b.
1. There are 3 questions, and each question is a trial, so there are a fixed number of trials. In this case, n = 3.
2. Getting the first question right has no affect on getting the second or third question right, thus the trials are independent.
3. Either you get the question right or you get it wrong, so there are only two outcomes. In this case, the success is getting the
question right.
4. The probability of getting a question right is one out of four. This is the same for every trial since each question has 4
1 1 3
responses. In this case, p = and q =1− =
4 4 4

This is a binomial experiment, since all of the properties are met.

c. To answer this question, start with the sample space. SS = {RRR, RRW, RWR, WRR, WWR, WRW, RWW, WWW}, where
RRW means you get the first question right, the second question right, and the third question wrong. The same is similar for
the other outcomes.
Now the event space for getting 2 right is {RRW, RWR, WRR}. What you did in chapter four was just to find three divided by
eight. However, this would not be right in this case. That is because the probability of getting a question right is different from
getting a question wrong. What else can you do?
Look at just P(RRW) for the moment. Again, that means P(RRW) = P(R on 1st, R on 2nd, and W on 3rd)

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 Since the trials are independent, then P(RRW) = P(R on 1st, R on 2nd, and W on 3rd) = P(R on 1st) * P(R on 2nd) * P(W on
3rd)
Just multiply p * p * q
2 1

P (RRW) =
1
∗
1
∗
3
= ( )( )
1 3

4 4 4 4 4

The same is true for P(RWR) and P(WRR). To find the probability of 2 correct answers, just add these three probabilities
together. You get
P (2 correct answers ) = P (RRW) + P (RWR) + P (WRR)

2 1 2 1 2 1

= ( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( )
1

4
3

4
+
1

4
3

4
+
1

4
3

2 1

=3 ( )( ) 1

4
3

d. You could go through the same argument that you did above and come up with the following:
Table 5.2.1 : Binomial pattern
r right P(r right)
0 3

0 right 1
∗
( )( )
1

4
3

1 2

1 right 3
∗
( )( )
1

4
3

2 1

2 right 3∗ ( )( )
1

4
3

3 0

3 right 1
∗
( )( )
1

4
3

Hopefully you see the pattern that results. You can now write the general formula for the probabilities for a Binomial
experiment

First, the random variable in a binomial experiment is x = number of successes. Be careful, a success is not always a good thing.
Sometimes a success is something that is bad, like finding a defect. A success just means you observed the outcome you wanted to
see happen.

Definition 5.2.1

Binomial Formula for the probability of r successes in n trials is

Px r n
n Cr p q where n Cr =
r nr ⋅
!

r n r
( = ) =
!( − )!

The n Cr is the number of combinations of n things taking r at a time. It is read “n choose r”. Some other common notations for n
choose r are Cn r , and (
n ). n! means you are multiplying n n ∗ ∗
n ∗ ∗ ∗
. As an example, 5! = 5 ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
.
r
, ( − 1) ( − 2) … 2 1 4 3 2 1 = 120

When solving problems, make sure you define your random variable and state what n, p, q, and r are. Without doing this, the
problems are a great deal harder.

Example 5.2.2: Calculating Binomial Probabilities

When looking at a person’s eye color, it turns out that 1% of people in the world has green eyes ("What percentage of," 2013).
Consider a group of 20 people.

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 a. State the random variable.
b. Argue that this is a binomial experiment.
c. Find the probability that none have green eyes.
d. Find the probability that nine have green eyes.
e. Find the probability that at most three have green eyes.
f. Find the probability that at most two have green eyes.
g. Find the probability that at least four have green eyes.
h. In Europe, four people out of twenty have green eyes. Is this unusual? What does that tell you?
Solution
a. x = number of people with green eyes
b.
1. There are 20 people, and each person is a trial, so there are a fixed number of trials. In this case, n = 20 .
2. If you assume that each person in the group is chosen at random the eye color of one person doesn’t affect the eye color of
the next person, thus the trials are independent.
3. Either a person has green eyes or they do not have green eyes, so there are only two outcomes. In this case, the success is a
person has green eyes.
4. The probability of a person having green eyes is 0.01. This is the same for every trial since each person has the same
chance of having green eyes. p = 0.01 and q = 1 - 0.01 = 0.99
c. P (x = 0) =20 C0 (0.01)0 (0.99)20−0 ≈ 0.818
d. P (x = 9) =20 C9 (0.01)9 (0.99)20−9 ≈ 1.50 × 10−13 ≈ 0.000
e. At most three means that three is the highest value you will have. Find the probability of x is less than or equal to three.
P (x ≤ 3) = P (x = 0) + P (x = 1) + P (x = 2) + P (x = 3)
= C (0.01 ) (0.99 ) + C (0.01 ) (0.99 )
0 20 1 19
20 0 20 1

+ C (0.01 ) (0.99 ) + C (0.01 ) (0.99 )

20 2
2 18
20 3
3 17

≈ 0.818 + 0.165 + 0.016 + 0.001 > 0.999

The reason the answer is written as being greater than 0.999 is because the answer is actually 0.9999573791, and when that is
rounded to three decimal places you get 1. But 1 means that the event will happen, when in reality there is a slight chance that
it won’t happen. It is best to write the answer as greater than 0.999 to represent that the number is very close to 1, but isn’t 1.
f.
P (x ≤ 2) = P (x = 0) + P (x = 1) + P (x = 2)
= C (0.01 ) (0.99 ) + C (0.01 ) (0.99 ) C (0.01) (0.99)
0 20 1 19 2 18
20 0 20 1 +20 2

≈ 0.818 + 0.165 + 0.016 ≈ 0.999

g. At least four means four or more. Find the probability of x being greater than or equal to four. That would mean adding up
all the probabilities from four to twenty. This would take a long time, so it is better to use the idea of complement. The
complement of being greater than or equal to four is being less than four. That would mean being less than or equal to three.
Part (e) has the answer for the probability of being less than or equal to three. Just subtract that number from 1.
P (x ≥ 4) = 1 − P (x ≤ 3) = 1 − 0.999 = 0.001
Actually the answer is less than 0.001, but it is fine to write it this way.
h. Since the probability of finding four or more people with green eyes is much less than 0.05, it is unusual to find four people
out of twenty with green eyes. That should make you wonder if the proportion of people in Europe with green eyes is more
than the 1% for the general population. If this is true, then you may want to ask why Europeans have a higher proportion of
green-eyed people. That of course could lead to more questions.

The binomial formula is cumbersome to use, so you can find the probabilities by using technology. On the TI-83/84 calculator, the
commands on the TI-83/84 calculators when the number of trials is equal to n and the probability of a success is equal to p are
binompdf(n, p, r) when you want to find P(x=r) and binomcdf(n, p, r) when you want to find P (x ≤ r) . If you want to find

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P (x ≥ r), then you use the property that P (x ≥ r) = 1 − P (x ≤ r − 1)
, since x ≥ r and x < r or x ≤ r − 1 are complementary
events. Both binompdf and binomcdf commands are found in the DISTR menu. Using R, the commands are
P (x = r) = dbinom (r, n, p) and P (x ≤ r) = pbinom (r, n, p) .
Example 5.2.3 using the binomial command on the ti-83/84

When looking at a person’s eye color, it turns out that 1% of people in the world has green eyes ("What percentage of," 2013).
Consider a group of 20 people.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that none have green eyes.
c. Find the probability that nine have green eyes.
d. Find the probability that at most three have green eyes.
e. Find the probability that at most two have green eyes.
f. Find the probability that at least four have green eyes.
Solution
a. x = number of people with green eyes
b. You are looking for P (x=0). Since this problem is x=0, you use the binompdf command on the TI-83/84 or dbinom
command on R. On the TI83/84, you go to the DISTR menu, select the binompdf, and then type into the parenthesis your n, p,
and r values into your calculator, making sure you use the comma to separate the values. The command will look like
binompdf(20, .01, 0) and when you press ENTER you will be given the answer. (If you have the new software on the TI-84,
the screen looks a bit different.)

Figure 5.2.1 : Calculator Results for binompdf

On R, the command would look like dbinom(0, 20, 0.01)
P (x=0) = 0.8179. Thus there is an 81.8% chance that in a group of 20 people none of them will have green eyes.
c. In this case you want to find the P (x=9). Again, you will use the binompdf command or the dbinom command. Following
the procedure above, you will have binompdf(20, .01, 9) on the TI-83/84 or dbinom(9,20,0.01) on R. Your answer is
P (x = 9) = 1.50 × 10−13 . (Remember when the calculator gives you 1.50E − 13 and R give you 1.50e − 13 , this is how
they display scientific notation.) The probability that out of twenty people, nine of them have green eyes is a very small
chance.
d. At most three means that three is the highest value you will have. Find the probability of x being less than or equal to three,
which is P (x ≤ 3). This uses the binomcdf command on the TI-83/84 and pbinom command in R. You use the command on
the TI-83/84 of binomcdf(20, .01, 3) and the command on R of pbinom(3,20,0.01)

Figure 5.2.2 : Calculator Results for binomcdf

Your answer is 0.99996. Thus there is a really good chance that in a group of 20 people at most three will have green eyes.
(Note: don’t round this to one, since one means that the event will happen, when in reality there is a slight chance that it won’t

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 happen. It is best to write the answer out to enough decimal points so it doesn’t round off to one.
e. You are looking for P (x ≤ 2). Again use binomcdf or pbinom. Following the procedure above you will have
binomcdf(20, .01, 2) on the TI-83/84 and pbinom(2,20,0.01), with P (x ≤ 2) = 0.998996. Again there is a really good
chance that at most two people in the room will have green eyes.
f. At least four means four or more. Find the probability of x being greater than or equal to four. That would mean adding up all
the probabilities from four to twenty. This would take a long time, so it is better to use the idea of complement. The
complement of being greater than or equal to four is being less than four. That would mean being less than or equal to three.
Part (e) has the answer for the probability of being less than or equal to three. Just subtract that number from 1.
P (x ≥ 4) = 1 − P (x ≤ 3) = 1 − 0.99996 = 0.00004 You can also find this answer by doing the following on TI-83/84:
P (x ≥ 4) = 1 − P (x ≤ 3) = 1 − binomcdf (20, .01, 3) = 1 − 0.99996 = 0.00004 on R:
P (x ≥ 4) = 1 − P (x ≤ 3) = 1 − pbinom (3, 20, .01) = 1 − 0.99996 = 0.0004 Again, this is very unlikely to happen.
There are other technologies that will compute binomial probabilities.

Example 5.2.4 calculating binomial probabilities

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), about 1 in 88 children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with autism
("CDC-data and statistics,," 2013). Suppose you consider a group of 10 children.
a. State the random variable.
b. Argue that this is a binomial experiment.
c. Find the probability that none have autism.
d. Find the probability that seven have autism.
e. Find the probability that at least five have autism.
f. Find the probability that at most two have autism.
g. Suppose five children out of ten have autism. Is this unusual? What does that tell you?
Solution
a. x = number of children with autism
b.
1. There are 10 children, and each child is a trial, so there are a fixed number of trials. In this case, n = 10.
2. If you assume that each child in the group is chosen at random, then whether a child has autism does not affect the chance
that the next child has autism. Thus the trials are independent.
3. Either a child has autism or they do not have autism, so there are two outcomes. In this case, the success is a child has
autism.
4. The probability of a child having autism is 1/88. This is the same for every trial since each child has the same chance of
1 1 87
having autism. p = and q = 1 − = .
88 88 88
c. Using the formula:
0 10−0

P (x = 0) = C ( 1 ) ( 87 )
10 0 ≈ 0.892
88 88

Using the TI-83/84 Calculator:

P (x = 0) = binompdf (10, 1 ÷ 88, 0) ≈ 0.892
Using R:
P (x = 0) = pbinom (0, 10, 1/88) ≈ 0.892
d. Using the formula:
7 10−7
1
P (x = 7) = C ( 88 ) ( 87
10
88
)7 ≈ 0.000

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Using the TI-83/84 Calculator:
P (x = 7) = binompdf (10, 1 ÷ 88, 7) ≈ 2.84 × 10 −12

Using R:
P (x = 7) = dbinom(7, 10, 1/88) ≈ 2.84 × 10 −12

e. Using the formula:

P (x ≥ 5) = P (x = 5) + P (x = 6) + P (x = 7)
+ P (x = 8) + P (x = 9) + P (x = 10)
5 10−5 6 10−6
1
=10 C ( 88
5 ) ( 78
88
) +10 6
1
C ( 88 ) ( 78
88
)
7 10−7 8 10−8
1
+10 C ( 88
7 ) ( 78
88
) +10 8
1
C ( 88 ) ( 78
88
)
9 10−9 10 10−10
1
+10 C ( 88
9 ) ( 78
88
) +10 10
1
C ( 88 ) ( 78
88
)
= 0.000 + 0.000 + 0.000 + 0.000 + 0.000 + 0.000
= 0.000

Using the TI-83/84 Calculator:

To use the calculator you need to use the complement.
P (x ≥ 5) = 1 − P (x < 5)
= 1 − P (x ≤ 4)
= 1 − binomcdf (10, 1 ÷ 88, 4)
≈ 1 − 0.9999999 = 0.000

Using R:
To use R you need to use the complement.
P (x ≥ 5) = 1 − P (x < 5)
= 1 − P (x ≤ 4)
= 1 − pbinom (4, 10, 1/88)
≈ 1 − 0.9999999 = 0.000

Notice, the answer is given as 0.000, since the answer is less than 0.000. Don’t write 0, since 0 means that the event is
impossible to happen. The event of five or more is improbable, but not impossible.
f. Using the formula:
P (x ≤ 2) = P (x = 0) + P (x = 1) + P (x = 2)
0 10−0 1 10−1
1
=10 C ( 88
0 ) ( 78
88
) +10
1
C ( 88
1 ) ( 78
88
)
2 10−2
1
+10 C ( 88
2 ) ( 78
88
)
= 0.892 + 0.103 + 0.005 > 0.999

Using the TI-83/84 Calculator:

P (x ≤ 2) = binomcdf (10, 1 ÷ 88, 2) ≈ 0.9998
Using R:
P (x ≤ 2) = pbinom (2, 10, 1/88) ≈ 0.9998
g. Since the probability of five or more children in a group of ten having autism is much less than 5%, it is unusual to happen.
If this does happen, then one may think that the proportion of children diagnosed with autism is actually more than 1/88.

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Homework
Exercise 5.2.1

1. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. If n = 14, and p = 0.13, find the following probabilities
using the binomial formula.
a. P (x=5)
b. P (x=8)
c. P (x=12)
d. P (x ≤ 4)
e. P (x ≥ 8)
f. P (x ≤ 12)
2. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. If n = 22, and p = 0.85, find the following probabilities
using the binomial formula.
a. P (x=18)
b. P (x=5)
c. P (x=20)
d. P (x ≤ 3)
e. P (x ≥ 18)
f. P (x ≤ 20)
3. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. If n = 10, and p = 0.70, find the following probabilities
using the binomial formula.
a. P (x=2)
b. P (x=8)
c. P (x=7)
d. P (x ≤ 3)
e. P (x ≥ 7)
f. P (x ≤ 4)
4. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. If n = 6, and p = 0.30, find the following probabilities
using the binomial formula.
a. P (x=1)
b. P (x=5)
c. P (x=3)
d. P (x ≤ 3)
e. P (x ≥ 5)
f. P (x ≤ 4)
5. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. If n = 17, and p = 0.63, find the following probabilities
using the binomial formula.
a. P (x=8)
b. P (x=15)
c. P (x=14)
d. P (x ≤ 12)
e. P (x ≥ 10)
f. P (x ≤ 7)
6. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. If n = 23, and p = 0.22, find the following probabilities
using the binomial formula.
a. P (x=21)
b. P (x=6)
c. P (x=12)
d. P (x ≤ 14)
e. P (x ≥ 17)

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 f. P (x ≤ 9)
7. Approximately 10% of all people are left-handed ("11 little-known facts," 2013). Consider a grouping of fifteen people.
a. State the random variable.
b. Argue that this is a binomial experiment Find the probability that
c. None are left-handed.
d. Seven are left-handed.
e. At least two are left-handed.
f. At most three are left-handed.
g. At least seven are left-handed.
h. Seven of the last 15 U.S. Presidents were left-handed. Is this unusual? What does that tell you?
8. According to an article in the American Heart Association’s publication Circulation, 24% of patients who had been
hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction did not fill their cardiac medication by the seventh day of being discharged
(Ho, Bryson & Rumsfeld, 2009). Suppose there are twelve people who have been hospitalized for an acute myocardial
infarction.
a. State the random variable.
b. Argue that this is a binomial experiment Find the probability that
c. All filled their cardiac medication.
d. Seven did not fill their cardiac medication.
e. None filled their cardiac medication.
f. At most two did not fill their cardiac medication.
g. At least three did not fill their cardiac medication.
h. At least ten did not fill their cardiac medication.
i. Suppose of the next twelve patients discharged, ten did not fill their cardiac medication, would this be unusual? What
does this tell you?
9. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. In March 2010, they tested to see how many defective
lenses they made, and there were 16.9% defective lenses due to scratches. Suppose Eyeglassomatic examined twenty
eyeglasses.
a. State the random variable.
b. Argue that this is a binomial experiment Find the probability that
c. None are scratched.
d. All are scratched.
e. At least three are scratched.
f. At most five are scratched.
g. At least ten are scratched.
h. Is it unusual for ten lenses to be scratched? If it turns out that ten lenses out of twenty are scratched, what might that tell
you about the manufacturing process?
10. The proportion of brown M&M’s in a milk chocolate packet is approximately 14% (Madison, 2013). Suppose a package of
M&M’s typically contains 52 M&M’s.
a. State the random variable.
b. Argue that this is a binomial experiment Find the probability that
c. Six M&M’s are brown.
d. Twenty-five M&M’s are brown.
e. All of the M&M’s are brown.
f. Would it be unusual for a package to have only brown M&M’s? If this were to happen, what would you think is the
reason?

Answer
1. a. P(x=5) = 0.0212, b. P(x=8) = 1.062 × 10−4, c. P(x=12) = 1.605 × 10−9, d. P (x ≤ 4) = 0.973 , e.
P (x ≥ 8) = 1.18 × 10−4 , f. P (x ≤ 12) = 0.99999

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 3. a. P (x = 2) = 0.0014, b. P (x = 8) = 0.2335, c. P (x = 7) = 0.2668, d. P (x ≤ 3) = 0.0106, e. P (x ≥ 7) = 0.6496,
f. P (x ≤ 4) = 0.0473
5. a. P (x = 8) = 0.0784, b. P (x = 15) = 0.0182, c. P (x = 14) = 0.0534, d. P (x ≤ 12) = 0.8142, e.
P (x ≥ 10) = 0.7324, f. P (x ≤ 7) = 0.0557
7. a. See solutions, b. See solutions, c. P(x=0) = 0.2059, d. P (x = 7) = 2.770 × 10−4 , e. P (x ≥ 2) = 0.4510, f.
P (x ≤ 3) = 0.944 , g.P (x ≥ 7) = 3.106 × 10−4 , h. See solutions
9. a. See solutions, b. See solutions, c. P (x = 0) = 0.0247, d. P (x = 20) = 3.612 × 10−16 , e. P (x ≥ 3) = 0.6812, f.
P (x ≤ 5) = 0.8926, g. P (x ≥ 10) = 6.711 × 10−4 , h. See solutions

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5.3: Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial Distribution
If you list all possible values of x in a Binomial distribution, you get the Binomial Probability Distribution (pdf). You can draw a
histogram of the pdf and find the mean, variance, and standard deviation of it.
For a general discrete probability distribution, you can find the mean, the variance, and the standard deviation for a pdf using the
general formulas
μ= ∑ xP x( ), σ2 = ∑x μ P (x),
( − )2 and σ= √∑ x
−−−−−−−−−−−−
μ P x
( − )2 ( )

These formulas are useful, but if you know the type of distribution, like Binomial, then you can find the mean and standard
deviation using easier formulas. They are derived from the general formulas.

Note
For a Binomial distribution, μ , the expected number of successes, σ2 , the variance, and σ, the standard deviation for the
number of success are given by the formulas:
μ = np σ 2 = npq σ = √−
npq
−−

Where p is the probability of success and q = 1 - p.

Example 5.3.1 Finding the Probability Distribution, Mean, Variance, and Standard Deviation of a Binomial
Distribution
When looking at a person’s eye color, it turns out that 1% of people in the world has green eyes ("What percentage of," 2013).
Consider a group of 20 people.
a. State the random variable.
b. Write the probability distribution.
c. Draw a histogram.
d. Find the mean.
e. Find the variance.
f. Find the standard deviation.
Solution
a. x = number of people who have green eyes
b. In this case you need to write each value of x and its corresponding probability. It is easiest to do this by using the binompdf
command, but don’t put in the r value. You may want to set your calculator to only three decimal places, so it is easier to see
the values and you don’t need much more precision than that. The command would look like binompdf(20, .01). This
produces the information in Example 5.3.1.
Table 5.3.1 : Probability Distribution for Number of People with Green Eyes
x P (x=r)

0 0.818

1 0.165

2 0.016

3 0.001

4 0.000

5 0.000

6 0.000

7 0.000

8 0.000

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 x P (x=r)

9 0.000

10 0.000

⋮ ⋮

20 0.000

Notice that after x = 4, the probability values are all 0.000. This just means they are really small numbers.
c. You can draw the histogram on the TI-83/84 or other technology. The graph would look like in Figure 5.3.1.

Figure 5.3.1 : Histogram Created on TI-83/84

This graph is very skewed to the right.
d. Since this is a binomial, then you can use the formula μ = np . So μ = 20(0.01) = 0.2 people.
You expect on average that out of 20 people, less than 1 would have green eyes.
e. Since this is a binomial, then you can use the formula σ 2 = npq .
q = 1 − 0.01 = 0.99
σ 2 = 20(0.01)(0.99) = 0.198 people 2
f. Once you have the variance, you just take the square root of the variance to find the standard deviation.
−−−−
σ = √0.198 ≈ 0.445

Homework
Exercise 5.3.1

1. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. Suppose n = 6, and p = 0.13.
a. Write the probability distribution.
b. Draw a histogram.
c. Describe the shape of the histogram.
d. Find the mean.
e. Find the variance.
f. Find the standard deviation.
2. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. Suppose n = 10, and p = 0.81.
a. Write the probability distribution.
b. Draw a histogram.
c. Describe the shape of the histogram.
d. Find the mean.
e. Find the variance.
f. Find the standard deviation.
3. Suppose a random variable, x, arises from a binomial experiment. Suppose n = 7, and p = 0.50.
a. Write the probability distribution.

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 b. Draw a histogram.
c. Describe the shape of the histogram.
d. Find the mean.
e. Find the variance.
f. Find the standard deviation.
4. Approximately 10% of all people are left-handed. Consider a grouping of fifteen people.
a. State the random variable.
b. Write the probability distribution.
c. Draw a histogram.
d. Describe the shape of the histogram.
e. Find the mean.
f. Find the variance.
g. Find the standard deviation.
5. According to an article in the American Heart Association’s publication Circulation, 24% of patients who had been
hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction did not fill their cardiac medication by the seventh day of being discharged
(Ho, Bryson & Rumsfeld, 2009). Suppose there are twelve people who have been hospitalized for an acute myocardial
infarction.
a. State the random variable.
b. Write the probability distribution.
c. Draw a histogram.
d. Describe the shape of the histogram.
e. Find the mean.
f. Find the variance.
g. Find the standard deviation.
6. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. In March 2010, they tested to see how many defective
lenses they made, and there were 16.9% defective lenses due to scratches. Suppose Eyeglassomatic examined twenty
eyeglasses.
a. State the random variable.
b. Write the probability distribution.
c. Draw a histogram.
d. Describe the shape of the histogram.
e. Find the mean.
f. Find the variance.
g. Find the standard deviation.
7. The proportion of brown M&M’s in a milk chocolate packet is approximately 14% (Madison, 2013). Suppose a package of
M&M’s typically contains 52 M&M’s.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the mean.
c. Find the variance.
d. Find the standard deviation.

Answer
1. a. See solutions, b. See solutions, c. Skewed right, d. 0.78, e. 0.6786, f. 0.8238
3. a. See solutions, b. See solutions, c. Symmetric, d. 3.5, e. 1.75, f. 1.3229
5. a. See solutions, b. See solutions, c. See solutions, d. Skewed right, e. 2.88, f. 2.1888, g. 1.479
7. a. See solutions, b. 7.28, c. 6.2608, d. 2.502

Data Sources: 11 little-known facts about left-handers. (2013, October 21). Retrieved from
www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...n_2005864.html

5.3.3 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5187
CDC-data and statistics, autism spectrum disorders - ncbdd. (2013, October 21). Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html
Ho, P. M., Bryson, C. L., & Rumsfeld, J. S. (2009). Medication adherence. Circulation, 119 (23), 3028-3035. Retrieved from
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/119/23/3028
Households by age of householder and size of household: 1990 to 2010. (2013, October 19). Retrieved from
www.census.gov/compendia/stat...es/12s0062.pdf
Madison, J. (2013, October 15). M&M's color distribution analysis. Retrieved from http://joshmadison.com/2007/12/02/mm...tion-
analysis/
What percentage of people have green eyes?. (2013, October 21). Retrieved from www.ask.com/question/what-per...ave-green-eyes

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

6: Continuous Probability Distributions

Chapter 5 dealt with probability distributions arising from discrete random variables. Mostly that chapter focused on the binomial
experiment. There are many other experiments from discrete random variables that exist but are not covered in this book. This
chapter deals with probability distributions that arise from continuous random variables. The focus of this chapter is a distribution
known as the normal distribution, though realize that there are many other distributions that exist. A few others are examined in
future chapters.
6.1: Uniform Distribution
6.2: Graphs of the Normal Distribution
6.3: Finding Probabilities for the Normal Distribution
6.4: Assessing Normality
6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit Theorem

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1
6.1: Uniform Distribution
If you have a situation where the probability is always the same, then this is known as a uniform distribution. An example would be
waiting for a commuter train. The commuter trains on the Blue and Green Lines for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in
Cleveland, OH, have a waiting time during peak hours of ten minutes ("2012 annual report," 2012). If you are waiting for a train,
you have anywhere from zero minutes to ten minutes to wait. Your probability of having to wait any number of minutes in that
interval is the same. This is a uniform distribution. The graph of this distribution is in Figure 6.1.1.

Figure
Suppose you want to know the probability that you will have to wait between five and ten minutes for the next train. You can look
at the probability graphically such as in Figure 6.1.2.

Figure 6.1.2 : Uniform Distribution with P (5<x<10)

How would you find this probability? Calculus says that the probability is the area under the curve. Notice that the shape of the
shaded area is a rectangle, and the area of a rectangle is length times width. The length is 10 − 5 = 5 and the width is 0.1. The
probability is P (5 < x < 10) = 0.1 ∗ 5 = 0.5 , where and x is the waiting time during peak hours.

Example 6.1.1 finding probabilities in a uniform distribution

The commuter trains on the Blue and Green Lines for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in Cleveland, OH, have a waiting
time during peak rush hour periods of ten minutes ("2012 annual report," 2012).
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that you have to wait between four and six minutes for a train.
c. Find the probability that you have to wait between three and seven minutes for a train.
d. Find the probability that you have to wait between zero and ten minutes for a train.
e. Find the probability of waiting exactly five minutes.
Solution
a. x = waiting time during peak hours
b. P (4 < x < 6) = (6 − 4)∗ 0.1 = 0.2
c. P (3 < x < 7) = (7 − 3) ∗ 0.1 = 0.4
d. P (0 < x < 10) = (10 − 0) ∗ 0.1 = 1.0
e. Since this would be just one line, and the width of the line is 0, then the P (x = 5) = 0 ∗ 0.1 = 0 .

Notice that in Example 6.1.1d, the probability is equal to one. This is because the probability that was computed is the area under
the entire curve. Just like in discrete probability distributions, where the total probability was one, the probability of the entire

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curve is one. This is the reason that the height of the curve is 0.1. In general, the height of a uniform distribution that ranges
1
between a and b, is .
b −a
Homework
Exercise 6.1.1

1. The commuter trains on the Blue and Green Lines for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in Cleveland, OH, have a
waiting time during peak rush hour periods of ten minutes ("2012 annual report," 2012).
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability of waiting between two and five minutes.
c. Find the probability of waiting between seven and ten minutes.
d. Find the probability of waiting eight minutes exactly.
2. The commuter trains on the Red Line for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in Cleveland, OH, have a waiting time
during peak rush hour periods of eight minutes ("2012 annual report," 2012).
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the height of this uniform distribution.
c. Find the probability of waiting between four and five minutes.
d. Find the probability of waiting between three and eight minutes.
e. Find the probability of waiting five minutes exactly.

Answer
1. a. See solutions, b. P (2 < x < 5) = 0.3 , c. P (7 < x < 10) = 0.3 , d. P (x = 8) = 0

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6.2: Graphs of the Normal Distribution
Many real life problems produce a histogram that is a symmetric, unimodal, and bellshaped continuous probability distribution. For
example: height, blood pressure, and cholesterol level. However, not every bell shaped curve is a normal curve. In a normal curve,
there is a specific relationship between its “height” and its “width.”
Normal curves can be tall and skinny or they can be short and fat. They are all symmetric, unimodal, and centered at μ , the
population mean. Figure 6.2.1 shows two different normal curves drawn on the same scale. Both have μ = 100 but the one on the
left has a standard deviation of 10 and the one on the right has a standard deviation of 5. Notice that the larger standard deviation
makes the graph wider (more spread out) and shorter.

Figures
Every normal curve has common features. These are detailed in Figure 6.2.2.

Figure of a Normal Curve

The center, or the highest point, is at the population mean, μ .
The transition points (inflection points) are the places where the curve changes from a “hill” to a “valley”. The distance from
the mean to the transition point is one standard deviation, σ.
The area under the whole curve is exactly 1. Therefore, the area under the half below or above the mean is 0.5.
1 x −μ 2

( )
σ
−
1
The equation that creates this curve is f (x ) = e 2
σ√−−
2π

Just as in a discrete probability distribution, the object is to find the probability of an event occurring. However, unlike in a discrete
probability distribution where the event can be a single value, in a continuous probability distribution the event must be a range.
You are interested in finding the probability of x occurring in the range between a and b, or P (a ≤ x ≤ b) = P (a < x < b) .
Calculus tells us that to find this you find the area under the curve above the interval from a to b.
P (a ≤ x ≤ b) = P (a < x < b) is the area under the curve above the integral from a to b.

Figure 6.2.3 : Probability of an Event

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Before looking at the process for finding the probabilities under the normal curve, it is somewhat useful to look at the Empirical
Rule that gives approximate values for these areas. The Empirical Rule is just an approximation and it will only be used in this
section to give you an idea of what the size of the probabilities is for different shadings. A more precise method for finding
probabilities for the normal curve will be demonstrated in the next section. Please do not use the empirical rule except for real
rough estimates.

Definition 6.2.1: Empirical Rule

The Empirical Rule for any normal distribution:

Approximately 68% of the data is within one standard deviation of the mean.
Approximately 95% of the data is within two standard deviations of the mean.
Approximately 99.7% of the data is within three standard deviations of the mean.

Figure 6.2.4 : Empirical Rule

Be careful, there is still some area left over in each end. Remember, the maximum a probability can be is 100%, so if you calculate
100%-99.7%=0.3% you will see that for both ends together there is 0.3% of the curve. Because of symmetry, you can divide this
equally between both ends and find that there is 0.15% in each tail beyond the μ ± 3σ .

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6.3: Finding Probabilities for the Normal Distribution
The Empirical Rule is just an approximation and only works for certain values. What if you want to find the probability for x values
that are not integer multiples of the standard deviation? The probability is the area under the curve. To find areas under the curve,
you need calculus. Before technology, you needed to convert every x value to a standardized number, called the z-score or z-value
or simply just z. The z-score is a measure of how many standard deviations an x value is from the mean. To convert from a
normally distributed x value to a z-score, you use the following formula.

Definition 6.3.1: z-score

x −μ
z= (6.3.1)
σ
where μ = mean of the population of the x value and σ= standard deviation for the population of the x value

The z-score is normally distributed, with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. It is known as the standard normal curve. Once
you have the z-score, you can look up the z-score in the standard normal distribution table.

Definition 6.3.2: standard normal distribution

The standard normal distribution, z, has a mean of μ = 0 and a standard deviation of σ = 1 .

Figure 6.3.1 : Standard Normal Curve

Luckily, these days technology can find probabilities for you without converting to the zscore and looking the probabilities up in a
table. There are many programs available that will calculate the probability for a normal curve including Excel and the TI-83/84.
There are also online sites available. The following examples show how to do the calculation on the TI-83/84 and with R. The
command on the TI-83/84 is in the DISTR menu and is normalcdf(. You then type in the lower limit, upper limit, mean, standard
deviation in that order and including the commas. The command on R to find the area to the left is pnorm(z-value or x-value, mean,
standard deviation).

Example 6.3.1 general normal distribution

The length of a human pregnancy is normally distributed with a mean of 272 days with a standard deviation of 9 days (Bhat &
Kushtagi, 2006).
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability of a pregnancy lasting more than 280 days.
c. Find the probability of a pregnancy lasting less than 250 days.
d. Find the probability that a pregnancy lasts between 265 and 280 days.
e. Find the length of pregnancy that 10% of all pregnancies last less than.
f. Suppose you meet a woman who says that she was pregnant for less than 250 days. Would this be unusual and what might
you think?
Solution
a. x = length of a human pregnancy
b. First translate the statement into a mathematical statement.

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 P (x>280)
Now, draw a picture. Remember the center of this normal curve is 272.

Figure for Example 6.3.1 b

To find the probability on the TI-83/84, looking at the picture you realize the lower limit is 280. The upper limit is infinity. The
calculator doesn’t have infinity on it, so you need to put in a really big number. Some people like to put in 1000, but if you are
working with numbers that are bigger than 1000, then you would have to remember to change the upper limit. The safest
number to use is 1 × 1099 , which you put in the calculator as 1E99 (where E is the EE button on the calculator). The command
looks like:
normalcdf(280, 1 E99, 272, 9)

Figure 6.3.3 : TI-83/84 Output for Example 6.3.1 b

To find the probability on R, R always gives the probability to the left of the value. The total area under the curve is 1, so if you
want the area to the right, then you find the area to the left and subtract from 1. The command looks like:
1 − pnom (280, 272, 9)

Thus, P (x > 280) ≈ 0.187

Thus 18.7% of all pregnancies last more than 280 days. This is not unusual since the probability is greater than 5%.
c. First translate the statement into a mathematical statement.
P (x<250)
Now, draw a picture. Remember the center of this normal curve is 272.

Figure for Example 6.3.1 c

To find the probability on the TI-83/84, looking at the picture, though it is hard to see in this case, the lower limit is negative
infinity. Again, the calculator doesn’t have this on it, put in a really small number, such as −1 × 1099 = −1E 99 on the
calculator.

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 Figure 6.3.5 : TI-83/84 Output for Example 6.3.1 c
P (x < 250) = normalcdf (−1E99, 250, 272, 9) = 0.0073
To find the probability on R, R always gives the probability to the left of the value. Looking at the figure, you can see the area
you want is to the left. The command looks like:
P (x < 250) = pnorm (250, 272, 9) = 0.0073
Thus 0.73% of all pregnancies last less than 250 days. This is unusual since the probability is less than 5%.
d. First translate the statement into a mathematical statement.
P (265<x<280)
Now, draw a picture. Remember the center of this normal curve is 272.

Figure for Example 6.3.1 d

In this case, the lower limit is 265 and the upper limit is 280.
Using the calculator

Figure 6.3.7 : TI-83/84 Output for Example 6.3.1 d

P (265 < x < 280) = normalcdf (265, 280, 272, 9) = 0.595
To use R, you have to remember that R gives you the area to the left. So P (x < 280) = pnom (280, 272, 9) is the area to the
left of 280 and P (x < 265) = pnom (265, 272, 9) is the area to the left of 265. So the area is between the two would be the
bigger one minus the smaller one. So, P (265 < x < 280) = pnorm (280, 272, 9) − pnorm (265, 272, 9) = 0.595. Thus
59.5% of all pregnancies last between 265 and 280 days.
e. This problem is asking you to find an x value from a probability. You want to find the x value that has 10% of the length of
pregnancies to the left of it. On the TI-83/84, the command is in the DISTR menu and is called invNorm(. The invNorm(
command needs the area to the left. In this case, that is the area you are given. For the command on the calculator, once you

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 have invNorm( on the main screen you type in the probability to the left, mean, standard deviation, in that order with the
commas.

Figure 6.3.8 : TI-83/84 Output for Example 6.3.1 e

On R, the command is qnorm(area to the left, mean, standard deviation). For this example that would be qnorm(0.1, 272, 9)
Thus 10% of all pregnancies last less than approximately 260 days.
f. From part (c) you found the probability that a pregnancy lasts less than 250 days is 0.73%. Since this is less than 5%, it is
very unusual. You would think that either the woman had a premature baby, or that she may be wrong about when she actually
became pregnant.

Example 6.3.2 general normal distribution

The mean mathematics SAT score in 2012 was 514 with a standard deviation of 117 ("Total group profile," 2012). Assume the
mathematics SAT score is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a person has a mathematics SAT score over 700.
c. Find the probability that a person has a mathematics SAT score of less than 400.
d. Find the probability that a person has a mathematics SAT score between a 500 and a 650.
e. Find the mathematics SAT score that represents the top 1% of all scores.
Solution
a. x = mathematics SAT score
b. First translate the statement into a mathematical statement.
P (x>700)
Now, draw a picture. Remember the center of this normal curve is 514.

Figure for Example 6.3.2 b

On TI-83/84: P (x > 700) = normalcdf (700, 1E 99, 514, 117) ≈ 0.056
On R: P (x > 700) = 1 − pnorm (700, 514, 117) ≈ 0.056
There is a 5.6% chance that a person scored above a 700 on the mathematics SAT test. This is not unusual.
c. First translate the statement into a mathematical statement.
P (x<400)
Now, draw a picture. Remember the center of this normal curve is 514.

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 Figure for Example 6.3.2 c

On TI-83/84: P (x < 400) = normalcdf (−1E 99, 400, 514, 117) ≈ 0.165
On R: P (x < 400) = pnorm(400, 514, 117) ≈ 0.165
So, there is a 16.5% chance that a person scores less than a 400 on the mathematics part of the SAT.
d. First translate the statement into a mathematical statement.
P (500<x<650)
Now, draw a picture. Remember the center of this normal curve is 514.

Figure for Example 6.3.2 d

On TI-83/84: P (500 < x < 650) = normalcdf (500, 650, 514, 117) ≈ 0.425
On R: P (500 < x < 650) = pnorm (650, 514, 117) − pnorm (500, 514, 117) ≈ 0.425
So, there is a 42.5% chance that a person has a mathematical SAT score between 500 and 650.
e. This problem is asking you to find an x value from a probability. You want to find the x value that has 1% of the
mathematics SAT scores to the right of it. Remember, the calculator and R always need the area to the left, you need to find the
area to the left by 1 - 0.01 = 0.99.
On TI-83/84: invNorm(.99, 514, 117) ≈ 786
On R: qnorm(.99, 514, 117) ≈ 786
So, 1% of all people who took the SAT scored over about 786 points on the mathematics SAT.

Homework
Exercise 6.3.1

1. Find each of the probabilities, where z is a z-score from the standard normal distribution with mean of μ = 0 and standard
deviation σ = 1 . Make sure you draw a picture for each problem.
a. P (z<2.36)
b. P (z>0.67)
c. P (0<z<2.11)
d. P (-2.78<z<1.97)
2. Find the z-score corresponding to the given area. Remember, z is distributed as the standard normal distribution with mean
of μ = 0 and standard deviation σ = 1 .
a. The area to the left of z is 15%.

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 b. The area to the right of z is 65%.
c. The area to the left of z is 10%.
d. The area to the right of z is 5%.
e. The area between -z and z is 95%. (Hint draw a picture and figure out the area to the left of the -z.)
f. The area between -z and z is 99%.
3. If a random variable that is normally distributed has a mean of 25 and a standard deviation of 3, convert the given value to a
z-score.
a. x = 23
b. x = 33
c. x = 19
d. x = 45
4. According to the WHO MONICA Project the mean blood pressure for people in China is 128 mmHg with a standard
deviation of 23 mmHg (Kuulasmaa, Hense & Tolonen, 1998). Assume that blood pressure is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a person in China has blood pressure of 135 mmHg or more.
c. Find the probability that a person in China has blood pressure of 141 mmHg or less.
d. Find the probability that a person in China has blood pressure between 120 and 125 mmHg.
e. Is it unusual for a person in China to have a blood pressure of 135 mmHg? Why or why not?
f. What blood pressure do 90% of all people in China have less than?
5. The size of fish is very important to commercial fishing. A study conducted in 2012 found the length of Atlantic cod caught
in nets in Karlskrona to have a mean of 49.9 cm and a standard deviation of 3.74 cm (Ovegard, Berndt & Lunneryd, 2012).
Assume the length of fish is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that an Atlantic cod has a length less than 52 cm.
c. Find the probability that an Atlantic cod has a length of more than 74 cm.
d. Find the probability that an Atlantic cod has a length between 40.5 and 57.5 cm.
e. If you found an Atlantic cod to have a length of more than 74 cm, what could you conclude?
f. What length are 15% of all Atlantic cod longer than?
6. The mean cholesterol levels of women age 45-59 in Ghana, Nigeria, and Seychelles is 5.1 mmol/l and the standard
deviation is 1.0 mmol/l (Lawes, Hoorn, Law & Rodgers, 2004). Assume that cholesterol levels are normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a woman age 45-59 in Ghana, Nigeria, or Seychelles has a cholesterol level above 6.2 mmol/l
(considered a high level).
c. Find the probability that a woman age 45-59 in Ghana, Nigeria, or Seychelles has a cholesterol level below 5.2 mmol/l
(considered a normal level).
d. Find the probability that a woman age 45-59 in Ghana, Nigeria, or Seychelles has a cholesterol level between 5.2 and
6.2 mmol/l (considered borderline high).
e. If you found a woman age 45-59 in Ghana, Nigeria, or Seychelles having a cholesterol level above 6.2 mmol/l, what
could you conclude?
f. What value do 5% of all woman ages 45-59 in Ghana, Nigeria, or Seychelles have a cholesterol level less than?
7. In the United States, males between the ages of 40 and 49 eat on average 103.1 g of fat every day with a standard deviation
of 4.32 g ("What we eat," 2012). Assume that the amount of fat a person eats is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a man age 40-49 in the U.S. eats more than 110 g of fat every day.
c. Find the probability that a man age 40-49 in the U.S. eats less than 93 g of fat every day.
d. Find the probability that a man age 40-49 in the U.S. eats less than 65 g of fat every day.
e. If you found a man age 40-49 in the U.S. who says he eats less than 65 g of fat every day, would you believe him? Why
or why not?
f. What daily fat level do 5% of all men age 40-49 in the U.S. eat more than?

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 8. A dishwasher has a mean life of 12 years with an estimated standard deviation of 1.25 years ("Appliance life expectancy,"
2013). Assume the life of a dishwasher is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a dishwasher will last more than 15 years.
c. Find the probability that a dishwasher will last less than 6 years.
d. Find the probability that a dishwasher will last between 8 and 10 years.
e. If you found a dishwasher that lasted less than 6 years, would you think that you have a problem with the manufacturing
process? Why or why not?
f. A manufacturer of dishwashers only wants to replace free of charge 5% of all dishwashers. How long should the
manufacturer make the warranty period?
9. The mean starting salary for nurses is $67,694 nationally ("Staff nurse -," 2013). The standard deviation is approximately
$10,333. Assume that the starting salary is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a starting nurse will make more than $80,000.
c. Find the probability that a starting nurse will make less than $60,000.
d. Find the probability that a starting nurse will make between $55,000 and $72,000.
e. If a nurse made less than $50,000, would you think the nurse was under paid? Why or why not?
f. What salary do 30% of all nurses make more than?
10. The mean yearly rainfall in Sydney, Australia, is about 137 mm and the standard deviation is about 69 mm ("Annual
maximums of," 2013). Assume rainfall is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that the yearly rainfall is less than 100 mm.
c. Find the probability that the yearly rainfall is more than 240 mm.
d. Find the probability that the yearly rainfall is between 140 and 250 mm.
e. If a year has a rainfall less than 100mm, does that mean it is an unusually dry year? Why or why not?
f. What rainfall amount are 90% of all yearly rainfalls more than?

Answer
1. a. P (z < 2.36) = 0.9909, b. P (z > 0.67) = 0.2514, c. P (0 < z < 2.11) = 0.4826, d.
P (−2.78 < z < 1.97) = 0.9729
3. a. -0.6667, b. -2.6667, c. -2, d. 6.6667
5. a. See solutions, b. P (x < 52cm) = 0.7128, c. P (x > 74cm) = 5.852 × 10−11 , d.
P (40.5cm < x < 57.5cm) = 0.9729, e. See solutions, f. 53.8 cm
7. a. See solutions, b. P (x > 110g) = 0.0551 c. P (x < 93g) = 0.0097, d. P (x < 65g) ≈ 0 or 5.57 × 10−19 , e. See
solutions, f. 110.2 g
9. a. See solutions, b. P (x > $80, 000) = 0.1168, c. P (x > $80, 000) = 0.2283, d.
P ($55, 000 < x < $72, 000) = 0.5519, e. See solutions, f. $73,112

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6.4: Assessing Normality
The distributions you have seen up to this point have been assumed to be normally distributed, but how do you determine if it is
normally distributed. One way is to take a sample and look at the sample to determine if it appears normal. If the sample looks
normal, then most likely the population is also. Here are some guidelines that are use to help make that determination.
1. Histogram: Make a histogram. For a normal distribution, the histogram should be roughly bell-shaped. For small samples, this
is not very accurate, and another method is needed. A distribution may not look normally distributed from the histogram, but it
still may be normally distributed.
2. Outliers: For a normal distribution, there should not be more than one outlier. One way to check for outliers is to use a
modified box plot. Outliers are values that are shown as dots outside of the rest of the values. If you don’t have a modified box
plot, outliers are those data values that are:
Above Q3, the third quartile, by an amount greater than 1.5 times the interquartile range (IQR)
Below Q1, the first quartile, by an amount greater than 1.5 times the interquartile range (IQR)

Note

If there is one outlier, that outlier could have a dramatic effect on the results especially if it is an extreme outlier. However,
there are times where a distribution has more than one outlier, but it is still normally distributed. The guideline of only one
outlier is just a guideline.

3. Normal quantile plot (or normal probability plot): This plot is provided through statistical software on a computer or
graphing calculator. If the points lie close to a line, the data comes from a distribution that is approximately normal. If the points
do not lie close to a line or they show a pattern that is not a line, the data are likely to come from a distribution that is not
normally distributed.

To create a histogram on the TI-83/84:

1. Go into the STAT menu, and then Chose 1: Edit

Figure 6.4.1 : STAT Menu on TI-83/84

2. Type your data values into L1.
3. Now click STAT PLOT (2 nd Y = ).

Figure 6.4.2 : STAT PLOT Menu on TI-83/84

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4. Use 1:Plot1. Press ENTER.

Figure 6.4.3 : Plot1 Menu on TI-83/84

5. You will see a new window. The first thing you want to do is turn the plot on. At this point you should be on On, just press
ENTER. It will make On dark.
6. Now arrow down to Type: and arrow right to the graph that looks like a histogram (3rd one from the left in the top row).
7. Now arrow down to Xlist. Make sure this says L1. If it doesn’t, then put L1 there (2nd number 1). Freq: should be a 1.

Figure 6.4.4 : Plot1 Menu on TI-83/84 Setup for Histogram

8. Now you need to set up the correct window to graph on. Click on WINDOW. You need to set up the settings for the x variable.
Xmin should be your smallest data value. Xmax should just be a value sufficiently above your highest data value, but not too
high. Xscl is your class width that you calculated. Ymin should be 0 and Ymax should be above what you think the highest
frequency is going to be. You can always change this if you need to. Yscl is just how often you would like to see a tick mark on
the y-axis.
9. Now press GRAPH. You will see a histogram.

To find the IQR and create a box plot on the TI-83/84:

1. Go into the STAT menu, and then Choose 1:Edit

Figure 6.4.5 : STAT Menu on TI-83/84

2. Type your data values into L1. If L1 has data in it, arrow up to the name L1, click CLEAR and then press ENTER. The column
will now be cleared and you can type the data in.
3. Go into the STAT menu, move over to CALC and choose 1-Var Stats. Press ENTER, then type L1 (2nd 1) and then ENTER.
This will give you the summary statistics. If you press the down arrow, you will see the five-number summary.

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4. To draw the box plot press 2nd STAT PLOT.

Figure 6.4.6 : STAT PLOT Menu on TI-83/84

5. Use Plot1. Press ENTER

Figure 6.4.7 : Plot1 Menu on TI-83/84 Setup for Box Plot

6. Put the cursor on On and press Enter to turn the plot on. Use the down arrow and the right arrow to highlight the boxplot in the
middle of the second row of types then press ENTER. Set Data List to L1 (it might already say that) and leave Freq as 1.
7. Now tell the calculator the set up for the units on the x-axis so you can see the whole plot. The calculator will do it
automatically if you press ZOOM, which is in the middle of the top row.

Figure 6.4.8 : ZOOM Menu on TI-83/84

Then use the down arrow to get to 9:ZoomStat and press ENTER. The box plot will be drawn.

Figure 6.4.9 : ZOOM Menu on TI-83/84 with ZoomStat

To create a normal quantile plot on the TI-83/84

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 1. Go into the STAT menu, and then Chose 1:Edit

Figure 6.4.10 : STAT Menu on TI-83/84

2. Type your data values into L1. If L1 has data in it, arrow up to the name L1, click CLEAR and then press ENTER. The column
will now be cleared and you can type the data in.
3. Now click STAT PLOT (2 nd Y = ). You have three stat plots to choose from.

Figure 6.4.11 : STAT PLOT Menu on TI-83/84

4. Use 1:Plot1. Press ENTER.
5. Put the cursor on the word On and press ENTER. This turns on the plot. Arrow down to Type: and use the right arrow to move
over to the last graph (it looks like an increasing linear graph). Set Data List to L1 (it might already say that) and set Data Axis
to Y. The Mark is up to you.

Figure 6.4.12 : Plot1 Menu on TI-83/84 Setup for Normal Quantile Plot
6. Now you need to set up the correct window on which to graph. Click on WINDOW. You need to set up the settings for the x
variable. Xmin should be -4. Xmax should be 4. Xscl should be 1. Ymin and Ymax are based on your data, the Ymin should be
below your lowest data value and Ymax should be above your highest data value. Yscl is just how often you would like to see a
tick mark on the y-axis.
7. Now press GRAPH. You will see the normal quantile plot.

To create a histogram on R:
Put the variable in using variable<-c(type in the data with commas between values) using a name for the variable that makes sense
for the problem. The command for histogram is hist(variable). You can then copy the histogram into a word processing program.
There are options that you can put in for title, and axis labels. See section 2.2 for the commands for those.

To create a modified boxplot on R:

Put the variable in using variable<-c(type in the data with commas between values) using a name for the variable that makes sense
for the problem. The command for box plot is boxplot(variable). You can then copy the box plot into a word processing program.
There are options that you can put in for title, horizontal orientation, and axis labels. See section 3.3 for the commands for those.

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To create a normal quantile plot on R:
Put the variable in using variable<-c(type in the data with commas between values) using a name for the variable that makes sense
for the problem. The command for normal quantile plot is qqnorm(variable). You can then copy the normal quantile plot into a
word processing program.
Realize that your random variable may be normally distributed, even if the sample fails the three tests. However, if the histogram
definitely doesn't look symmetric and bell shaped, there are outliers that are very extreme, and the normal probability plot doesn’t
look linear, then you can be fairly confident that the data set does not come from a population that is normally distributed.

Example 6.4.1 is it normal?

In Kiama, NSW, Australia, there is a blowhole. The data in table #6.4.1 are times in seconds between eruptions ("Kiama
blowhole eruptions," 2013). Do the data come from a population that is normally distributed?
Table 6.4.1 : Time (in Seconds) Between Kiama Blowhole Eruptions
83 51 87 60 28 95 8 27

15 10 18 16 29 54 91 8

17 55 10 35 47 77 36 17

21 36 18 40 10 7 34 27

28 56 8 25 68 146 89 18

73 69 9 37 10 82 29 8

60 61 61 18 169 25 8 26

11 83 11 42 17 14 9 12

a. State the random variable

b. Draw a histogram.
c. Find the number of outliers.
d. Draw the normal quantile plot.
e. Do the data come from a population that is normally distributed?
Solution
a. x = time in seconds between eruptions of Kiama Blowhole
b. The histogram produced is in Figure 6.4.13.

Figure 6.4.13 : Histogram for Kiama Blowhole

This looks skewed right and not symmetric.
c. The box plot is in Figure 6.4.14.

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 Figure 6.4.14: Modified Box Plot from TI-83/83 for Kiama Blowhole
There are two outliers. Instead using:
IQR = Q3 − Q1 = 60 −14.5 = 45.5 seconds
1.5 ∗ IQR = 1.5 ∗ 45.5 = 68.25 seconds
Q 1 − 1.5∗ IQR = 14.5 −68.25 = −53.75 seconds

Q 3 +1.5 ∗ IQR = 60 +68.25 = 128.25 seconds

Outliers are any numbers greater than 128.25 seconds and less than -53.75 seconds. Since all the numbers are measurements of
time, then no data values are less than 0 or seconds for that matter. There are two numbers that are larger than 128.25 seconds,
so there are two outliers. Two outliers are not real indications that the sample does not come from a normal distribution, but the
fact that both are well above 128.25 seconds is an indication of an issue.
d. The normal quantile plot is in Figure 6.4.15.

Figure 6.4.15: Normal Probability Plot

This graph looks more like an exponential growth than linear.

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 e. Considering the histogram is skewed right, there are two extreme outliers, and the normal probability plot does not look
linear, then the conclusion is that this sample is not from a population that is normally distributed.

Example 6.4.2 is it normal?

One way to measure intelligence is with an IQ score. Example 6.4.2 contains 50 IQ scores. Determine if the sample comes
from a population that is normally distributed.
Table 6.4.2 : IQ Scores

78 92 96 100 67 105 109 75 127 111

93 114 82 100 125 67 94 74 81 98

102 108 81 96 103 91 90 96 86 92

84 92 90 103 115 93 85 116 87 106

85 88 106 104 102 98 116 107 102 89

a. State the random variable.

b. Draw a histogram.
c. Find the number of outliers.
d. Draw the normal quantile plot.
e. Do the data come from a population that is normally distributed?
Solution
a. x = IQ score
b. The histogram is in Figure 6.4.16.

Figure 6.4.16 : Histogram for IQ Score

This looks somewhat symmetric, though it could be thought of as slightly skewed right.
c. The modified box plot is in Figure 6.4.17.

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 Figure 6.4.17: Output from TI-83/84 for IQ Score
There are no outliers.
Or using Outliers
IQR = Q3 − Q1 = 105 −87 = 18
1.5∗ IQR = 1.5∗ 18 = 27
Q 1 −1.5IQR = 87 −27 = 60
Q 3 +1.5IQR = 105 +27 = 132

are any numbers greater than 132 and less than 60. Since the maximum number is 127 and the minimum is 67, there are no
outliers.
d. The normal quantile plot is in Figure 6.4.18.

Figure 6.4.18: Normal Quantile Plot

This graph looks fairly linear.
e. Considering the histogram is somewhat symmetric, there are no outliers, and the normal probability plot looks linear, then
the conclusion is that this sample is from a population that is normally distributed.

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Homework
Exercise 6.4.1

1. Cholesterol data was collected on patients four days after having a heart attack. The data is in Example 6.4.3. Determine if
the data is from a population that is normally distributed.
Table 6.4.3 : Cholesterol Data Collected Four Days After a Heart Attack

218 234 214 116 200 276 146

182 238 288 190 236 244 258

240 294 220 200 220 186 352

202 218 248 278 248 270 242

2. The size of fish is very important to commercial fishing. A study conducted in 2012 collected the lengths of Atlantic cod
caught in nets in Karlskrona (Ovegard, Berndt & Lunneryd, 2012). Data based on information from the study is in Example
6.4.4. Determine if the data is from a population that is normally distributed.

Table 6.4.4 : Atlantic Cod Lengths

48 50 50 55 53 50 49 52

61 48 45 47 53 46 50 48

42 44 50 60 54 48 50 49

53 48 52 56 46 46 47 48

48 49 52 47 51 48 45 47

3. The WHO MONICA Project collected blood pressure data for people in China (Kuulasmaa, Hense & Tolonen, 1998). Data
based on information from the study is in Example 6.4.5. Determine if the data is from a population that is normally
distributed.
Table 6.4.5 : Blood Pressure Values for People in China

114 141 154 137 131 132 133 156 119

138 86 122 112 114 177 128 137 140

171 129 127 104 97 135 107 136 118

92 182 150 142 97 140 106 76 115

119 125 162 80 138 124 132 143 119

4. Annual rainfalls for Sydney, Australia are given in Example 6.4.6. ("Annual maximums of," 2013). Can you assume
rainfall is normally distributed?
Table 6.4.6 : Annual Rainfall in Sydney, Australia

146.8 383 90.9 178.1 267.5 95.5 156.5 180

90.9 139.7 200.2 171.7 187.2 184.9 70.1 58

84.1 55.6 133.1 271.8 135.9 71.9 99.4 110.6

47.5 97.8 122.7 58.4 154.4 173.7 118.8 88

84.6 171.5 254.3 185.9 137.2 138.9 96.2 85

45.2 74.7 264.9 113.8 133.4 68.1 156.4

Answer

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 1. Normally distributed
3. Normally distributed

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6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit Theorem
You now have most of the skills to start statistical inference, but you need one more concept.
First, it would be helpful to state what statistical inference is in more accurate terms.

Definition 6.5.1:Statistical Inference

Statistical Inference: to make accurate decisions about parameters from statistics.

When it says “accurate decision,” you want to be able to measure how accurate. You measure how accurate using probability. In
both binomial and normal distributions, you needed to know that the random variable followed either distribution. You need to
know how the statistic is distributed and then you can find probabilities. In other words, you need to know the shape of the sample
mean or whatever statistic you want to make a decision about.
How is the statistic distributed? This is answered with a sampling distribution.

Definition 6.5.2: Sampling Distribution

Sampling Distribution: how a sample statistic is distributed when repeated trials of size n are taken.

Example 6.5.1 sampling distribution

Suppose you throw a penny and count how often a head comes up. The random variable is x = number of heads. The
probability distribution (pdf) of this random variable is presented in Figure 6.5.1.

Figure 6.5.1 : Distribution of Random Variable

Solution
Repeat this experiment 10 times, which means n = 10. Here is the data set:
{1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}. The mean of this sample is 0.4. Now take another sample. Here is that data set:
{1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0}. The mean of this sample is 0.6. Another sample looks like:
{0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1}. The mean of this sample is 0.7. Repeat this 40 times. You could get these means:
Table 6.5.1 : Sample Means When n=10
0.4 0.6 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6

0.7 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.6

0.4 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.2

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Example 6.5.2 contains the distribution of these sample means (just count how many of each number there are and then divide
by 40 to obtain the relative frequency).
Table 6.5.2 : Distribution of Sample Means When n=10
Sample Mean Probability

0.1 0

0.2 0.05

0.3 0.2

0.4 0.175

0.5 0.225

0.6 0.2

0.7 0.125

0.8 0.025

0.9 0

Figure 6.5.2 contains the histogram of these sample means.

Figure 6.5.2 : Histogram of Sample Means When n=10

This distribution (represented graphically by the histogram) is a sampling distribution. That is all a sampling distribution is. It
is a distribution created from statistics.
Notice the histogram does not look anything like the histogram of the original random variable. It also doesn’t look anything
like a normal distribution, which is the only one you really know how to find probabilities. Granted you have the binomial, but
the normal is better.
What does this distribution look like if instead of repeating the experiment 10 times you repeat it 20 times instead?
Example 6.5.3 contains 40 means when the experiment of flipping the coin is repeated 20 times.
Table 6.5.3 : Sample Means When n=20

0.5 0.45 0.7 0.55 0.65 0.6 0.4 0.35 0.45 0.6

0.5 0.5 0.65 0.5 0.5 0.35 0.55 0.4 0.65 0.3

0.4 0.5 0.45 0.45 0.65 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.7

0.7 0.45 0.35 0.6 0.65 0.55 0.35 0.4 0.55 0.6

Example 6.5.3 contains the sampling distribution of the sample means.

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 Table 6.5.3 : Distribution of Sample Means When n=20
Mean Probability

0.1 0

0.2 0

0.3 0.125

0.4 0.2

0.5 0.3

0.6 0.25

0.7 0.125

0.8 0

0.9 0

This histogram of the sampling distribution is displayed in Figure 6.5.3.

Figure 6.5.3 : Histogram of Sample Means When n=20

Notice this histogram of the sample mean looks approximately symmetrical and could almost be called normal. What if you
keep increasing n? What will the sampling distribution of the sample mean look like? In other words, what does the sampling
distribution of x̄¯¯ look like as n gets even larger?

This depends on how the original distribution is distributed. In Example 6.5.1, the random variable was uniform looking. But as n
increased to 20, the distribution of the mean looked approximately normal. What if the original distribution was normal? How big
would n have to be? Before that question is answered, another concept is needed.

Note
Suppose you have a random variable that has a population mean, μ , and a population standard deviation, σ. If a sample of size
σ
n is taken, then the sample mean, x̄ has a mean μx̄ = μ and standard deviation of σx̄ =
¯
¯
− . The standard deviation of x̄ is
¯
¯

√n
¯
¯ ¯
¯

lower because by taking the mean you are averaging out the extreme values, which makes the distribution of the original
random variable spread out.

You now know the center and the variability of x̄¯¯. You also want to know the shape of the distribution of x̄¯¯. You hope it is normal,
since you know how to find probabilities using the normal curve. The following theorem tells you the requirement to have x̄¯¯
normally distributed.

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 Theorem 6.5.1 central limit theorem

Suppose a random variable is from any distribution. If a sample of size n is taken, then the sample mean, x̄¯¯, becomes normally
distributed as n increases.

What this says is that no matter what x looks like, x̄¯¯ would look normal if n is large enough. Now, what size of n is large enough?
That depends on how x is distributed in the first place. If the original random variable is normally distributed, then n just needs to
be 2 or more data points. If the original random variable is somewhat mound shaped and symmetrical, then n needs to be greater
than or equal to 30. Sometimes the sample size can be smaller, but this is a good rule of thumb. The sample size may have to be
much larger if the original random variable is really skewed one way or another.
Now that you know when the sample mean will look like a normal distribution, then you can find the probability related to the
sample mean. Remember that the mean of the sample mean is just the mean of the original data (μx̄¯¯ = μ ), but the standard
deviation of the sample mean, σx̄¯¯ , also known as the standard error of the mean, is actually σx̄¯¯ =
σ . Make sure you use this in
√n
−

all calculations. If you are using the z-score, the formula when working with x̄ is z =
¯¯
x̄ − μx̄ = x̄ − μ . If you are using the TI-
¯¯
¯¯
¯¯

σx̄ ¯¯ σ/√−n
83/84 calculator, then the input would be normalcdf(lower limit, upper limit, μ , σ /√n ). If you are using R, then the input would
−

be pnorm( x̄, μ, σ / sqrt(n)) to find the area to the left of x̄. Remember to subtract pnorm( x̄, μ, σ / sqrt(n)) ) from 1 if you want
¯¯ ¯¯ ¯¯

the area to the right of x̄.

¯¯

Example 6.5.2 Finding probabilities for sample means

The birth weight of boy babies of European descent who were delivered at 40 weeks is normally distributed with a mean of
3687.6 g with a standard deviation of 410.5 g (Janssen, Thiessen, Klein, Whitfield, MacNab & Cullis-Kuhl, 2007). Suppose
there were nine European descent boy babies born on a given day and the mean birth weight is calculated.
a. State the random variable.
b. What is the mean of the sample mean?
c. What is the standard deviation of the sample mean?
d. What distribution is the sample mean distributed as?
e. Find the probability that the mean weight of the nine boy babies born was less than 3500.4 g.
f. Find the probability that the mean weight of the nine babies born was less than 3452.5 g.
Solution
a. x = birth weight of boy babies (Note: the random variable is something you measure, and it is not the mean birth weight.
Mean birth weight is calculated.)
b. μx̄¯¯ = μ = 3687.6g

c. σx̄¯¯ =
σ = 410.5 = 410.5 ≈ 136.8g
√n
− – 3
√9

d. Since the original random variable is distributed normally, then the sample mean is distributed normally.
e. You are looking for the P (x̄¯¯ < 3500.4). You use the normalcdf command on the calculator. Remember to use the standard
deviation you found in part c. However to reduce rounding error, type the division into the command. On the TI-83/84 you
would have
P (x̄ < 3500.4) = normalcdf (−1E99, 3500.4, 3687.6, 410.5 ÷ √–9) ≈ 0.086
¯¯

On R you would have

P (x̄ < 3500.4) = pnorm (3500.4, 3687.6, 410.5/sqr(9)) ≈ 0.086
¯¯

There is an 8.6% chance that the mean birth weight of the nine boy babies born would be less than 3500.4 g. Since this is more
than 5%, this is not unusual.
f. You are looking for the P (x̄¯¯ < 3452.5).
On TI-83/84:

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 P (x̄ < 3452.5) = normalcdf (−1E99, 3452.5, 3687.6, 410.5 ÷ √–9) ≈ 0.043
¯¯

On R:
P (x̄ < 3452.5) = pnorm (3452.5, 3687.6, 410.5 ÷ √–9) ≈ 0.043
¯¯

There is a 4.3% chance that the mean birth weight of the nine boy babies born would be less than 3452.5 g. Since this is less
than 5%, this would be an unusual event. If it actually happened, then you may think there is something unusual about this
sample. Maybe some of the nine babies were born as multiples, which brings the mean weight down, or some or all of the
babies were not of European descent (in fact the mean weight of South Asian boy babies is 3452.5 g), or some were born
before 40 weeks, or the babies were born at high altitudes.

Example 6.5.3 finding probabilities for sample means

The age that American females first have intercourse is on average 17.4 years, with a standard deviation of approximately 2
years ("The Kinsey institute," 2013). This random variable is not normally distributed, though it is somewhat mound shaped.
a. State the random variable.
b. Suppose a sample of 35 American females is taken. Find the probability that the mean age that these 35 females first had
intercourse is more than 21 years.
Solution
a. x = age that American females first have intercourse.
b. Even though the original random variable is not normally distributed, the sample size is over 30, by the central limit theorem
the sample mean will be normally distributed. The mean of the sample mean is μx̄¯¯ = μ = 17.4 years. The standard deviation
of the sample mean is σx̄¯¯ =
σ = 2 ≈ 0.33806 . You have all the information you need to use the normal command on
√n
− −−
√35
your technology. Without the central limit theorem, you couldn’t use the normal command, and you would not be able to
answer this question.
On the TI-83/84:
P (x̄ > 21) = normalcdf (21, 1E99, 17.4, 2 ÷ √−35−) ≈ 9.0 × 10
¯¯ −27

On R:
P (x̄ > 21) = 1 − pnorm (21, 17.4, 2/ sqrt(35)) ≈ 9.0 × 10
¯¯ −27

The probability of a sample mean of 35 women being more than 21 years when they had their first intercourse is very small.
This is extremely unlikely to happen. If it does, it may make you wonder about the sample. Could the population mean have
increased from the 17.4 years that was stated in the article? Could the sample not have been random, and instead have been a
group of women who had similar beliefs about intercourse? These questions, and more, are ones that you would want to ask as
a researcher.

Homework
Exercise 6.5.1

1. A random variable is not normally distributed, but it is mound shaped. It has a mean of 14 and a standard deviation of 3.
a. If you take a sample of size 10, can you say what the shape of the sampling distribution for the sample mean is? Why?
b. For a sample of size 10, state the mean of the sample mean and the standard deviation of the sample mean.
c. If you take a sample of size 35, can you say what the shape of the distribution of the sample mean is? Why?
d. For a sample of size 35, state the mean of the sample mean and the standard deviation of the sample mean.
2. A random variable is normally distributed. It has a mean of 245 and a standard deviation of 21.
a. If you take a sample of size 10, can you say what the shape of the distribution for the sample mean is? Why?
b. For a sample of size 10, state the mean of the sample mean and the standard deviation of the sample mean.
c. For a sample of size 10, find the probability that the sample mean is more than 241.
d. If you take a sample of size 35, can you say what the shape of the distribution of the sample mean is? Why?

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 e. For a sample of size 35, state the mean of the sample mean and the standard deviation of the sample mean.
f. For a sample of size 35, find the probability that the sample mean is more than 241.
g. Compare your answers in part d and f. Why is one smaller than the other?
3. The mean starting salary for nurses is $67,694 nationally ("Staff nurse -," 2013). The standard deviation is approximately
$10,333. The starting salary is not normally distributed but it is mound shaped. A sample of 42 starting salaries for nurses is
taken.
a. State the random variable.
b. What is the mean of the sample mean?
c. What is the standard deviation of the sample mean?
d. What is the shape of the sampling distribution of the sample mean? Why?
e. Find the probability that the sample mean is more than $75,000.
f. Find the probability that the sample mean is less than $60,000.
g. If you did find a sample mean of more than $75,000 would you find that unusual? What could you conclude?
4. According to the WHO MONICA Project the mean blood pressure for people in China is 128 mmHg with a standard
deviation of 23 mmHg (Kuulasmaa, Hense & Tolonen, 1998). Blood pressure is normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Suppose a sample of size 15 is taken. State the shape of the distribution of the sample mean.
c. Suppose a sample of size 15 is taken. State the mean of the sample mean.
d. Suppose a sample of size 15 is taken. State the standard deviation of the sample mean.
e. Suppose a sample of size 15 is taken. Find the probability that the sample mean blood pressure is more than 135 mmHg.
f. Would it be unusual to find a sample mean of 15 people in China of more than 135 mmHg? Why or why not?
g. If you did find a sample mean for 15 people in China to be more than 135 mmHg, what might you conclude?
5. The size of fish is very important to commercial fishing. A study conducted in 2012 found the length of Atlantic cod caught
in nets in Karlskrona to have a mean of 49.9 cm and a standard deviation of 3.74 cm (Ovegard, Berndt & Lunneryd, 2012).
The length of fish is normally distributed. A sample of 15 fish is taken.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the mean of the sample mean.
c. Find the standard deviation of the sample mean
d. What is the shape of the distribution of the sample mean? Why?
e. Find the probability that the sample mean length of the Atlantic cod is less than 52 cm.
f. Find the probability that the sample mean length of the Atlantic cod is more than 74 cm.
g. If you found sample mean length for Atlantic cod to be more than 74 cm, what could you conclude?
6. The mean cholesterol levels of women age 45-59 in Ghana, Nigeria, and Seychelles is 5.1 mmol/l and the standard
deviation is 1.0 mmol/l (Lawes, Hoorn, Law & Rodgers, 2004). Assume that cholesterol levels are normally distributed.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a woman age 45-59 in Ghana has a cholesterol level above 6.2 mmol/l (considered a high
level).
c. Suppose doctors decide to test the woman’s cholesterol level again and average the two values. Find the probability that
this woman’s mean cholesterol level for the two tests is above 6.2 mmol/l.
d. Suppose doctors being very conservative decide to test the woman’s cholesterol level a third time and average the three
values. Find the probability that this woman’s mean cholesterol level for the three tests is above 6.2 mmol/l.
e. If the sample mean cholesterol level for this woman after three tests is above 6.2 mmol/l, what could you conclude?
7. In the United States, males between the ages of 40 and 49 eat on average 103.1 g of fat every day with a standard deviation
of 4.32 g ("What we eat," 2012). The amount of fat a person eats is not normally distributed but it is relatively mound
shaped.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the probability that a sample mean amount of daily fat intake for 35 men age 40-59 in the U.S. is more than 100 g.
c. Find the probability that a sample mean amount of daily fat intake for 35 men age 40-59 in the U.S. is less than 93 g.
d. If you found a sample mean amount of daily fat intake for 35 men age 40-59 in the U.S. less than 93 g, what would you
conclude?

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 8. A dishwasher has a mean life of 12 years with an estimated standard deviation of 1.25 years ("Appliance life expectancy,"
2013). The life of a dishwasher is normally distributed. Suppose you are a manufacturer and you take a sample of 10
dishwashers that you made.
a. State the random variable.
b. Find the mean of the sample mean.
c. Find the standard deviation of the sample mean.
d. What is the shape of the sampling distribution of the sample mean? Why?
e. Find the probability that the sample mean of the dishwashers is less than 6 years.
f. If you found the sample mean life of the 10 dishwashers to be less than 6 years, would you think that you have a
problem with the manufacturing process? Why or why not?

Answer
1. a. See solutions, b. μx̄¯¯ = 14 , σx̄¯¯ = 0.9487, c. See solutions, d. μx̄¯¯ = 14 , σx̄¯¯ = 0.5071
3. a. See solutions, b. μx̄¯¯ = $67, 694, c. σx̄¯¯ = $1594.42, d. See solutions, e. P (x̄¯¯ > $75, 000) = 2.302 × 10−6, f.
P (x̄¯¯ < $60, 000) = 6.989 × 10−7, g. See solutions
5. a. See solutions, b. μx̄¯¯ = 49.9cm, c. σx̄¯¯ = 0.9657cm, d. See solutions, e. P (x̄¯¯ < 52cm) = 0.9852 f.
P (x̄¯¯ > 74cm) ≈ 0 , g. See solutions
7. a. See solutions, b. P (x̄¯¯ > 100g) = 0.99999, c. P (x̄¯¯ < 93g) ≈ 0 or 8.22 × 10−44 , d. See solutions

Data Sources:
Annual maximums of daily rainfall in Sydney. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/sydrain.html
Appliance life expectancy. (2013, November 8). Retrieved from http://www.mrappliance.com/expert/life-guide/
Bhat, R., & Kushtagi, P. (2006). A re-look at the duration of human pregnancy. Singapore Med J., 47(12), 1044-8. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17139400
College Board, SAT. (2012). Total group profile report. Retrieved from website: media.collegeboard.com/digita...lGroup2012.pdf
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, (2012). 2012 annual report. Retrieved from website:
http://www.riderta.com/annual/2012
Janssen, P. A., Thiessen, P., Klein, M. C., Whitfield, M. F., MacNab, Y. C., & CullisKuhl, S. C. (2007). Standards for the
measurement of birth weight, length and head circumference at term in neonates of european, chinese and south asian ancestry.
Open Medicine, 1(2), e74-e88. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802014/
Kiama blowhole eruptions. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/kiama.html
Kuulasmaa, K., Hense, H., & Tolonen, H. World Health Organization (WHO), WHO Monica Project. (1998). Quality assessment of
data on blood pressure in the who monica project (ISSN 2242-1246). Retrieved from WHO MONICA Project e-publications
website: http://www.thl.fi/publications/monica/bp/bpqa.htm
Lawes, C., Hoorn, S., Law, M., & Rodgers, A. (2004). High cholesterol. In M. Ezzati, A. Lopez, A. Rodgers & C. Murray (Eds.),
Comparative Quantification of Health Risks (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 391-496). Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/publications/cra/.../0391-0496.pdf
Ovegard, M., Berndt, K., & Lunneryd, S. (2012). Condition indices of atlantic cod (gadus morhua) biased by capturing method.
ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fss145
Staff nurse - RN salary. (2013, November 08). Retrieved from http://www1.salary.com/Staff-Nurse-RN-salary.html
The Kinsey institute - sexuality information links. (2013, November 08). Retrieved from www.iub.edu/~kinsey/resources/FAQ.html
US Department of Argriculture, Agricultural Research Service. (2012). What we eat in America. Retrieved from website:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=18349

This page titled 6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit Theorem is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed,
and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

6.5.7 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5196
 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

7: One-Sample Inference
Now that you have all this information about descriptive statistics and probabilities, it is time to start inferential statistics. There are
two branches of inferential statistics: hypothesis testing and confidence intervals.

Definition 7.1

Hypothesis Testing: making a decision about a parameter(s) based on a statistic(s).

Definition 7.2

Confidence Interval: estimating a parameter(s) based on a statistic(s).

7.1: Basics of Hypothesis Testing

7.2: One-Sample Proportion Test
7.3: One-Sample Test for the Mean

This page titled 7: One-Sample Inference is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak
via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
7.1: Basics of Hypothesis Testing
To understand the process of a hypothesis tests, you need to first have an understanding of what a hypothesis is, which is an
educated guess about a parameter. Once you have the hypothesis, you collect data and use the data to make a determination to see if
there is enough evidence to show that the hypothesis is true. However, in hypothesis testing you actually assume something else is
true, and then you look at your data to see how likely it is to get an event that your data demonstrates with that assumption. If the
event is very unusual, then you might think that your assumption is actually false. If you are able to say this assumption is false,
then your hypothesis must be true. This is known as a proof by contradiction. You assume the opposite of your hypothesis is true
and show that it can’t be true. If this happens, then your hypothesis must be true. All hypothesis tests go through the same process.
Once you have the process down, then the concept is much easier. It is easier to see the process by looking at an example. Concepts
that are needed will be detailed in this example.

Example 7.1.1 basics of hypothesis testing

Suppose a manufacturer of the XJ35 battery claims the mean life of the battery is 500 days with a standard deviation of 25
days. You are the buyer of this battery and you think this claim is inflated. You would like to test your belief because without a
good reason you can’t get out of your contract.
What do you do?
Solution
Well first, you should know what you are trying to measure. Define the random variable.
Let x = life of a XJ35 battery
Now you are not just trying to find different x values. You are trying to find what the true mean is. Since you are trying to find
it, it must be unknown. You don’t think it is 500 days. If you did, you wouldn’t be doing any testing. The true mean, μ , is
unknown. That means you should define that too.
Let μ = mean life of a XJ35 battery
Now what?
You may want to collect a sample. What kind of sample?
You could ask the manufacturers to give you batteries, but there is a chance that there could be some bias in the batteries they
pick. To reduce the chance of bias, it is best to take a random sample.
How big should the sample be?
A sample of size 30 or more means that you can use the central limit theorem. Pick a sample of size 30.
Example 7.1.1 contains the data for the sample you collected:
Table 7.1.1 : Data on Battery Life
491 485 503 492 282 490

489 495 497 487 493 480

483 504 501 486 478 492

482 502 485 503 497 500

488 475 478 490 487 486

Now what should you do? Looking at the data set, you see some of the times are above 500 and some are below. But looking at
all of the numbers is too difficult. It might be helpful to calculate the mean for this sample.
The sample mean is x̄¯¯ = 490 days. Looking at the sample mean, one might think that you are right. However, the standard
deviation and the sample size also plays a role, so maybe you are wrong.
Before going any farther, it is time to formalize a few definitions.

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 You have a guess that the mean life of a battery is less than 500 days. This is opposed to what the manufacturer claims. There
really are two hypotheses, which are just guesses here – the one that the manufacturer claims and the one that you believe. It is
helpful to have names for them.

Definition 7.1.1

Null Hypothesis: historical value, claim, or product specification. The symbol used is Ho .

Definition 7.1.2

Alternate Hypothesis: what you want to prove. This is what you want to accept as true when you reject the null
hypothesis. There are two symbols that are commonly used for the alternative hypothesis: HA or HI . The symbol HA will
be used in this book.
In general, the hypotheses look something like this:
Ho μ μo: =

HA μ μo: <

where μo just represents the value that the claim says the population mean is actually equal to.
Also, HA can be less than, greater than, or not equal to.

For this problem:

Ho μ: = 500 days, since the manufacturer says the mean life of a battery is 500 days.
HA μ: < 500 days, since you believe that the mean life of the battery is less than 500 days.

Now back to the mean. You have a sample mean of 490 days. Is this small enough to believe that you are right and the
manufacturer is wrong? How small does it have to be?
If you calculated a sample mean of 235, you would definitely believe the population mean is less than 500. But even if you had a
sample mean of 435 you would probably believe that the true mean was less than 500. What about 475? Or 483? There is some
point where you would stop being so sure that the population mean is less than 500. That point separates the values of where you
are sure or pretty sure that the mean is less than 500 from the area where you are not so sure. How do you find that point?
Well it depends on how much error you want to make. Of course you don’t want to make any errors, but unfortunately that is
unavoidable in statistics. You need to figure out how much error you made with your sample. Take the sample mean, and find the
probability of getting another sample mean less than it, assuming for the moment that the manufacturer is right. The idea behind
this is that you want to know what is the chance that you could have come up with your sample mean even if the population mean
really is 500 days.
You want to find P x̄
(
¯
¯
< 490| Ho is true ) = P x̄
(
¯
¯
< 490| μ = 500)

To compute this probability, you need to know how the sample mean is distributed. Since the sample size is at least 30, then you
know the sample mean is approximately normally distributed. Remember μx̄ μ and σx̄ σ
¯
¯ = ¯
¯ =
√n
−

A picture is always useful.

Figure 7.1.1
Before calculating the probability, it is useful to see how many standard deviations away from the mean the sample mean is. Using
the formula for the z-score from chapter 6, you find

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 z = x̄ − μ−o = 490 − 500
¯¯
= −2.19
σ/√n 25/√−30−
This sample mean is more than two standard deviations away from the mean. That seems pretty far, but you should look at the
probability too.
On TI-83/84:
P (x̄ < 490|μ = 500) = normalcdf (−1E99, 490, 500, 25 ÷ √−30−) ≈ 0.0142
¯¯

On R:
P (x̄ < 490μ = 500) = pnorm (490, 500, 25/ sqrt(30)) ≈ 0.0142
¯¯

There is a 1.42% chance that you could find a sample mean less than 490 when the population mean is 500 days. This is really
small, so the chances are that the assumption that the population mean is 500 days is wrong, and you can reject the manufacturer’s
claim. But how do you quantify really small? Is 5% or 10% or 15% really small? How do you decide?
Before you answer that question, a couple more definitions are needed.

Definition 7.1.3

Test Statistic: z =
x̄ − μo
¯¯
since it is calculated as part of the testing of the hypothesis.
σ/√−n
Definition 7.1.4

p – value: probability that the test statistic will take on more extreme values than the observed test statistic, given that the null
hypothesis is true. It is the probability that was calculated above.

Now, how small is small enough? To answer that, you really want to know the types of errors you can make.
There are actually only two errors that can be made. The first error is if you say that Ho is false, when in fact it is true. This means
you reject Ho when Ho was true. The second error is if you say that Ho is true, when in fact it is false. This means you fail to reject
Ho when Ho is false. The following table organizes this for you:
Type of errors:
Table 7.1.2 : Types of Errors
Ho true Ho false
Reject Ho Type 1 error No error

Fail to reject Ho No error Type II error

Thus

Definition 7.1.5

Type I Error is rejecting Ho when Ho is true, and

Definition 7.1.6

Type II Error is failing to reject Ho when Ho is false.

Since these are the errors, then one can define the probabilities attached to each error.

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 Definition 7.1.7

α = P(type I error) = P(rejecting Ho Ho is true)

/

Definition 7.1.8

β = P(type II error) = P(failing to reject Ho Ho is false)

/

α is also called the level of significance.

Another common concept that is used is Power = 1 − . β
Now there is a relationship between α and β. They are not complements of each other. How are they related?
α
If increases that means the chances of making a type I error will increase. It is more likely that a type I error will occur. It makes
H
sense that you are less likely to make type II errors, only because you will be rejecting o more often. You will be failing to reject
H α β
o less, and therefore, the chance of making a type II error will decrease. Thus, as increases, will decrease, and vice versa.
That makes them seem like complements, but they aren’t complements. What gives? Consider one more factor – sample size.
Consider if you have a larger sample that is representative of the population, then it makes sense that you have more accuracy then
with a smaller sample. Think of it this way, which would you trust more, a sample mean of 490 if you had a sample size of 35 or
sample size of 350 (assuming a representative sample)? Of course the 350 because there are more data points and so more
accuracy. If you are more accurate, then there is less chance that you will make any error. By increasing the sample size of a
representative sample, you decrease both and . α β
Summary of all of this:
α β
1. For a certain sample size, n, if increases, decreases.
α β
2. For a certain level of significance, , if n increases, decreases.
Now how do you find α and β? Well α is actually chosen. There are only three values that are usually picked for α : 0.01, 0.05, and
0.10. β is very difficult to find, so usually it isn’t found. If you want to make sure it is small you take as large of a sample as you
can afford provided it is a representative sample. This is one use of the Power. You want β to be small and the Power of the test is
large. The Power word sounds good.
α
Which pick of do you pick? Well that depends on what you are working on. Remember in this example you are the buyer who is
trying to get out of a contract to buy these batteries. If you create a type I error, you said that the batteries are bad when they aren’t,
α
most likely the manufacturer will sue you. You want to avoid this. You might pick to be 0.01. This way you have a small chance
of making a type I error. Of course this means you have more of a chance of making a type II error. No big deal right? What if the
batteries are used in pacemakers and you tell the person that their pacemaker’s batteries are good for 500 days when they actually
last less, that might be bad. If you make a type II error, you say that the batteries do last 500 days when they last less, then you have
α
the possibility of killing someone. You certainly do not want to do this. In this case you might want to pick as 0.10. If both errors
α
are equally bad, then pick as 0.05.
α
The above discussion is why the choice of depends on what you are researching. As the researcher, you are the one that needs to
α
decide what level to use based on your analysis of the consequences of making each error is.

Note
If a type I error is really bad, then pick α = 0.01.
If a type II error is really bad, then pick α = 0.10
If neither error is bad, or both are equally bad, then pick α = 0.05
The main thing is to always pick the α before you collect the data and start the test.
The above discussion was long, but it is really important information. If you don’t know what the errors of the test are about, then
there really is no point in making conclusions with the tests. Make sure you understand what the two errors are and what the
probabilities are for them.

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Now it is time to go back to the example and put this all together. This is the basic structure of testing a hypothesis, usually called a
hypothesis test. Since this one has a test statistic involving z, it is also called a z-test. And since there is only one sample, it is
usually called a one-sample z-test.

Example 7.1.2 battery example revisited

1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.

2. State the null and alternative hypothesis and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test.
a. A random sample of size n is taken.
b. The population standard derivation is known.
c. The sample size is at least 30 or the population of the random variable is normally distributed.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x = life of battery
μ = mean life of a XJ35 battery
2. Ho : μ = 500 days
HA : μ < 500 days
α = 0.10 (from above discussion about consequences)
3. Every hypothesis has some assumptions that be met to make sure that the results of the hypothesis are valid. The
assumptions are different for each test. This test has the following assumptions.
a. This occurred in this example, since it was stated that a random sample of 30 battery lives were taken.
b. This is true, since it was given in the problem.
c. The sample size was 30, so this condition is met.
4. The test statistic depends on how many samples there are, what parameter you are testing, and assumptions that need to be
checked. In this case, there is one sample and you are testing the mean. The assumptions were checked above.
Sample statistic:
x̄ = 490
¯¯

Test statistic:

z = x̄ − μ−o = 490 − 500

¯¯
= −2.19
σ/√n 25/√−30−
p-value:

Figure 7.1.2
Using TI-83/84:
P (x̄ < 490|μ = 500) = normalcdf (−1E99, 490, 500, 25/√−30−) ≈ 0.0142
¯¯

Using R:
P (x̄ < 490|μ = 500) = pnorm(490, 500, 25/ sqrt(30)) ≈ 0.0142
¯¯

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 5. Now what? Well, this p-value is 0.0142. This is a lot smaller than the amount of error you would accept in the problem -α =
0.10. That means that finding a sample mean less than 490 days is unusual to happen if Ho is true. This should make you think
that Ho is not true. You should reject Ho .

Note

In fact, in general:
Reject Ho if the p-value < α and
Fail to reject Ho if the p-value ≥ α .

6. Since you rejected Ho , what does this mean in the real world? That is what goes in the interpretation. Since you rejected the
claim by the manufacturer that the mean life of the batteries is 500 days, then you now can believe that your hypothesis was
correct. In other words, there is enough evidence to show that the mean life of the battery is less than 500 days.

Now that you know that the batteries last less than 500 days, should you cancel the contract? Statistically, there is evidence that the
batteries do not last as long as the manufacturer says they should. However, based on this sample there are only ten days less on
average that the batteries last. There may not be practical significance in this case. Ten days do not seem like a large difference. In
reality, if the batteries are used in pacemakers, then you would probably tell the patient to have the batteries replaced every year.
You have a large buffer whether the batteries last 490 days or 500 days. It seems that it might not be worth it to break the contract
over ten days. What if the 10 days was practically significant? Are there any other things you should consider? You might look at
the business relationship with the manufacturer. You might also look at how much it would cost to find a new manufacturer. These
are also questions to consider before making any changes. What this discussion should show you is that just because a hypothesis
has statistical significance does not mean it has practical significance. The hypothesis test is just one part of a research process.
There are other pieces that you need to consider.
That’s it. That is what a hypothesis test looks like. All hypothesis tests are done with the same six steps. Those general six steps are
outlined below.
1. State the random variable and the parameter in words. This is where you are defining what the unknowns are in this problem.
x = random variable
μ = mean of random variable, if the parameter of interest is the mean. There are other parameters you can test, and you would
use the appropriate symbol for that parameter.
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : μ = μo , where μo is the known mean
HA μ μo
: <

HA μ μo , use the appropriate one for your problem

: >

HA μ μo
: ≠

Also, state your α level here.

3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test.
Each hypothesis test has its own assumptions. They will be stated when the different hypothesis tests are discussed.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
This depends on what parameter you are working with, how many samples, and the assumptions of the test. The p-value
depends on your HA . If you are doing the HA with the less than, then it is a left-tailed test, and you find the probability of being
in that left tail. If you are doing the HA with the greater than, then it is a right-tailed test, and you find the probability of being
in the right tail. If you are doing the HA with the not equal to, then you are doing a two-tail test, and you find the probability of
being in both tails. Because of symmetry, you could find the probability in one tail and double this value to find the probability
in both tails.
5. Conclusion
This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then
fail to reject Ho .
6. Interpretation
This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

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Sorry, one more concept about the conclusion and interpretation. First, the conclusion is that you reject Ho or you fail to reject Ho .
Why was it said like this? It is because you never accept the null hypothesis. If you wanted to accept the null hypothesis, then why
do the test in the first place? In the interpretation, you either have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough
evidence to show HA is true. You wouldn’t want to go to all this work and then find out you wanted to accept the claim. Why go
through the trouble? You always want to show that the alternative hypothesis is true. Sometimes you can do that and sometimes
you can’t. It doesn’t mean you proved the null hypothesis; it just means you can’t prove the alternative hypothesis. Here is an
example to demonstrate this.

Example 7.1.3 conclusion in hypothesis tests

In the U.S. court system a jury trial could be set up as a hypothesis test. To really help you see how this works, let’s use OJ
Simpson as an example. In the court system, a person is presumed innocent until he/she is proven guilty, and this is your null
hypothesis. OJ Simpson was a football player in the 1970s. In 1994 his ex-wife and her friend were killed. OJ Simpson was
accused of the crime, and in 1995 the case was tried. The prosecutors wanted to prove OJ was guilty of killing his wife and her
friend, and that is the alternative hypothesis
Solution
H0 : OJ is innocent of killing his wife and her friend
HA : OJ is guilty of killing his wife and her friend
In this case, a verdict of not guilty was given. That does not mean that he is innocent of this crime. It means there was not
enough evidence to prove he was guilty. Many people believe that OJ was guilty of this crime, but the jury did not feel that the
evidence presented was enough to show there was guilt. The verdict in a jury trial is always guilty or not guilty!

The same is true in a hypothesis test. There is either enough or not enough evidence to show that alternative hypothesis. It is not
that you proved the null hypothesis true.
When identifying hypothesis, it is important to state your random variable and the appropriate parameter you want to make a
decision about. If count something, then the random variable is the number of whatever you counted. The parameter is the
proportion of what you counted. If the random variable is something you measured, then the parameter is the mean of what you
measured. (Note: there are other parameters you can calculate, and some analysis of those will be presented in later chapters.)

Example 7.1.4 stating hypotheses

Identify the hypotheses necessary to test the following statements:

a. The average salary of a teacher is more than $30,000.
b. The proportion of students who like math is less than 10%.
c. The average age of students in this class differs from 21.
Solution
a. x = salary of teacher
μ = mean salary of teacher
The guess is that μ > $30, 000 and that is the alternative hypothesis.
The null hypothesis has the same parameter and number with an equal sign.
H0 : μ = $30, 000
HA : μ > $30, 000
b. x = number od students who like math
p = proportion of students who like math
The guess is that p < 0.10 and that is the alternative hypothesis.
H0 : p = 0.10
HA : p < 0.10

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c. x = age of students in this class
μ = mean age of students in this class
The guess is that μ ≠ 21 and that is the alternative hypothesis.
H0 : μ = 21
HA : μ ≠ 21
Example 7.1.5 Stating Type I and II Errors and Picking Level of Significance
a. The plant-breeding department at a major university developed a new hybrid raspberry plant called YumYum Berry. Based
on research data, the claim is made that from the time shoots are planted 90 days on average are required to obtain the first
berry with a standard deviation of 9.2 days. A corporation that is interested in marketing the product tests 60 shoots by
planting them and recording the number of days before each plant produces its first berry. The sample mean is 92.3 days.
The corporation wants to know if the mean number of days is more than the 90 days claimed. State the type I and type II
errors in terms of this problem, consequences of each error, and state which level of significance to use.
b. A concern was raised in Australia that the percentage of deaths of Aboriginal prisoners was higher than the percent of
deaths of non-indigenous prisoners, which is 0.27%. State the type I and type II errors in terms of this problem,
consequences of each error, and state which level of significance to use.
Solution
a. x = time to first berry for YumYum Berry plant
μ = mean time to first berry for YumYum Berry plant
H0 : μ = 90
HA : μ > 90
Type I Error: If the corporation does a type I error, then they will say that the plants take longer to produce than 90 days when
they don’t. They probably will not want to market the plants if they think they will take longer. They will not market them even
though in reality the plants do produce in 90 days. They may have loss of future earnings, but that is all.
Type II error: The corporation do not say that the plants take longer then 90 days to produce when they do take longer. Most
likely they will market the plants. The plants will take longer, and so customers might get upset and then the company would
get a bad reputation. This would be really bad for the company.
Level of significance: It appears that the corporation would not want to make a type II error. Pick a 10% level of significance,
α = 0.10 .
b. x = number of Aboriginal prisoners who have died
p = proportion of Aboriginal prisoners who have died
Ho : p = 0.27%
HA : p > 0.27%
Type I error: Rejecting that the proportion of Aboriginal prisoners who died was 0.27%, when in fact it was 0.27%. This would
mean you would say there is a problem when there isn’t one. You could anger the Aboriginal community, and spend time and
energy researching something that isn’t a problem.
Type II error: Failing to reject that the proportion of Aboriginal prisoners who died was 0.27%, when in fact it is higher than
0.27%. This would mean that you wouldn’t think there was a problem with Aboriginal prisoners dying when there really is a
problem. You risk causing deaths when there could be a way to avoid them.
Level of significance: It appears that both errors may be issues in this case. You wouldn’t want to anger the Aboriginal
community when there isn’t an issue, and you wouldn’t want people to die when there may be a way to stop it. It may be best
to pick a 5% level of significance, α = 0.05
.

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Note
Hypothesis testing is really easy if you follow the same recipe every time. The only differences in the various problems are the
assumptions of the test and the test statistic you calculate so you can find the p-value. Do the same steps, in the same order,
with the same words, every time and these problems become very easy.

Homework
Exercise 7.1.1

For the problems in this section, a question is being asked. This is to help you understand what the hypotheses are. You are not
to run any hypothesis tests and come up with any conclusions in this section.
1. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made in a
given time period and found that 11% of all lenses had defects of some type. Looking at the type of defects, they found in a
three-month time period that out of 34,641 defective lenses, 5865 were due to scratches. Are there more defects from
scratches than from all other causes? State the random variable, population parameter, and hypotheses.
2. According to the February 2008 Federal Trade Commission report on consumer fraud and identity theft, 23% of all
complaints in 2007 were for identity theft. In that year, Alaska had 321 complaints of identity theft out of 1,432 consumer
complaints ("Consumer fraud and," 2008). Does this data provide enough evidence to show that Alaska had a lower
proportion of identity theft than 23%? State the random variable, population parameter, and hypotheses.
3. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, and required countries to start reducing their carbon emissions. The protocol
became enforceable in February 2005. In 2004, the mean CO2 emission was 4.87 metric tons per capita. Is there enough
evidence to show that the mean CO2 emission is lower in 2010 than in 2004? State the random variable, population
parameter, and hypotheses.
4. The FDA regulates that fish that is consumed is allowed to contain 1.0 mg/kg of mercury. In Florida, bass fish were
collected in 53 different lakes to measure the amount of mercury in the fish. The data for the average amount of mercury in
each lake is in Example 7.1.5 ("Multi-disciplinary niser activity," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that
the fish in Florida lakes has more mercury than the allowable amount? State the random variable, population parameter, and
hypotheses.
5. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made in a
given time period and found that 11% of all lenses had defects of some type. Looking at the type of defects, they found in a
three-month time period that out of 34,641 defective lenses, 5865 were due to scratches. Are there more defects from
scratches than from all other causes? State the type I and type II errors in this case, consequences of each error type for this
situation from the perspective of the manufacturer, and the appropriate alpha level to use. State why you picked this alpha
level.
6. According to the February 2008 Federal Trade Commission report on consumer fraud and identity theft, 23% of all
complaints in 2007 were for identity theft. In that year, Alaska had 321 complaints of identity theft out of 1,432 consumer
complaints ("Consumer fraud and," 2008). Does this data provide enough evidence to show that Alaska had a lower
proportion of identity theft than 23%? State the type I and type II errors in this case, consequences of each error type for
this situation from the perspective of the state of Arizona, and the appropriate alpha level to use. State why you picked this
alpha level.
7. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, and required countries to start reducing their carbon emissions. The protocol
became enforceable in February 2005. In 2004, the mean CO2 emission was 4.87 metric tons per capita. Is there enough
evidence to show that the mean CO2 emission is lower in 2010 than in 2004? State the type I and type II errors in this case,
consequences of each error type for this situation from the perspective of the agency overseeing the protocol, and the
appropriate alpha level to use. State why you picked this alpha level.
8. The FDA regulates that fish that is consumed is allowed to contain 1.0 mg/kg of mercury. In Florida, bass fish were
collected in 53 different lakes to measure the amount of mercury in the fish. The data for the average amount of mercury in
each lake is in Example 7.1.5 ("Multi-disciplinary niser activity," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that
the fish in Florida lakes has more mercury than the allowable amount? State the type I and type II errors in this case,
consequences of each error type for this situation from the perspective of the FDA, and the appropriate alpha level to use.
State why you picked this alpha level.

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 Answer
1. Ho p : = 0.11, HA p
: > 0.11

3. Ho μ : = 4.87 metric tons per capita, HA μ: < 4.87 metric tons per capita

5. See solutions
7. See solutions

This page titled 7.1: Basics of Hypothesis Testing is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn
Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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7.2: One-Sample Proportion Test
There are many different parameters that you can test. There is a test for the mean, such as was introduced with the z-test. There is
also a test for the population proportion, p. This is where you might be curious if the proportion of students who smoke at your
school is lower than the proportion in your area. Or you could question if the proportion of accidents caused by teenage drivers
who do not have a drivers’ education class is more than the national proportion.
To test a population proportion, there are a few things that need to be defined first. Usually, Greek letters are used for parameters
and Latin letters for statistics. When talking about proportions, it makes sense to use p for proportion. The Greek letter for p is π,
but that is too confusing to use. Instead, it is best to use p for the population proportion. That means that a different symbol is
needed for the sample proportion. The convention is to use, p^ , known as p-hat. This way you know that p is the population
proportion, and that p^ is the sample proportion related to it.
Now proportion tests are about looking for the percentage of individuals who have a particular attribute. You are really looking for
the number of successes that happen. Thus, a proportion test involves a binomial distribution.

Hypothesis Test for One Population Proportion (1-Prop Test)

1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.
x = number of successes
I = proportion of successes
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : p = po , where po is the known proportion
HA p po
: <

HA p po , use the appropriate one for your problem

: >

HA p po
: ≠

Also, state your α level here.

3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test
a. A simple random sample of size n is taken.
b. The conditions for the binomial distribution are satisfied
c. To determine the sampling distribution of p^ , you need to show that np ≥ 5 and nq ≥ 5 , where q = 1 − p . If this
requirement is true, then the sampling distribution of p^ is well approximated by a normal curve.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value
Sample Proportion:
p nx
^ = =
# of successes

# of trials

Test Statistic:
z p p
^−

√pqn
= −
−

p-value:
TI-83/84: Use normalcdf(lower limit, upper limit, 0, 1)

Note
if HA : p < po , then lower limit is −1E 99 and upper limit is your test statistic. If HA : p > po , then lower limit is your
test statistic and the upper limit is 1E 99. If HA : p ≠ po , then find the p-value for HA : p < po , and multiply by 2.

R: Use pnorm(z, 0, 1)

Note
If HA p po , then you can use pnorm. If HA p po , then you have to find pnorm and then subtract from 1. If
: < : >

HA p po , then find the p-value for HA p po , and multiply by 2.

: ≠ : <

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5. Conclusion
This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then
fail to reject Ho .
6. Interpretation
This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

Example 7.2.1 hypothesis test for one proportion using formula

A concern was raised in Australia that the percentage of deaths of Aboriginal prisoners was higher than the percent of deaths of
non-Aboriginal prisoners, which is 0.27%. A sample of six years (1990-1995) of data was collected, and it was found that out
of 14,495 Aboriginal prisoners, 51 died ("Indigenous deaths in," 1996). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that the
proportion of deaths of Aboriginal prisoners is more than 0.27%?
1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x = number of Aboriginal prisoners who die
p = proportion of Aboriginal prisoners who die

2.
Ho : p = 0.0027
HA : p > 0.0027
Example 7.2.5b argued that the α = 0.05.
3.
a. A simple random sample of 14,495 Aboriginal prisoners was taken. However, the sample was not a random sample, since it
was data from six years. It is the numbers for all prisoners in these six years, but the six years were not picked at random.
Unless there was something special about the six years that were chosen, the sample is probably a representative sample.
This assumption is probably met.
b. There are 14,495 prisoners in this case. The prisoners are all Aboriginals, so you are not mixing Aboriginal with non-
Aboriginal prisoners. There are only two outcomes, either the prisoner dies or doesn’t. The chance that one prisoner dies
over another may not be constant, but if you consider all prisoners the same, then it may be close to the same probability.
Thus the conditions for the binomial distribution are satisfied
c. In this case p = 0.0027 and n = 14,495. np = 14495∗ 0.0027 ≈ 39 ≥ 5 and nq = 14495∗ (1 − 0.0027) ≈ 14456 ≥ 5 . So,
the sampling distribution for p^ is a normal distribution.
4. Sample Proportion:
x = 51
n = 14495

p^ = nx = 14495
51
≈ 0.003518

Test Statistic:

z = p −−−
p
^ 0.003518 − 0.0027
− = −−−−−−−−−−−−−−− ≈ 1.8979
pq
√ n √ 0.0027(1 − 0.0027)
14495

p-value:
TI-83/84: p-value = P (z > 1.8979) = normalcdf (1.8979, 1E 99, 0, 1) ≈ 0.029

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 R: p-value = P (z > 1.8979) = 1 − pnorm (1.8979, 0, 1) ≈ 0.029
5. Since the p-value < 0.05, then reject Ho .
6. There is enough evidence to show that the proportion of deaths of Aboriginal prisoners is more than for non-Aboriginal
prisoners.

Example 7.2.2 hypothesis test for one proportion using technology

A researcher who is studying the effects of income levels on breastfeeding of infants hypothesizes that countries where the
income level is lower have a higher rate of infant breastfeeding than higher income countries. It is known that in Germany,
considered a high-income country by the World Bank, 22% of all babies are breastfeed. In Tajikistan, considered a low-income
country by the World Bank, researchers found that in a random sample of 500 new mothers that 125 were breastfeeding their
infant. At the 5% level of significance, does this show that low-income countries have a higher incident of breastfeeding?
1. State you random variable and the parameter in words.
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x = number of woman who breastfeed in a low-income country
p = proportion of woman who breastfeed in a low-income country
Ho : p = 0.22
2. HA : p > 0.22
α = 0.05
3.
a. A simple random sample of 500 breastfeeding habits of woman in a low-income country was taken as was stated in the
problem.
b. There were 500 women in the study. The women are considered identical, though they probably have some differences.
There are only two outcomes, either the woman breastfeeds or she doesn’t. The probability of a woman breastfeeding is
probably not the same for each woman, but it is probably not very different for each woman. The conditions for the
binomial distribution are satisfied
c. In this case, n = 500 and p = 0.22. np = 500(0.22) = 110 ≥ 5 and nq = 500(1 − 0.22) = 390 ≥ 5 , so the sampling
distribution of p^ is well approximated by a normal curve.
4. This time, all calculations will be done with technology. On the TI-83/84 calculator. Go into the STAT menu, then arrow
over to TESTS. This test is a 1-propZTest. Then type in the information just as shown in Figure 7.2.1.

Figure 7.2.1 : Setup for 1-Proportion Test

Once you press Calculate, you will see the results as in Figure 7.2.2.

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 Figure 7.2.2 : Results for 1-Proportion Test
The z in the results is the test statistic. The p = 0.052683219 is the p-value, and the p
^ = 0.25 is the sample proportion.
The p-value is approximately 0.053.
On R, the command is prop.test(x, n, po, alternative = "less" or "greater"), where po is what Ho says p equals, and you use less
if your HA is less and greater if your HA is greater. If your HA is not equal to, then leave off the alternative statement. So for
this example, the command would be prop.test(125, 500, .22, alternative = "greater")
1-sample proportions test with continuity correction
data: 125 out of 500, null probability 0.22
X-squared = 2.4505, df = 1, p-value = 0.05874
alternative hypothesis: true p is greater than 0.22
95 percent confidence interval:
0.218598 1.000000
sample estimates:
p
0.25

Note
R does a continuity correction that the formula and the TI-83/84 calculator do not do. You can put in a command that says
not to use the continuity correction, but it is correct to use it. Also, R doesn’t give the z test statistic, so you don’t need to
worry about this. It does give a p-value that is slightly off from the formula and the calculator due to the continuity
correction.

p-value = 0.05874
5. Since the p-value is more than 0.05, you fail to reject Ho .
6. There is not enough evidence to show that the proportion of women who breastfeed in low-income countries is more than in
high-income countries.

H
Notice, the conclusion is that there wasn't enough evidence to show what 1 said. The conclusion was not that you proved o H
H
true. There are many reasons why you can’t say that o is true. It could be that the countries you chose were not very
representative of what truly happens. If you instead looked at all high-income countries and compared them to low-income
countries, you might have different results. It could also be that the sample you collected in the low-income country was not
representative. It could also be that income level is not an indication of breastfeeding habits. There could be other factors involved.
H
This is why you can’t say that you have proven o is true. There are too many other factors that could be the reason that you failed
H
to reject o .

Homework

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 Exercise 7.2.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that the results of the test
may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test.
1. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made in a
given time period and found that 11% of all lenses had defects of some type. Looking at the type of defects, they found in a
three-month time period that out of 34,641 defective lenses, 5865 were due to scratches. Are there more defects from
scratches than from all other causes? Use a 1% level of significance.
2. In July of 1997, Australians were asked if they thought unemployment would increase, and 47% thought that it would
increase. In November of 1997, they were asked again. At that time 284 out of 631 said that they thought unemployment
would increase ("Morgan gallup poll," 2013). At the 5% level, is there enough evidence to show that the proportion of
Australians in November 1997 who believe unemployment would increase is less than the proportion who felt it would
increase in July 1997?
3. According to the February 2008 Federal Trade Commission report on consumer fraud and identity theft, 23% of all
complaints in 2007 were for identity theft. In that year, Arkansas had 1,601 complaints of identity theft out of 3,482
consumer complaints ("Consumer fraud and," 2008). Does this data provide enough evidence to show that Arkansas had a
higher proportion of identity theft than 23%? Test at the 5% level.
4. According to the February 2008 Federal Trade Commission report on consumer fraud and identity theft, 23% of all
complaints in 2007 were for identity theft. In that year, Alaska had 321 complaints of identity theft out of 1,432 consumer
complaints ("Consumer fraud and," 2008). Does this data provide enough evidence to show that Alaska had a lower
proportion of identity theft than 23%? Test at the 5% level.
5. In 2001, the Gallup poll found that 81% of American adults believed that there was a conspiracy in the death of President
Kennedy. In 2013, the Gallup poll asked 1,039 American adults if they believe there was a conspiracy in the assassination,
and found that 634 believe there was a conspiracy ("Gallup news service," 2013). Do the data show that the proportion of
Americans who believe in this conspiracy has decreased? Test at the 1% level.
6. In 2008, there were 507 children in Arizona out of 32,601 who were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
("Autism and developmental," 2008). Nationally 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with ASD ("CDC features -," 2013). Is
there sufficient data to show that the incident of ASD is more in Arizona than nationally? Test at the 1% level.

Answer
For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. See solutions for the entire answer.
1. Reject Ho.
3. Reject Ho.
5. Reject Ho.

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7.3: One-Sample Test for the Mean
It is time to go back to look at the test for the mean that was introduced in section 7.1 called the z-test. In the example, you knew
what the population standard deviation, σ, was. What if you don’t know σ?
x̄¯¯ − μ
You could just use the sample standard deviation, s, as an approximation of σ. That means the test statistic is now . Great,
s/√− n
now you can go and find the p-value using the normal curve. Or can you? Is this new test statistic normally distributed? Actually, it
is not. How is it distributed? A man named W. S. Gossett figured out what this distribution is and called it the Student’s t-
distribution. There are some assumptions that must be made for this formula to be a Student’s t-distribution. These are outlined in
the following theorem. Note: the t-distribution is called the Student’s t-distribution because that is the name he published under
because he couldn’t publish under his own name due to employer not wanting him to publish under his own name. His employer by
the way was Guinness and they didn't want competitors knowing they had a chemist working for them. It is not called the Student’s
t-distribution because it is only used by students.
Theorem: If the following assumptions are met
a. A random sample of size n is taken.
b. The distribution of the random variable is normal or the sample size is 30 or more.
x̄¯¯ − μ
Then the distribution of t = is a Student’s t-distribution with n − 1 degrees of freedom.
s/√− n
Explanation of degrees of freedom:

√ ∑n
−−−−−−−−−
(x − x̄
¯¯ 2
)
Recall the formula for sample standard deviation is s= . Notice the denominator is n - 1. This is the same as the
−1
degrees of freedom. This is no accident. The reason the denominator and the degrees of freedom are both n -1 comes from how the
standard deviation is calculated. Remember, first you take each data value and subtract x̄¯¯. If you add up all of these new values,
you will get 0. This must happen. Since it must happen, the first n - 1 data values you have “freedom of choice”, but the nth data
value, you have no freedom to choose. Hence, you have n - 1 degrees of freedom. Another way to think about it is that if you five
people and five chairs, the first four people have a choice of where they are sitting, but the last person does not. They have no
freedom of where to sit. Only 5 - 1 =4 people have freedom of choice.
The Student’s t-distribution is a bell-shape that is more spread out than the normal distribution. There are many t-distributions, one
for each different degree of freedom.
Here is a graph of the normal distribution and the Student’s t-distribution for df = 1 and df = 2.

Figure 7.3.1 : Typical Student t-Distributions

As the degrees of freedom increases, the student’s t-distribution looks more like the normal distribution.
To find probabilities for the t-distribution, again technology can do this for you. There are many technologies out there that you can
use. On the TI-83/84, the command is in the DISTR menu and is tcdf(. The syntax for this command is
tcdf(lower limit, upper limit, df)
On R: the command to find the area to the left of a t value is pt(t value, df)

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Hypothesis Test for One Population Mean (t-Test)
1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.
x = random variable
μ = mean of random variable
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : μ = μo , where μo is the known mean
HA μ μo : <

HA μ μo , use the appropriate one for your problem

: >

HA μ μo : ≠

Also, state your α level here.

3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test
a. A random sample of size n is taken.
b. The population of the random variable is normally distributed, though the t-test is fairly robust to the condition if the sample
size is large. This means that if this condition isn’t met, but your sample size is quite large (over 30), then the results of the t-
test are valid.
c. The population standard deviation, σ, is unknown.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value
Test Statistic:
t x̄ s μ
¯
¯
−
=

n √
−

with degrees of freedom df = n - 1

p-value:
Using TI-83/84: tcdf(lower limit, upper limit, df)

Note
If HA : μ < μo , then lower limit is −1E 99 and upper limit is your test statistic. If HA : μ > μo , then lower limit is your
test statistic and the upper limit is 1E 99. If HA : μ ≠ μo , then find the p-value for HA : μ < μo , and multiply by 2.

Using R: pt(t value, df)

Note

HA μ μo , then the command is pt(t value, df). If HA μ μo , then the command is

If : < : > 1 − pt(t value, df ) . If
HA μ μo , then find the p-value for HA μ μo , and multiply by 2.
: ≠ : <

5. This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then
fail to reject Ho .
6. This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

How to check the assumptions of t-test:

In order for the t-test to be valid, the assumptions of the test must be true. Whenever you run a t-test, you must make sure the
assumptions are true. You need to check them. Here is how you do this:
1. For the condition that the sample is a random sample, describe how you took the sample. Make sure your sampling technique is
random.
2. For the condition that population of the random variable is normal, remember the process of assessing normality from chapter 6.

Note
If the assumptions behind this test are not valid, then the conclusions you make from the test are not valid. If you do not have a
random sample, that is your fault. Make sure the sample you take is as random as you can make it following sampling
techniques from chapter 1. If the population of the random variable is not normal, then take a sample larger than 30. If you

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 cannot afford to do that, or if it is not logistically possible, then you do different tests called non-parametric tests. There is an
entire course on non-parametric tests, and they will not be discussed in this book.

Example 7.3.1 test of the mean using the formula

A random sample of 20 IQ scores of famous people was taken from the website of IQ of Famous People ("IQ of famous,"
2013) and a random number generator was used to pick 20 of them. The data are in Example 7.3.1. Do the data provide
evidence at the 5% level that the IQ of a famous person is higher than the average IQ of 100?
Table 7.3.1 : IQ Scores of Famous People

158 180 150 137 109

225 122 138 145 180

118 118 126 140 165

150 170 105 154 118

1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x = IQ score of a famous person
μ = mean IQ score of a famous person
Ho : μ = 100
2. HA : μ > 100
α = 0.05
3.
a. A random sample of 20 IQ scores was taken. This was said in the problem.
b. The population of IQ score is normally distributed. This was shown in Example 7.3.2.
4. Sample Statistic:
x̄ = 145.4
¯¯

s ≈ 29.27
Test Statistic:
x̄ − μ
¯¯
t= s =
145.4 − 100
29.27
≈ 6.937

√n
− −−
√20

p-value:
df = n - 1 = 20 - 1 = 19
TI-83/84: p-value = tcdf(6.937, 1E 99, 19) = 6.5 × 10−7
R: p-value = 1 − pt(6.937, 19) = 6.5 × 10−7
5. Since the p-value is less than 5%, then reject Ho .
6. There is enough evidence to show that famous people have a higher IQ than the average IQ of 100.

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Example 7.3.2 test of the mean using technology

In 2011, the average life expectancy for a woman in Europe was 79.8 years. The data in Example 7.3.2 are the life
expectancies for men in European countries in 2011 ("WHO life expectancy," 2013). Do the data indicate that men’s life
expectancy is less than women’s? Test at the 1% level.
Table 7.3.2 : Life Expectancies for Men in European Countries in 2011

1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x = life expectancy for a European man in 2011
μ = mean life expectancy for European men in 2011
Ho μ
: = 79.8 years

2. HA μ: < 79.8 years

α = 0.01

3.
a. A random sample of 53 life expectancies of European men in 2011 was taken. The data is actually all of the life
expectancies for every country that is considered part of Europe by the World Health Organization. However, the
information is still sample information since it is only for one year that the data was collected. It may not be a random
sample, but that is probably not an issue in this case.
b. The distribution of life expectancies of European men in 2011 is normally distributed. To see if this condition has been met,
look at the histogram, number of outliers, and the normal probability plot. (If you wish, you can look at the normal
probability plot first. If it doesn’t look linear, then you may want to look at the histogram and number of outliers at this
point.)

Figure 7.3.2 : Histogram for Life Expectancies of European Men in 2011

Not bell shaped

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Number of outliers:

Figure 7.3.3 : Modified Box Plot for Life Expectancies of European Men in 2011

or:
IQR = 79 - 69 = 10
1.5 * IQR = 15
Q1 - 1.5 * IQR = 69 - 15 = 54
Q3 + 1.5 * IQR = 79 + 15 = 94
Outliers are numbers below 54 and above 94. There are no outliers for this data set.

Figure 7.3.4 : Normal Quantile Plot for Life Expectancies of European Men in 2011
Not linear
This population does not appear to be normally distributed. This sample is larger than 30, so it is good that the t-test is robust.

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4. The calculations will be conducted using technology.
On the TI-83/84 calculator. Go into STAT and type the data into L1.
Then go into STAT and move over to TESTS. Choose T-Test. The setup for the calculator is in Figure 7.3.4.

Figure 7.3.5 : Setup for T-Test on TI-83/84 Calculator

Once you press ENTER on Calculate you will see the result shown in Figure 7.3.6.

Figure 7.3.6 : Result of T-Test on TI-83/84 Calculator

On R, the command is t.test(variable, mu = number in H0 , alternative = "less" or "greater"), where mu = what H0 says the
mean equals, and you use less if your HA is less and greater if your HA is greater. If your HA is not equal to, then leave off the
alternative statement. For this example, the command would be t.test(expectancy, mu=79.8, alternative = "less")
One Sample t-test
data: expectancy
t = -7.7069, df = 52, p-value = 1.853e-10
alternative hypothesis: true mean is less than 79.8
95 percent confidence interval:
-Inf 75.05357
sample estimates:
mean of x
73.73585
Most of the output you don’t need. You need the test statistic and the p-value.
The t = -7.707 is the test statistic. The p-value is 1.8534 × 10−10 .
5. Since the p-value is less than 1%, then reject Ho .

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 6. There is enough evidence to show that the mean life expectancy for European men in 2011 was less than the mean life
expectancy for European women in 2011 of 79.8 years.

Homework

Exercise 7.3.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that the results of the test
may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test.
1. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, and required countries to start reducing their carbon emissions. The protocol
became enforceable in February 2005. In 2004, the mean CO2 emission was 4.87 metric tons per capita. Table 7.3.3
contains a random sample of CO2 emissions in 2010 ("CO2 emissions," 2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the
mean CO2 emission is lower in 2010 than in 2004? Test at the 1% level.
Table 7.3.3 : CO2 Emissions (in metric tons per capita) in 2010

1.36 1.42 5.93 5.36 0.06 9.11 7.32

7.93 6.72 0.78 1.80 0.20 2.27 0.28

5.86 3.46 1.46 0.14 2.62 0.79 7.48

0.86 7.84 2.87 2.45

2. The amount of sugar in a Krispy Kream glazed donut is 10 g. Many people feel that cereal is a healthier alternative for
children over glazed donuts. Example 7.3.4 contains the amount of sugar in a sample of cereal that is geared towards
children ("Healthy breakfast story," 2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the mean amount of sugar in children’s
cereal is more than in a glazed donut? Test at the 5% level.
Table 7.3.4 : Sugar Amounts in Children's Cereal

10 14 12 9 13 13 13

11 12 15 9 10 11 3

6 12 15 12 12

3. The FDA regulates that fish that is consumed is allowed to contain 1.0 mg/kg of mercury. In Florida, bass fish were
collected in 53 different lakes to measure the amount of mercury in the fish. The data for the average amount of mercury in
each lake is in Example 7.3.5 ("Multi-disciplinary niser activity," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that
the fish in Florida lakes has more mercury than the allowable amount? Test at the 10% level.
Table 7.3.5 : Average Mercury Levels (mg/kg) in Fish

1.23 1.33 0.04 0.44 1.20 0.27

0.48 0.19 0.83 0.81 0.81 0.5

0.49 1.16 0.05 0.15 0.19 0.77

1.08 0.98 0.63 0.56 0.41 0.73

0.34 0.59 0.34 0.84 0.50 0.34

0.28 0.34 0.87 0.56 0.17 0.18

0.19 0.04 0.49 1.10 0.16 0.10

0.48 0.21 0.86 0.52 0.65 0.27

0.94 0.40 0.43 0.25 0.27

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4. Stephen Stigler determined in 1977 that the speed of light is 299,710.5 km/sec. In 1882, Albert Michelson had collected
measurements on the speed of light ("Student t-distribution," 2013). His measurements are given in Example 7.3.6. Is there
evidence to show that Michelson’s data is different from Stigler’s value of the speed of light? Test at the 5% level.
Table 7.3.6 : Speed of Light Measurements in (km/sec)

299883 299816 299778 299796 299682

299711 299611 299599 300051 299781

299578 299796 299774 299820 299772

299696 299573 299748 299748 299797

299851 299809 299723

5. Example 7.3.7 contains pulse rates after running for 1 minute, collected from females who drink alcohol ("Pulse rates
before," 2013). The mean pulse rate after running for 1 minute of females who do not drink is 97 beats per minute. Do the
data show that the mean pulse rate of females who do drink alcohol is higher than the mean pulse rate of females who do
not drink? Test at the 5% level.
Table 7.3.7 : Pulse Rates of Woman Who Use Alcohol

176 150 150 115 129 160

120 125 89 132 120 120

68 87 88 72 77 84

92 80 60 67 59 64

88 74 68

6. The economic dynamism, which is the index of productive growth in dollars for countries that are designated by the World
Bank as middle-income are in Example 7.3.8 ("SOCR data 2008," 2013). Countries that are considered high-income have a
mean economic dynamism of 60.29. Do the data show that the mean economic dynamism of middle-income countries is
less than the mean for high-income countries? Test at the 5% level.
Table 7.3.8 : Economic Dynamism of Middle Income Countries

25.8057 37.4511 51.915 43.6952 47.8506 43.7178 58.0767

41.1648 38.0793 37.7251 39.6553 42.0265 48.6159 43.8555

49.1361 61.9281 41.9543 44.9346 46.0521 48.3652 43.6252

50.9866 59.1724 39.6282 33.6074 21.6643

7. In 1999, the average percentage of women who received prenatal care per country is 80.1%. Example 7.3.9 contains the
percentage of woman receiving prenatal care in 2009 for a sample of countries ("Pregnant woman receiving," 2013). Do the
data show that the average percentage of women receiving prenatal care in 2009 is higher than in 1999? Test at the 5%
level.
Table 7.3.9 : Percentage of Woman Receiving Prenatal Care

70.08 72.73 74.52 75.79 76.28 76.28

76.65 80.34 80.60 81.90 86.30 87.70

87.76 88.40 90.70 91.50 91.80 92.10

92.20 92.41 92.47 93.00 93.20 93.40

93.63 93.69 93.80 94.30 94.51 95.00

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 95.80 95.80 96.23 96.24 97.30 97.90

97.95 98.20 99.00 99.00 99.10 99.10

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

8. Maintaining your balance may get harder as you grow older. A study was conducted to see how steady the elderly is on
their feet. They had the subjects stand on a force platform and have them react to a noise. The force platform then measured
how much they swayed forward and backward, and the data is in Example 7.3.10 ("Maintaining balance while," 2013). Do
the data show that the elderly sway more than the mean forward sway of younger people, which is 18.125 mm? Test at the
5% level.
Table 7.3.10 : Forward/Backward Sway (in mm) of Elderly Subjects

19 30 20 19 29 25 21 24 50

Answer
For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. See solutions for the entire answer.
1. Fail to reject Ho.
3. Fail to reject Ho.
5. Fail to reject Ho.
7. Reject Ho.

Data Sources:
Australian Human Rights Commission, (1996). Indigenous deaths in custody 1989 - 1996. Retrieved from website:
www.humanrights.gov.au/public...deaths-custody
CDC features - new data on autism spectrum disorders. (2013, November 26). Retrieved from
www.cdc.gov/features/countingautism/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders - Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Monitoring Network. (2008). Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network-2012. Retrieved from website:
www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/doc...nityReport.pdf
CO2 emissions. (2013, November 19). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC
Federal Trade Commission, (2008). Consumer fraud and identity theft complaint data: January-December 2007. Retrieved from
website: www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/02/fraud.pdf
Gallup news service. (2013, November 7-10). Retrieved from www.gallup.com/file/poll/1658...acy_131115.pdf
Healthy breakfast story. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories...Breakfast.html
IQ of famous people. (2013, November 13). Retrieved from http://www.kidsiqtestcenter.com/IQ-famous-people.html
Maintaining balance while concentrating. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/general/balaconc.html
Morgan Gallup poll on unemployment. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/gallup.html
Multi-disciplinary niser activity - mercury in bass. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from
http://gozips.uakron.edu/~nmimoto/pa.../MercuryInBass - description.txt
Pregnant woman receiving prenatal care. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.ANVC.ZS
SOCR data 2008 world countries rankings. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from
http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...ntriesRankings
Student t-distribution. (2013, November 25). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/student.html

7.3.9 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5201
WHO life expectancy. (2013, September 19). Retrieved from www.who.int/gho/mortality_bur...n_trends/en/in dex.html

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

8: Estimation
In hypothesis tests, the purpose was to make a decision about a parameter, in terms of it being greater than, less than, or not equal
to a value. But what if you want to actually know what the parameter is. You need to do estimation. There are two types of
estimation – point estimator and confidence interval.
8.1: Basics of Confidence Intervals
8.2: One-Sample Interval for the Proportion
8.3: One-Sample Interval for the Mean

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1
8.1: Basics of Confidence Intervals
A point estimator is just the statistic that you have calculated previously. As an example, when you wanted to estimate the
population mean, μ , the point estimator is the sample mean, x̄¯¯. To estimate the population proportion, p, you use the sample
proportion, p^ . In general, if you want to estimate any population parameter, we will call it θ , you use the sample statistic, θ^ .
Point estimators are really easy to find, but they have some drawbacks. First, if you have a large sample size, then the estimate is
better. But with a point estimator, you don’t know what the sample size is. Also, you don’t know how accurate the estimate is. Both
of these problems are solved with a confidence interval.

Definition 8.1.1

Confidence interval: This is where you have an interval surrounding your parameter, and the interval has a chance of being a
true statement. In general, a confidence interval looks like: θ^±E , where θ^ is the point estimator and E is the margin of error
term that is added and subtracted from the point estimator. Thus making an interval.

Interpreting a confidence interval:

The statistical interpretation is that the confidence interval has a probability (1 - α , where α is the complement of the confidence
level) of containing the population parameter. As an example, if you have a 95% confidence interval of 0.65 < p < 0.73, then you
would say, “there is a 95% chance that the interval 0.65 to 0.73 contains the true population proportion.” This means that if you
have 100 intervals, 95 of them will contain the true proportion, and 5% will not. The wrong interpretation is that there is a 95%
chance that the true value of p will fall between 0.65 and 0.73. The reason that this interpretation is wrong is that the true value is
fixed out there somewhere. You are trying to capture it with this interval. So this is the chance is that your interval captures it, and
not that the true value falls in the interval.
There is also a real world interpretation that depends on the situation. It is where you are telling people what numbers you found
the parameter to lie between. So your real world is where you tell what values your parameter is between. There is no probability
attached to this statement. That probability is in the statistical interpretation.
The common probabilities used for confidence intervals are 90%, 95%, and 99%. These are known as the confidence level. The
confidence level and the alpha level are related. For a two-tailed test, the confidence level is C = 1 - α . This is because the α is
both tails and the confidence level is area between the two tails. As an example, for a two-tailed test (HA is not equal to) with α
equal to 0.10, the confidence level would be 0.90 or 90%. If you have a one-tailed test, then your α is only one tail. Because of
symmetry the other tail is also α . So you have 2α with both tails. So the confidence level, which is the area between the two tails,
is C = 1 - 2α .

Example 8.1.1 stating the statistical and real world interpretations for a confidence interval

a. Suppose you have a 95% confidence interval for the mean age a woman gets married in 2013 is 26 < μ < 28 . State the
statistical and real world interpretations of this statement.
b. Suppose a 99% confidence interval for the proportion of Americans who have tried marijuana as of 2013 is
0.35 < p < 0.41. State the statistical and real world interpretations of this statement

Solution
a. Statistical Interpretation: There is a 95% chance that the interval 26 < μ < 28 contains the mean age a woman gets married
in 2013.
Real World Interpretation: The mean age that a woman married in 2013 is between 26 and 28 years of age.
b. Statistical Interpretation: There is a 99% chance that the interval 0.35 < p < 0.41 contains the proportion of Americans
who have tried marijuana as of 2013. Real World Interpretation: The proportion of Americans who have tried marijuana as
of 2013 is between 0.35 and 0.41.

One last thing to know about confidence is how the sample size and confidence level affect how wide the interval is. The following
discussion demonstrates what happens to the width of the interval as you get more confident.
Think about shooting an arrow into the target. Suppose you are really good at that and that you have a 90% chance of hitting the
bull’s eye. Now the bull’s eye is very small. Since you hit the bull’s eye approximately 90% of the time, then you probably hit

8.1.1 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5206
inside the next ring out 95% of the time. You have a better chance of doing this, but the circle is bigger. You probably have a 99%
chance of hitting the target, but that is a much bigger circle to hit. You can see, as your confidence in hitting the target increases, the
circle you hit gets bigger. The same is true for confidence intervals. This is demonstrated in Figure 8.1.1.

Figure 8.1.1 : Affect of Confidence Level on Width

The higher level of confidence makes a wider interval. There’s a trade off between width and confidence level. You can be really
confident about your answer but your answer will not be very precise. Or you can have a precise answer (small margin of error) but
not be very confident about your answer.
Now look at how the sample size affects the size of the interval. Suppose Figure 8.1.2 represents confidence intervals calculated on
a 95% interval. A larger sample size from a representative sample makes the width of the interval narrower. This makes sense.
Large samples are closer to the true population so the point estimate is pretty close to the true value.

Figure 8.1.2 : Affect of Sample Size on Width

Now you know everything you need to know about confidence intervals except for the actual formula. The formula depends on
which parameter you are trying to estimate. With different situations you will be given the confidence interval for that parameter.

Homework

Exercise 8.1.1

1. Suppose you compute a confidence interval with a sample size of 25. What will happen to the confidence interval if the
sample size increases to 50?
2. Suppose you compute a 95% confidence interval. What will happen to the confidence interval if you increase the
confidence level to 99%?
3. Suppose you compute a 95% confidence interval. What will happen to the confidence interval if you decrease the
confidence level to 90%?
4. Suppose you compute a confidence interval with a sample size of 100. What will happen to the confidence interval if the
sample size decreases to 80?
5. A 95% confidence interval is 6353 km < μ < 6384 km, where μ is the mean diameter of the Earth. State the statistical
interpretation.
6. A 95% confidence interval is 6353 km < μ < 6384 km, where μ is the mean diameter of the Earth. State the real world
interpretation.
7. In 2013, Gallup conducted a poll and found a 95% confidence interval of 0.52 < p < 0.60, where p is the proportion of
Americans who believe it is the government’s responsibility for health care. Give the real world interpretation.
8. In 2013, Gallup conducted a poll and found a 95% confidence interval of 0.52 < p < 0.60, where p is the proportion of
Americans who believe it is the government’s responsibility for health care. Give the statistical interpretation.

Answer
1. Narrower
3. Narrower
5. See solutions
7. See solutions

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This page titled 8.1: Basics of Confidence Intervals is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by
Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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8.2: One-Sample Interval for the Proportion
Suppose you want to estimate the population proportion, p. As an example you may be curious what proportion of students at your
school smoke. Or you could wonder what is the proportion of accidents caused by teenage drivers who do not have a drivers’
education class.

Confidence Interval for One Population Proportion (1-Prop Interval)

1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.
x = number of successes
p = proportion of successes
2. State and check the assumptions for confidence interval
a. A simple random sample of size n is taken.
b. The condition for the binomial distribution are satisfied
c. To determine the sampling distribution of p^ , you need to show that np^ ≥ 5 and nq^ ≥ 5 , where q^ = 1 − p^ . If this
requirement is true, then the sampling distribution of p^ is well approximated by a normal curve. (In reality this is not really
true, since the correct assumption deals with p. However, in a confidence interval you do not know p, so you must use p^ .
This means you just need to show that x ≥ 5 and n − x ≥ 5 .)
3. Find the sample statistic and the confidence interval
Sample Proportion:
p x # of successes
^ =
n =
# of trials

Confidence Interval:
p E p p E
^− < < ^+

Where
p = population proportion
p^ = sample proportion
n = number of sample values
E = margin of error
zc = = critical value
q p
^ =1− ^

E zc √ pnq
−−−
^^
=

4. Statistical Interpretation: In general this looks like, “there is a C% chance that p^ − E < p < p^ + E contains the true
proportion.”
5. Real World Interpretation: This is where you state what interval contains the true proportion.
The critical value is a value from the normal distribution. Since a confidence interval is found by adding and subtracting a margin
of error amount from the sample proportion, and the interval has a probability of containing the true proportion, then you can think
of this as the statement P (p^ − E < p < p^ + E ) = C . You can use the invNorm command on the TI-83/84 calculator or qnorm
command on R to find the critical value. The critical values will always be the same value, so it is easier to just look at table A.1 in
the appendix.

Example 8.2.1 confidence interval for the population proportion using the formula

A concern was raised in Australia that the percentage of deaths of Aboriginal prisoners was higher than the percent of deaths of
non-Aboriginal prisoners, which is 0.27%. A sample of six years (1990-1995) of data was collected, and it was found that out
of 14,495 Aboriginal prisoners, 51 died ("Indigenous deaths in," 1996). Find a 95% confidence interval for the proportion of
Aboriginal prisoners who died.
1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.
2. State and check the assumptions for a confidence interval.
3. Find the sample statistic and the confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation

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 Solution
1. x = number of Aboriginal prisoners who die
p = proportion of Aboriginal prisoners who die
2.
a. A simple random sample of 14,495 Aboriginal prisoners was taken. However, the sample was not a random sample, since it
was data from six years. It is the numbers for all prisoners in these six years, but the six years were not picked at random.
Unless there was something special about the six years that were chosen, the sample is probably a representative sample.
This assumption is probably met.
b. There are 14,495 prisoners in this case. The prisoners are all Aboriginals, so you are not mixing Aboriginal with non-
Aboriginal prisoners. There are only two outcomes, either the prisoner dies or doesn’t. The chance that one prisoner dies
over another may not be constant, but if you consider all prisoners the same, then it may be close to the same probability.
Thus the assumptions for the binomial distribution are satisfied
c. In this case, x = 51 and n - x = 14495 - 51 = 14444 and both are greater than or equal to 5. The sampling distribution for p^
is a normal distribution.
3. Sample Proportion:

p^ = nx = 14495
51
≈ 0.003518

Confidence Interval:
zc = 1.96, since 95% confidence level
E = zc √ p^q^ = 1.96√ 0.003518(1 − 0.003518) ≈ 0.000964
−−− −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

n 14495

p^ − E < p < p^ + E
0.003518 − 0.000964 < p < 0.003518 + 0.000964

0.002554 < p < 0.004482

4. There is a 95% chance that 0.002554 < p < 0.004482contains the proportion of Aboriginal prisoners who died.
5. The proportion of Aboriginal prisoners who died is between 0.0026 and 0.0045.

You can also do the calculations for the confidence interval with technology. The following example shows the process on the TI-
83/84.

Example 8.2.2 confidence interval for the population proportion using technology

A researcher studying the effects of income levels on breastfeeding of infants hypothesizes that countries where the income
level is lower have a higher rate of infant breastfeeding than higher income countries. It is known that in Germany, considered
a high-income country by the World Bank, 22% of all babies are breastfeed. In Tajikistan, considered a low-income country by
the World Bank, researchers found that in a random sample of 500 new mothers that 125 were breastfeeding their infants. Find
a 90% confidence interval of the proportion of mothers in low-income countries who breastfeed their infants?
1. State you random variable and the parameter in words.
2. State and check the assumptions for a confidence interval.
3. Find the sample statistic and the confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation
Solution
1. x = number of woman who breastfeed in a low-income country
p = proportion of woman who breastfeed in a low-income country
2.

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 a. A simple random sample of 500 breastfeeding habits of woman in a low-income country was taken as was stated in the
problem.
b. There were 500 women in the study. The women are considered identical, though they probably have some differences.
There are only two outcomes, either the woman breastfeeds or she doesn’t. The probability of a woman breastfeeding is
probably not the same for each woman, but it is probably not very different for each woman. The assumptions for the
binomial distribution are satisfied
c. x = 125 and n - x = 500 - 125 = 375 and both are greater than or equal to 5, so the sampling distribution of p^ is well
approximated by a normal curve.
3. On the TI-83/84: Go into the STAT menu. Move over to TESTS and choose 1-PropZInt.

Figure 8.2.1 : Setup for 1-Proportion Interval

Once you press Calculate, you will see the results as in Figure 8.2.2.

Figure 8.2.2 : Results for 1-Proportion Interval

On R: the command is prop.test(x, n, conf.level = C), where C is given in decimal form. So for this example, the command is
prop.test(125, 500, conf.level = 0.90)
1-sample proportions test with continuity correction
data: 125 out of 500, null probability 0.5
X-squared = 124, df = 1, p-value < 2.2e-16
alternative hypothesis: true p is not equal to 0.5
90 percent confidence interval:
0.2185980 0.2841772
sample estimates:
p
0.25
Again, R does a continuity correction, so the answer is slightly off from the formula and the TI-83/84 calculator.
0.219 < p < 0.284

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 4. There is a 90% chance that 0.219 < p < 0.284 contains the proportion of women in low-income countries who breastfeed
their infants.
5. The proportion of women in low-income countries who breastfeed their infants is between 0.219 and 0.284.

Homework
Exercise 8.2.1

In each problem show all steps of the confidence interval. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that the results of the
interval may not be correct and then continue the process of the confidence interval.
1. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they make.
Looking at the type of defects, they found in a three-month time period that out of 34,641 defective lenses, 5865 were due
to scratches. Find a 99% confidence interval for the proportion of defects that are from scratches.
2. In November of 1997, Australians were asked if they thought unemployment would increase. At that time 284 out of 631
said that they thought unemployment would increase ("Morgan gallup poll," 2013). Estimate the proportion of Australians
in November 1997 who believed unemployment would increase using a 95% confidence interval?
3. According to the February 2008 Federal Trade Commission report on consumer fraud and identity theft, Arkansas had
1,601 complaints of identity theft out of 3,482 consumer complaints ("Consumer fraud and," 2008). Calculate a 90%
confidence interval for the proportion of identity theft in Arkansas.
4. According to the February 2008 Federal Trade Commission report on consumer fraud and identity theft, Alaska had 321
complaints of identity theft out of 1,432 consumer complaints ("Consumer fraud and," 2008). Calculate a 90% confidence
interval for the proportion of identity theft in Alaska.
5. In 2013, the Gallup poll asked 1,039 American adults if they believe there was a conspiracy in the assassination of
President Kennedy, and found that 634 believe there was a conspiracy ("Gallup news service," 2013). Estimate the
proportion of American’s who believe in this conspiracy using a 98% confidence interval.
6. In 2008, there were 507 children in Arizona out of 32,601 who were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
("Autism and developmental," 2008). Find the proportion of ASD in Arizona with a confidence level of 99%.

Answer
For all confidence intervals, just the interval using technology is given. See solution for the entire answer.
1. 0.1641 < p < 0.1745
3. 0.4458 < p < 0.4739
5. 0.5740 < p < 0.6452

This page titled 8.2: One-Sample Interval for the Proportion is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated
by Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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8.3: One-Sample Interval for the Mean
Suppose you want to estimate the mean height of Americans, or you want to estimate the mean salary of college graduates. A
confidence interval for the mean would be the way to estimate these means.

Confidence Interval for One Population Mean (t-Interval)

1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.
x = random variable
μ = mean of random variable
2. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test
a. A random sample of size n is taken.
b. The population of the random variable is normally distributed, though the t-test is fairly robust to the assumption if the
sample size is large. This means that if this assumption isn’t met, but your sample size is quite large (over 30), then the
results of the t-test are valid.
3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval
x̄ − E < μ < x̄ + E
¯¯ ¯¯

where
E = tc s−n
√
x̄ is the point estimator for μ
¯¯

tc is the critical value where degrees of freedom: df = n - 1

s is the sample standard deviation
n is the sample size
4. Statistical Interpretation: In general this looks like, “there is a C% chance that the statement x̄¯¯ − E < μ < x̄¯¯ + E contains the
true mean.”
5. Real World Interpretation: This is where you state what interval contains the true mean.
The critical value is a value from the Student’s t-distribution. Since a confidence interval is found by adding and subtracting a
margin of error amount from the sample mean, and the interval has a probability of containing the true mean, then you can think of
this as the statement P (x̄¯¯ − E < μ < x̄¯¯ + E ) = C . The critical values are found in table A.2 in the appendix.

How to check the assumptions of confidence interval:

In order for the confidence interval to be valid, the assumptions of the test must be true. Whenever you run a confidence interval,
you must make sure the assumptions are true. You need to check them. Here is how you do this:
1. For the assumption that the sample is a random sample, describe how you took the sample. Make sure your sampling technique
is random.
2. For the assumption that population is normal, remember the process of assessing normality from chapter 6.

Example 8.3.1 confidence interval for the population mean using the formula

A random sample of 20 IQ scores of famous people was taken information from the website of IQ of Famous People ("IQ of
famous," 2013) and then using a random number generator to pick 20 of them. The data are in Example 8.3.1 (this is the same
data set that was used in Example 8.3.2). Find a 98% confidence interval for the IQ of a famous person.
Table 8.3.1 : IQ Scores of Famous People
158 180 150 137 109

225 122 138 145 180

118 118 126 140 165

150 170 105 154 118

1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.

2. State and check the assumptions for a confidence interval.

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 3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation
Solution
1. x = IQ score of a famous person
μ = mean IQ score of a famous person
2.
a. A random sample of 20 IQ scores was taken. This was stated in the problem.
b. The population of IQ score is normally distributed. This was shown in Example 8.3.2.
3. Sample Statistic:
x̄¯¯ = 145.4
s ≈ 29.27
Now you need the degrees of freedom, df = n - 1 = 20 - 1 = 19 and the C, which is 98%. Now go to table A.2, go down the first
column to 19 degrees of freedom. Then go over to the column headed with 98%. Thus tc = 2.539
. (See Example .) 8.3.2

Table 8.3.2: Excerpt From Table A.2

E = tc s−n = 2.539 29.27
√ √−20− ≈ 16.6
x̄¯¯ − E < μ < x̄¯¯ + E
145.4 −16.6 < μ < 145.4 +16.6
128.8 < μ < 162
4. There is a 98% chance that 128.8 < μ < 162 contains the mean IQ score of a famous person.
5. The mean IQ score of a famous person is between 128.8 and 162.

Example 8.3.2 confidence interval for the population mean using technology
The data in Example 8.3.3 are the life expectancies for men in European countries in 2011 ("WHO life expectancy," 2013).
Find the 99% confident interval for the mean life expectancy of men in Europe.
Table 8.3.3 : Life Expectancies for Men in European Countries in 2011
7365 79 67 78 69 66 78 74

71 74 79 75 77 71 78 78

68 78 78 71 81 79 80 80

62 65 69 68 79 79 79 73

79 79 72 77 67 70 63 82

72 72 77 79 80 80 67 73

73 60 65 79 66

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 1. State the random variable and the parameter in words.
2. State and check the assumptions for a confidence interval.
3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation
Solution
1. x = life expectancy for a European man in 2011
μ = mean life expectancy for European men in 2011
2.
a. A random sample of 53 life expectancies of European men in 2011 was taken. The data is actually all of the life
expectancies for every country that is considered part of Europe by the World Health Organization. However, the
information is still sample information since it is only for one year that the data was collected. It may not be a random
sample, but that is probably not an issue in this case.
b. The distribution of life expectancies of European men in 2011 is normally distributed. To see if this assumption has been
met, look at the histogram, number of outliers, and the normal probability plot. (If you wish, you can look at the normal
probability plot first. If it doesn’t look linear, then you may want to look at the histogram and number of outliers at this
point.)

Figure 8.3.1 : Histogram for Life Expectancies of European Men in 2011

Not normally distributed
Number of outliers:

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 Figure 8.3.2 : Modified Box Plot for Life Expectancies of European Men in 2011
IQR = 79 - 69 = 10
1.5 * IQR = 15
Q1 - 1.5 * IQR = 69 - 15 = 54
Q3 + 1.5 * IQR = 79 + 15 = 94
Outliers are numbers below 54 and above 94. There are no outliers for this data set.

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 Figure 8.3.3 : Normal Quantile Plot for Life Expectancies of European Men in 2011
Not linear
This population does not appear to be normally distributed. The t-test is robust for sample sizes larger than 30 so you can go
ahead and calculate the interval.
3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval
On the TI-83/84: Go into the STAT menu, and type the data into L1. Then go into STAT and over to TESTS. Choose TInterval.

Figure 8.3.4 : Setup for TInterval

Figure 8.3.5 : Results for TInterval

On R: t.test(variable, conf.level = C), where C is given in decimal form. So for this example it would be t.test(expectancy,
conf.level = 0.99)

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 One Sample t-test
data: expectancy
t = 93.711, df = 52, p-value < 2.2e-16
alternative hypothesis: true mean is not equal to 0
99 percent confidence interval:
71.63204 75.83966
sample estimates:
mean of x
73.73585
71.6 years < μ 75.8 years
4. There is a 99% chance that 71.6 years < μ 75.8 years contains the mean life expectancy of European men.
5. The mean life expectancy of European men is between 71.6 and 75.8 years.

Homework
Exercise 8.3.1

In each problem show all steps of the confidence interval. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that the results of the
interval may not be correct and then continue the process of the confidence interval.
1. The Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, and required countries to start reducing their carbon emissions. The protocol
became enforceable in February 2005. Example 8.3.4 contains a random sample of CO2 emissions in 2010 ("CO2
emissions," 2013). Compute a 99% confidence interval to estimate the mean CO2 emission in 2010.
Table 8.3.4 : CO2 Emissions (metric tons per capita) in 2010

1.36 1.42 5.93 5.36 0.06 9.11 7.32

7.93 6.72 0.78 1.80 0.20 2.27 0.28

5.86 3.46 1.46 0.14 2.62 0.79 7.48

0.86 7.84 2.87 2.45

2. Many people feel that cereal is healthier alternative for children over glazed donuts. Example 8.3.5 contains the amount of
sugar in a sample of cereal that is geared towards children ("Healthy breakfast story," 2013). Estimate the mean amount of
sugar in children cereal using a 95% confidence level.
Table 8.3.5 : Sugar Amounts (g) in Children's Cereal

10 14 12 9 13 13 13

11 12 15 9 10 11 3

6 12 15 12 12

3. In Florida, bass fish were collected in 53 different lakes to measure the amount of mercury in the fish. The data for the
average amount of mercury in each lake is in Example 8.3.6 ("Multi-disciplinary niser activity," 2013). Compute a 90%
confidence interval for the mean amount of mercury in fish in Florida lakes.
Table 8.3.6 : Average Mercury Levels (mg/kg) in Fish

1.23 1.33 0.04 0.44 1.20 0.27

0.48 0.19 0.83 0.81 0.81 0.5

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 0.49 1.16 0.05 0.15 0.19 0.77

1.08 0.98 0.63 0.56 0.41 0.73

0.34 0.59 0.34 0.84 0.50 0.34

0.28 0.34 0.87 0.56 0.17 0.18

0.19 0.04 0.49 1.10 0.16 0.10

0.48 0.21 0.86 0.52 0.65 0.27

0.94 0.40 0.43 0.25 0.27

4. In 1882, Albert Michelson collected measurements on the speed of light ("Student t-distribution," 2013). His measurements
are given in Example 8.3.7. Find the speed of light value that Michelson estimated from his data using a 95% confidence
interval.
Table 8.3.7 : Speed of Light Measurements in (km/sec)

299883 299816 299778 299796 299682

299711 299611 299599 300051 299781

299578 299796 299774 299820 299772

299696 299573 299748 299748 299797

299851 299809 299723

5. Example 8.3.8 contains pulse rates after running for 1 minute, collected from females who drink alcohol ("Pulse rates
before," 2013). The mean pulse rate after running for 1 minute of females who do not drink is 97 beats per minute. Do the
data show that the mean pulse rate of females who do drink alcohol is higher than the mean pulse rate of females who do
not drink? Test at the 5% level.
Table 8.3.8 : Pulse Rates of Woman Who Use Alcohol

176 150 150 115 129 160

120 125 89 132 120 120

68 87 88 72 77 84

92 80 60 67 59 64

88 74 68

6. The economic dynamism, which is the index of productive growth in dollars for countries that are designated by the World
Bank as middle-income are in Example 8.3.9 ("SOCR data 2008," 2013). Countries that are considered high-income have a
mean economic dynamism of 60.29. Do the data show that the mean economic dynamism of middle-income countries is
less than the mean for high-income countries? Test at the 5% level.
Table 8.3.9 : Economic Dynamism ($) of Middle Income Countries

25.8057 37.4511 51.915 43.6952 47.8506 43.7178 58.0767

41.1648 38.0793 37.7251 39.6553 42.0265 48.6159 43.8555

49.1361 61.9281 41.9543 44.9346 46.0521 48.3652 43.6252

50.9866 59.1724 39.6282 33.6074 21.6643

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 7. In 1999, the average percentage of women who received prenatal care per country is 80.1%. Example 8.3.10 contains the
percentage of woman receiving prenatal care in 2009 for a sample of countries ("Pregnant woman receiving," 2013). Do the
data show that the average percentage of women receiving prenatal care in 2009 is higher than in 1999? Test at the 5%
level.
Table 8.3.10 : Percentage of Woman Receiving Prenatal Care

70.08 72.73 74.52 75.79 76.28 76.28

76.65 80.34 80.60 81.90 86.30 87.70

87.76 88.40 90.70 91.50 91.80 92.10

92.20 92.41 92.47 93.00 93.20 93.40

93.63 93.69 93.80 94.30 94.51 95.00

95.80 95.80 96.23 96.24 97.30 97.90

97.95 98.20 99.00 99.00 99.10 99.10

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

8. Maintaining your balance may get harder as you grow older. A study was conducted to see how steady the elderly is on
their feet. They had the subjects stand on a force platform and have them react to a noise. The force platform then measured
how much they swayed forward and backward, and the data is in Example 8.3.11 ("Maintaining balance while," 2013). Do
the data show that the elderly sway more than the mean forward sway of younger people, which is 18.125 mm? Test at the
5% level.
Table 8.3.11 : Forward/Backward Sway (in mm) of Elderly Subjects

19 30 20 19 29 25 21 24 50

Answer
For all confidence intervals, just the interval using technology is given. See solution for the entire answer.
1. 1.7944 < μ < 5.1152 metric tons per capita
3. 0.44872 < μ < 0.60562 mg/kg
5. 87.2423 < μ < 113.795 beats/min
7. 88.8747% < μ < 93.0253%

Data Sources:
Australian Human Rights Commission, (1996). Indigenous deaths in custody 1989 - 1996. Retrieved from website:
www.humanrights.gov.au/public...deaths-custody
CDC features - new data on autism spectrum disorders. (2013, November 26). Retrieved from
www.cdc.gov/features/countingautism/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders - Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Monitoring Network. (2008). Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network-2012. Retrieved from website:
www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/doc...nityReport.pdf
CO2 emissions. (2013, November 19). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC
Federal Trade Commission, (2008). Consumer fraud and identity theft complaint data: January-december 2007. Retrieved from
website: www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/02/fraud.pdf
Gallup news service. (2013, November 7-10). Retrieved from www.gallup.com/file/poll/1658...acy_131115.pdf
Healthy breakfast story. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories...Breakfast.html

8.3.8 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5208
Maintaining balance while concentrating. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/general/balaconc.html
Morgan Gallup poll on unemployment. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/gallup.html
Multi-disciplinary niser activity - mercury in bass. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from
http://gozips.uakron.edu/~nmimoto/pa.../MercuryInBass - description.txt
Pregnant woman receiving prenatal care. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.ANVC.ZS
Pulse rates before and after exercise. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/ms212.html
SOCR data 2008 world countries rankings. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...ountriesRankin gs
Student t-distribution. (2013, November 25). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/student.html
WHO life expectancy. (2013, September 19). Retrieved from www.who.int/gho/mortality_bur...n_trends/en/in dex.html

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Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

8.3.9 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5208
 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

9: Two-Sample Interference
Chapter 7 discussed methods of hypothesis testing about one-population parameters. Chapter 8 discussed methods of estimating
population parameters from one sample using confidence intervals. This chapter will look at methods of confidence intervals and
hypothesis testing for two populations. Since there are two populations, there are two random variables, two means or proportions,
and two samples (though with paired samples you usually consider there to be one sample with pairs collected). Examples of where
you would do this are:
Testing and estimating the difference in testosterone levels of men before and after they had children (Gettler, McDade, Feranil
& Kuzawa, 2011).
Testing the claim that a diet works by looking at the weight before and after subjects are on the diet.
Estimating the difference in proportion of those who approve of President Obama in the age group 18 to 26 year olds and the 55
and over age group.
All of these are examples of hypothesis tests or confidence intervals for two populations. The methods to conduct these hypothesis
tests and confidence intervals will be explored in this method. As a reminder, all hypothesis tests are the same process. The only
thing that changes is the formula that you use. Confidence intervals are also the same process, except that the formula is different.
9.1: Two Proportions
9.2: Paired Samples for Two Means
9.3: Independent Samples for Two Means
9.4: Which Analysis Should You Conduct?

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Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
9.1: Two Proportions
There are times you want to test a claim about two population proportions or construct a confidence interval estimate of the
difference between two population proportions. As with all other hypothesis tests and confidence intervals, the process is the same
though the formulas and assumptions are different.

Hypothesis Test for Two Populations Proportion (2-Prop Test)

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
x = number of successes from group 1
1

x = number of successes from group 2

2

p = proportion of successes in group 1

1

p = proportion of successes in group 2

2

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : p p
1 = 2 or Ho : p
1 − p
2 =0

HA : p p 1 < 2 HA : p
1 − p
2 <0

HA : p p 1 > 2 HA : p
1 − p
2 >0

HA : p p ≠ HA : p − p ≠0

Also, state your α level here.

1 2 1 2

3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test

a. A simple random sample of size n is taken from population 1, and a simple random sample of size n is taken from
1 2

population 2.
b. The samples are independent.
c. The assumptions for the binomial distribution are satisfied for both populations.
d. To determine the sampling distribution of p^ , you need to show that n p ≥ 5 and n q ≥ 5 , where q = 1 − p . If this 1 1 1 1 1 1

requirement is true, then the sampling distribution of p^ is well approximated by a normal curve. To determine the sampling
1

distribution of p^ , you need to show that n p ≥ 5 and n q ≥ 5 , where q = 1 − p . If this requirement is true, then the
1

2 2 2 2 2 2

sampling distribution of p^ is well approximated by a normal curve. However, you do not know p and p , so you need to
2

n x
2 1 2

use p^ and instead p^ . This is not perfect, but it is the best you can do. Since n p x (and similar for the other
1

n
1 ^ = 1 = 1
1 2 1

calculations) you just need to make sure that x , n x ,n x

1

1 1 − 1 2 − 2 ,and are all more than 5.

4. Find the sample statistics, test statistic, and p-value
Sample Proportion:
n = size of sample 1 n = size of sample 2

x x
1 2

p
^
1
=
n
1
( sample 1 proportion) p
^
2
=
2

n (sample 2 proportion)
1 2

q
^ p
= 1 − ^1 (complement of ^1 ) p q
^ p
= 1 − ^2 (complement of ^2 ) p
Pooled Sample Proportion, p̄:
1 2
¯
¯

p̄ x x 1 + 2

n n
¯
¯
=
+

q̄ p̄
1 2

¯ ¯
¯
=1−

Test Statistic:
p p p p
z
( ^1 − ^2 ) − ( 1 − 2)
=

√ np̄q̄ np̄q̄
−−−−−−−−
¯
¯ ¯ ¯
¯ ¯

+
1 2

Usually p p , since Ho p
1 − 2 =0 : 1 = p
2

p-value: On TI-83/84: use normalcdf(lower limit, upper limit, 0, 1)

Note
If HA : p < p then lower limit is −1E 99 and upper limit is your test statistic. If HA : p
1 2 1 > p
2 , then lower limit is your
test statistic and the upper limit is 1E 99. If HA : p ≠ p , then find the p-value for HA : p 1 2 1 < p
2 , and multiply by 2.

On R: use pnorm(z, 0, 1)

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 Note
If HA : p < p , then use pnorm(z, 0, 1). If
1 2 HA p : 1 > p2 , then use 1 - pnorm(z, 0, 1). If HA p : 1 ≠ p
2 , then find the p-
value for HA : p < p , and multiply by 2.
1 2

5. Conclusion This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value
≥ α , then fail to reject Ho .

6. Interpretation This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is
that you either have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

Confidence Interval for the Difference Between Two Population Proportion (2-Prop Interval)
The confidence interval for the difference in proportions has the same random variables and proportions and the same assumptions
as the hypothesis test for two proportions. If you have already completed the hypothesis test, then you do not need to state them
again. If you haven’t completed the hypothesis test, then state the random variables and proportions and state and check the
assumptions before completing the confidence interval step
1. Find the sample statistics and the confidence interval
Sample Proportion:
n = size of sample 1 n = size of sample 2
x x
1 2

p 1
p 2

n n
^1 = ( sample 1 proportion) ^2 = (sample 2 proportion)
1 2

q
^
1
p
= 1 − ^1 ( complement of ^1 ) p q
^
2
p
= 1 − ^2 (complement of ^2 ) p
Confidence Interval:
The confidence interval estimate of the difference p 1 − p 2 is
p
( ^1 − ^2 ) −p E p p
< 1 − 2 p p
< ( ^1 − ^ 2 ) + E
√ pnq pq
−−−−−−−−−−−

where the margin of error E is given by E = zc

^1 ^1 ^2 ^ 2

1
+
n 2

zc = critical value
2. Statistical Interpretation: In general this looks like, “there is a C% chance that (p^ − p^ ) − E < p − p < (p^ − p^ ) + E 1 2 1 2 1 2

contains the true difference in proportions.”

3. Real World Interpretation: This is where you state how much more (or less) the first proportion is from the second proportion.
The critical value is a value from the normal distribution. Since a confidence interval is found by adding and subtracting a margin
of error amount from the sample proportion, and the interval has a probability of being true, then you can think of this as the
statement P ((p^ − p^ ) − E < p − p < (p^ − p^ ) + E ) = C . So you can use the invNorm command on the TI-83/84
1 2 1 2 1 2

calculator or qnorm on R to find the critical value. These are always the same value, so it is easier to just look at the table A.1 in the
Appendix.

Example 9.1.1 hypothesis test for two population proportions

Do husbands cheat on their wives more than wives cheat on their husbands ("Statistics brain," 2013)? Suppose you take a
group of 1000 randomly selected husbands and find that 231 had cheated on their wives. Suppose in a group of 1200 randomly
selected wives, 176 cheated on their husbands. Do the data show that the proportion of husbands who cheat on their wives are
more than the proportion of wives who cheat on their husbands. Test at the 5% level.
1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for a hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistics, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x = number of husbands who cheat on his wife
1

x 2 = number of wives who cheat on her husband

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p1 = proportion of husbands who cheat on his wife
p2 = proportion of wives who cheat on her husband
Ho : p = p
1 2 or Ho : p − p
1 2 =0
2. HA : p > p
1 2 HA : p − p
1 2 >0
a = 0.05
3.
a. A simple random sample of 1000 responses about cheating from husbands is taken. This was stated in the problem. A
simple random sample of 1200 responses about cheating from wives is taken. This was stated in the problem.
b. The samples are independent. This is true since the samples involved different genders.
c. The properties of the binomial distribution are satisfied in both populations. This is true since there are only two responses,
there are a fixed number of trials, the probability of a success is the same, and the trials are independent.
d. The sampling distributions of p^1 and p^2 can be approximated with a normal distribution.
x1 = 231, n1 − x1 = 1000 − 231 = 769, x2 = 176 , and
n2 − x2 = 1200 − 176 = 1024 are all greater than or equal to 5. So both sampling distributions of p^1 and p^2 can be
approximated with a normal distribution.
4. Sample Proportion:
n 1 = 1000 n 2 = 1200

p^ 1
1000
=
231
= 0.231 p^ 2
176
=
1200
≈ 0.1467

231 769 176 1024

q
^1 = 1 −
1000
=
1000
= 0.769 q
^2 = 1 −
1200
=
1200
≈ 0.8533

Pooled Sample Proportion, p̄¯¯:

p̄ = 1000
¯¯
231 + 176
+ 1200
=
407
2200
= 0.185

q̄ = 1 − 2200
¯
407
=
1793
2200
= 0.815

Test Statistic:
(0.231 − 0.1467) − 0
z= −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
√ 0.185 ∗ 0.815
1000
+
0.185 ∗ 0.815
1200

= 5.0704

p-value:
On TI-83/84: normalcdf (5.0704, 1E 99, 0, 1) = 1.988 × 10−7
On R: 1 − pnorm (5.0704, 0, 1) = 1.988 × 10−7

Figure 9.1.1 : Setup for 2-PropZTest on TI-83/84 Calculator

9.1.3 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5213
 Figure 9.1.2 : Results for 2-PropZTest on TI-83/84 Calculator

Figure 9.1.3 : Results for 2-PropZTest on TI-83/84: Calculator

c x x c n , n ) , alternative =
On R: prop.test( ( 1 , 2 ) , ( 1 2 "less" or "greater". For this example, prop.test(c(231,176), c(1000,
1200), alternative="greater")
2-sample test for equality of proportions with continuity correction
data: c(231, 176) out of c(1000, 1200)
X-squared = 25.173, df = 1, p-value = 2.621e-07
alternative hypothesis: greater
95 percent confidence interval:
0.05579805 1.00000000
sample estimates:
prop 1 prop 2
0.2310000 0.1466667

Note
The answer from R is the p-value. It is different from the formula or the TI-83/84 calculator due to a continuity correction
that R does.

5. Conclusion
Reject Ho , since the p-value is less than 5%.
6. Interpretation This is enough evidence to show that the proportion of husbands having affairs is more than the proportion of
wives having affairs.

Example 9.1.2 confidence interval for two population properties

Do more husbands cheat on their wives more than wives cheat on the husbands ("Statistics brain," 2013)? Suppose you take a
group of 1000 randomly selected husbands and find that 231 had cheated on their wives. Suppose in a group of 1200 randomly
selected wives, 176 cheated on their husbands. Estimate the difference in the proportion of husbands and wives who cheat on
their spouses using a 95% confidence level.
1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
2. State and check the assumptions for the confidence interval.
3. Find the sample statistics and the confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation

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Solution
1. These were stated in Example 9.1.1, but are reproduced here for reference.
x1 = number of husbands who cheat on his wife
x2 = number of wives who cheat on her husband
p1 = proportion of husbands who cheat on his wife
p2 = proportion of wives who cheat on her husband
2. The assumptions were stated and checked in Example 9.1.1.
3. Sample Proportion:
n 1 = 1000 n 2 = 1200
231 176
p^ 1
= = 0.231 p^ 2
= ≈ 0.1467
1000 1200
231 769 176 1024
q
^1 = 1 −
1000
=
1000
= 0.769 q
^2 = 1 −
1200
=
1200
≈ 0.8533

Confidence Interval:
zc = 1.96
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
E = 1.96√ 0.2311000
∗ 0.769
+
0.1467 ∗ 0.8533
1200
= 0.033

The confidence interval estimate of the difference p1 − p2 is

p p
( ^1 − ^2 ) − E <p p p
1 − p
2 < ( ^1 − ^2 ) + E
(0.231 − 0.1467) − 0.033 < p − p 1 2 < (0.231 − 0.1467) + 0.033
0.0513 < p − p < 0.1173
1 2

Figure 9.1.4: Setup for 2-PropZInt on TI-83/84 Calculator

Figure 9.1.5 : Results for 2-PropZInt on TI-83/84 Calculator

On R: prop.test(c (x1 , x2 ) , c (n1 , n2 ) , conf.level = C) , where C is in decimal form. For this example, prop.test(c(231,176),
c(1000, 1200), conf.level=0.95)
2-sample test for equality of proportions with continuity correction
data: c(231, 176) out of c(1000, 1200)
X-squared = 25.173, df = 1, p-value = 5.241e-07
alternative hypothesis: two.sided
95 percent confidence interval:
0.05050705 0.11815962
sample estimates:

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 prop 1 prop 2
0.2310000 0.1466667

Note
The answer from R is the confidence interval. It is different from the formula or the TI-83/84 calculator due to a continuity
correction that R does.

4. Statistical Interpretation: There is a 95% chance that 0.0505 < p 1 − p

2 < 0.1182 contains the true difference in
proportions.
5. Real World Interpretation: The proportion of husbands who cheat is anywhere from 5.05% to 11.82% higher than the
proportion of wives who cheat.

Homework

Exercise 9.1.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test or confidence interval. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that
the results of the test or interval may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test or confidence interval.
1. Many high school students take the AP tests in different subject areas. In 2007, of the 144,796 students who took the
biology exam 84,199 of them were female. In that same year, of the 211,693 students who took the calculus AB exam
102,598 of them were female ("AP exam scores," 2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the proportion of female
students taking the biology exam is higher than the proportion of female students taking the calculus AB exam? Test at the
5% level.
2. Many high school students take the AP tests in different subject areas. In 2007, of the 144,796 students who took the
biology exam 84,199 of them were female. In that same year, of the 211,693 students who took the calculus AB exam
102,598 of them were female ("AP exam scores," 2013). Estimate the difference in the proportion of female students taking
the biology exam and female students taking the calculus AB exam using a 90% confidence level.
3. Many high school students take the AP tests in different subject areas. In 2007, of the 211,693 students who took the
calculus AB exam 102,598 of them were female and 109,095 of them were male ("AP exam scores," 2013). Is there enough
evidence to show that the proportion of female students taking the calculus AB exam is different from the proportion of
male students taking the calculus AB exam? Test at the 5% level.
4. Many high school students take the AP tests in different subject areas. In 2007, of the 211,693 students who took the
calculus AB exam 102,598 of them were female and 109,095 of them were male ("AP exam scores," 2013). Estimate using
a 90% level the difference in proportion of female students taking the calculus AB exam versus male students taking the
calculus AB exam.
5. Are there more children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in states that have larger urban areas over states
that are mostly rural? In the state of Pennsylvania, a fairly urban state, there are 245 eight year olds diagnosed with ASD
out of 18,440 eight year olds evaluated. In the state of Utah, a fairly rural state, there are 45 eight year olds diagnosed with
ASD out of 2,123 eight year olds evaluated ("Autism and developmental," 2008). Is there enough evidence to show that the
proportion of children diagnosed with ASD in Pennsylvania is more than the proportion in Utah? Test at the 1% level.
6. Are there more children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in states that have larger urban areas over states
that are mostly rural? In the state of Pennsylvania, a fairly urban state, there are 245 eight year olds diagnosed with ASD
out of 18,440 eight year olds evaluated. In the state of Utah, a fairly rural state, there are 45 eight year olds diagnosed with
ASD out of 2,123 eight year olds evaluated ("Autism and developmental," 2008). Estimate the difference in proportion of
children diagnosed with ASD between Pennsylvania and Utah. Use a 98% confidence level.
7. A child dying from an accidental poisoning is a terrible incident. Is it more likely that a male child will get into poison than
a female child? To find this out, data was collected that showed that out of 1830 children between the ages one and four
who pass away from poisoning, 1031 were males and 799 were females (Flanagan, Rooney & Griffiths, 2005). Do the data
show that there are more male children dying of poisoning than female children? Test at the 1% level.

9.1.6 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5213
 8. A child dying from an accidental poisoning is a terrible incident. Is it more likely that a male child will get into poison than
a female child? To find this out, data was collected that showed that out of 1830 children between the ages one and four
who pass away from poisoning, 1031 were males and 799 were females (Flanagan, Rooney & Griffiths, 2005). Compute a
99% confidence interval for the difference in proportions of poisoning deaths of male and female children ages one to four.

Answer
For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. For all confidence intervals, just the interval using technology
(Software R) is given. See solution for the entire answer.
1. Reject Ho
2. 0.0941 < p
1 − p
2 < 0.0996

3. Reject Ho
4. −0.0332 < p1 − p2 < −0.0282
5. Fail to reject Ho
6. −0.01547 < p1 − p2 < −0.0001

7. Reject Ho
8. 0.0840 < p1 − p2 < 0.1696

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9.2: Paired Samples for Two Means
Are two populations the same? Is the average height of men taller than the average height of women? Is the mean weight less after
a diet than before?
You can compare populations by comparing their means. You take a sample from each population and compare the statistics.
Anytime you compare two populations you need to know if the samples are independent or dependent. The formulas you use are
different for different types of samples.
If how you choose one sample has no effect on the way you choose the other sample, the two samples are independent. The way to
think about it is that in independent samples, the individuals from one sample are overall different from the individuals from the
other sample. This will mean that sample one has no affect on sample two. The sample values from one sample are not related or
paired with values from the other sample.
If you choose the samples so that a measurement in one sample is paired with a measurement from the other sample, the samples
are dependent or matched or paired. (Often a before and after situation.) You want to make sure the there is a meaning for pairing
data values from one sample with a specific data value from the other sample. One way to think about it is that in dependent
samples, the individuals from one sample are the same individuals from the other sample, though there can be other reasons to pair
values. This makes the sample values from each sample paired.

Example 9.2.1 independent or dependent samples

Determine if the following are dependent or independent samples.

a. Randomly choose 5 men and 6 women and compare their heights.
b. Choose 10 men and weigh them. Give them a new wonder diet drug and later weigh them again.
c. Take 10 people and measure the strength of their dominant arm and their non-dominant arm.
Solution
a. Independent, since there is no reason that one value belongs to another. The individuals are not the same for both samples.
The individuals are definitely different. A way to think about this is that the knowledge that a man is chosen in one sample
does not give any information about any of the woman chosen in the other sample.
b. Dependent, since each person’s before weight can be matched with their after weight. The individuals are the same for both
samples. A way to think about this is that the knowledge that a person weighs 400 pounds at the beginning will tell you
something about their weight after the diet drug.
c. Dependent, since you can match the two arm strengths. The individuals are the same for both samples. So the knowledge of
one person’s dominant arm strength will tell you something about the strength of their non-dominant arm.

To analyze data when there are matched or paired samples, called dependent samples, you conduct a paired t-test. Since the
samples are matched, you can find the difference between the values of the two random variables.

Hypothesis Test for Two Sample Paired t-Test

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
x1 = random variable 1
x2 = random variable 2
μ1 = mean of random variable 1
μ2 = mean of random variable 2
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance The usual hypotheses would be
Ho : μ μ
1 = 2 or Ho : μ
1 − μ
2 =0

HA : μ μ
1 < 2 HA : μ
1 − μ
2 <0

HA : μ μ
1 > 2 HA : μ
1 − μ
2 >0

HA : μ μ ≠ HA : μ − μ ≠0

However, since you are finding the differences, then you can actually think of μ1 − μ2 μσ μd
1 2 1 2

= = population mean value of the

differences,
So the hypotheses become

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 Ho : μd = 0
H : μd < 0
1

HA : μd > 0
HA : μd ≠ 0
Also, state your α level here.
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample of n pairs is taken.
b. The population of the difference between random variables is normally distributed. In this case the population you are
interested in has to do with the differences that you find. It does not matter if each random variable is normally distributed. It
is only important if the differences you find are normally distributed. Just as before, the t-test is fairly robust to the
assumption if the sample size is large. This means that if this assumption isn’t met, but your sample size is quite large (over
30), then the results of the t-test are valid.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value
Sample Statistic:
Difference: d = x1 − x2 for each pair
Sample mean of the differences: d̄ =
¯¯ ∑d
n
Standard deviation of the differences: sd =
∑(d − d̄) ¯¯ 2

n−1
Number of pairs: n
Test Statistic:

t = d̄ −sdμd
¯¯

√n
−

with degrees of freedom = df = n - 1

Note
μd = 0 in most cases.
p-value:
On TI-83/84: Use tcdf ( lower limit, upper limit, df )

Note
If HA : μd < 0 , then lower limit is −1E 99 and upper limit is your test statistic. If HA : μd > 0 , then lower limit is your
test statistic and the upper limit is 1E 99. If HA : μd ≠ 0 , then find the p-value for HA : μd < 0 , and multiply by 2.)

On R: Use pt (t, df )

Note
If HA : μd < 0 , use pt (t, df ). If HA : μd > 0 , use 1 - pt(t, df). If HA : μd ≠ 0 , then find the p-value for HA : μd < 0 , and
multiply by 2

5. This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then
fail to reject Ho .
6. This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

Confidence Interval for Difference in Means from Paired Samples (t-Interval)

The confidence interval for the difference in means has the same random variables and means and the same assumptions as the
hypothesis test for two paired samples. If you have already completed the hypothesis test, then you do not need to state them again.
If you haven’t completed the hypothesis test, then state the random variables and means, and state and check the assumptions
before completing the confidence interval step.

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 1. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval
Sample Statistic:
Difference: d = x1 − x2
Sample mean of the differences: d̄¯¯ =
∑d
n
Standard deviation of the differences: sd =
∑(d − d̄) ¯¯ 2

n−1
Number of pairs: n
Confidence Interval:
The confidence interval estimate of the difference μd = μ1 − μ2 is
d̄ − E < μd < d̄ + E
¯¯ ¯¯

E = tc sd−n
√
tc is the critical value where degrees of freedom df = n - 1
2. Statistical Interpretation: In general this looks like, “there is a C% chance that the statement d̄ − E < μd < d̄ + E contains the
¯¯ ¯¯

true mean difference.”

3. Real World Interpretation: This is where you state what interval contains the true mean difference.
The critical value is a value from the Student’s t-distribution. Since a confidence interval is found by adding and subtracting a
margin of error amount from the sample mean, and the interval has a probability of containing the true mean difference, then you
can think of this as the statement P (d̄¯¯ − E < μd < d̄¯¯ + E ) = C . To find the critical value, you use table A.2 in the Appendix.
How to check the assumptions of t-test and confidence interval:
In order for the t-test or confidence interval to be valid, the assumptions of the test must be met. So whenever you run a t-test or
confidence interval, you must make sure the assumptions are met. So you need to check them. Here is how you do this:
1. For the assumption that the sample is a random sample, describe how you took the samples. Make sure your sampling technique
is random and that the samples were dependent.
2. For the assumption that the population of the differences is normal, remember the process of assessing normality from chapter
6.

Example 9.2.2 hypothesis test for paired samples using the formula

A researcher wants to see if a weight loss program is effective. She measures the weight of 6 randomly selected women before
and after the weight loss program (see Example 9.2.1). Is there evidence that the weight loss program is effective? Test at the
5% level.
Table 9.2.1 : Data of Before and After Weights
Person 1 2 3 4 5 6

Weight before 165 172 181 185 168 175

Weight after 143 151 156 161 152 154

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x1 = weight of a woman after the weight loss program
x2 = weight of a woman before the weight loss program
μ 1 = mean weight of a woman after the weight loss program

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μ2 = mean weight of a woman before the weight loss program
Ho μd
: =0

2. HA μd
: <0

α= 0.05

3.
a. A random sample of 6 pairs of weights before and after was taken. This was stated in the problem, since the women were
chosen randomly.
b. The population of the difference in after and before weights is normally distributed. To see if this is true, look at the
histogram, number of outliers, and the normal probability plot. (If you wish, you can look at the normal probability plot
first. If it doesn’t look linear, then you may want to look at the histogram and number of outliers at this point.)

Figure 9.2.1 : Histogram of Differences in Weights

This histogram looks somewhat bell shaped.

Figure 9.2.2 : Modified Box Plot of Differences in Weights

There is only one outlier in the difference data set.

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 Figure 9.2.3 : Normal Quantile Plot of Differences in Weights
The probability plot on the differences looks somewhat linear. So you can assume that the distribution of the difference in
weights is normal.
4. Sample Statistics:
Table 9.2.2 : Differences Between Before and After Weights

Person 1 2 3 4 5 6

Weight after, x1 143 151 156 161 152 154

Weight before,
165 172 181 185 168 175
x 2

d = x −x
1 2 -22 -21 -25 -24 -16 -21

The mean and standard deviation are

d̄ = −21.5
¯¯

sd = 3.15
Test Statistic:

t = sd̄ −/ μ−
¯¯
d −21.5 − 0
d n=
√
–
3.15/ √6
= −16.779

p-value:
There are six pairs so the degrees of freedom are
df = n - 1 = 6 - 1 = 5
Since H1 : μd < 0 , then p-value
Using TI-83/84: tcdf (−1E 99, −16.779, 5) ≈ 6.87 × 10−6
Using R: pt (−16.779, 5) ≈ 6.87 × 10−6
5. Since the p-value < 0.05, reject Ho .
6. There is enough evidence to show that the weight loss program is effective.

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Note
Just because the hypothesis test says the program is effective doesn’t mean you should go out and use it right away. The
program has statistical significance, but that doesn’t mean it has practical significance. You need to see how much weight a
person loses, and you need to look at how safe it is, how expensive, does it work in the long term, and other type questions.
Remember to look at the practical significance in all situations. In this case, the average weight loss was 21.5 pounds, which is
very practically significant. Do remember to look at the safety and expense of the drug also.

Example 9.2.3 hypothesis Test for Paired Samples Using Technology

The New Zealand Air Force purchased a batch of flight helmets. They then found out that the helmets didn’t fit. In order to
make sure that they order the correct size helmets, they measured the head size of recruits. To save money, they wanted to use
cardboard calipers, but were not sure if they will be accurate enough. So they took 18 recruits and measured their heads with
the cardboard calipers and also with metal calipers. The data in centimeters (cm) is in Example 9.2.3 ("NZ helmet size," 2013).
Do the data provide enough evidence to show that there is a difference in measurements between the cardboard and metal
calipers? Use a 5% level of significance.
Table 9.2.3 : Data for Head Measurements
Cardboard Metal

146 145

151 153

163 161

152 151

151 145

151 150

149 150

166 163

149 147

155 154

155 150

156 156

162 161

150 152

156 154

158 154

149 147

163 160

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation

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Solution
1. x1 = head measurement of recruit using cardboard caliper
x2 = head measurement of recruit using metal caliper
μ1 = mean head measurement of recruit using cardboard caliper
μ2 = mean head measurement of recruit using metal caliper
Ho μd: =0

2. HA μd: ≠0

α = 0.05

3.
a. A random sample of 18 pairs of head measures of recruits with cardboard and metal caliper was taken. This was not stated,
but probably could be safely assumed.
b. The population of the difference in head measurements between cardboard and metal calipers is normally distributed. To
see if this is true, look at the histogram, number of outliers, and the normal probability plot. (If you wish, you can look at
the normal probability plot first. If it doesn’t look linear, then you may want to look at the histogram and number of outliers
at this point.)

Figure 9.2.4 : Histogram of Differences in Head Measurements

This histogram looks bell shaped.

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 Figure 9.2.5 : Modified Box Plot of Differences in Head Measurements
There are no outliers in the difference data set.

Figure 9.2.6 : Normal Quantile Plot of Differences in Head Measurements

The probability plot on the differences looks somewhat linear.
So you can assume that the distribution of the difference in weights is normal.
4. Using the TI-83/84, put x1 into L1 and x2 into L2. Then go onto the name L3, and type L1-L2. The calculator will calculate
the differences for you and put them in L3. Now go into STAT and move over to TESTS. Choose T-Test. The setup for the
calculator is in Figure 9.2.7.

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 Figure 9.2.7 : Setup for T-Test on TI-83/84 Calculator

Once you press ENTER on Calculate you will see the result shown in Figure 9.2.8.

Figure 9.2.8 : Results of T-Test on TI-83/84 Calculator

Using R: command is t.test(variable1, variable2, paired = TRUE, alternative = "less" or "greater"). For this example, the
command would be t.test(cardboard, metal, paired = TRUE)
Paired t-test
data: cardboard and metal
t = 3.1854, df = 17, p-value = 0.005415
alternative hypothesis: true difference in means is not equal to 0
95 percent confidence interval:
0.5440163 2.6782060
sample estimates:
mean of the differences
1.611111
The t = 3.185 is the test statistic. The p-value is 0.0054147206.
5. Since the p-value < 0.05, reject Ho .
6. There is enough evidence to show that the mean head measurements using the cardboard calipers are not the same as when
using the metal calipers. So it looks like the New Zealand Air Force shouldn’t use the cardboard calipers.

Example 9.2.4 confidence interval for paired samples using the formula

A researcher wants to estimate the mean weight loss that people experience using a new program. She measures the weight of
6 randomly selected women before and after the weight loss program (see Example 9.2.1). Find a 90% confidence interval for
the mean the weight loss using the new program.
1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
2. State and check the assumptions for the confidence interval.
3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation
Solution

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1. These were stated in Example 9.2.2, but are reproduced here for reference.
x1 = weight of a woman after the weight loss program
x2 = weight of a woman before the weight loss program
μ1 = mean weight of a woman after the weight loss program
μ2 = mean weight of a woman before the weight loss program
2. The assumptions were stated and checked in Example 9.2.2.
3. Sample Statistics:
From Example 9.2.2
d̄¯¯ = −21.5
sd = 3.15
The confidence level is 90%, so
C= 90%
There are six pairs, so the degrees of freedom are
df = n - 1 = 6 - 1 = 5
Now look in table A.2. Go down the first column to 5, then over to the column headed with 90%.
tc = 2.015
E = tc sd−n = 2.015 3.15
√ √–6 ≈ 2.6
d̄¯¯ − E < μd < d̄¯¯ + E
−21.5 −2.6 < μd < −21.5 +2.6
−24.1 pounds < μd < −18.9 pounds
4. There is a 90% chance that −24.1 pounds < μd < −18.9 pounds contains the true mean difference in weight loss.
5. The mean weight loss is between 18.9 and 24.1 pounds.

Note

The negative signs tell you that the first mean is less than the second mean, and thus a weight loss in this case.

Example 9.2.5 confidence interval for paired samples using technology

The New Zealand Air Force purchased a batch of flight helmets. They then found out that the helmets didn’t fit. In order to
make sure that they order the correct size helmets, they measured the head size of recruits. To save money, they wanted to use
cardboard calipers, but were not sure if they will be accurate enough. So they took 18 recruits and measured their heads with
the cardboard calipers and also with metal calipers. The data in centimeters (cm) is in Example 9.2.3
("NZ helmet size," 2013).
Estimate the mean difference in measurements between the cardboard and metal calipers using a 95% confidence interval.
1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.
3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation
Solution
1. These were stated in Example 9.2.3, but are reproduced here for reference.
x1 = head measurement of recruit using cardboard caliper

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x = head measurement of recruit using metal caliper
2

μ = mean head measurement of recruit using cardboard caliper

1

μ = mean head measurement of recruit using metal caliper

2

2. The assumptions were stated and checked in Example 9.2.3.

3. Using the TI-83/84, put x1 into L1 and x2 into L2. Then go onto the name L3, and type L1 - L2. The calculator will now
calculate the differences for you and put them in L3. Now go into STAT and move over to TESTS. Then chose TInterval. The
setup for the calculator is in Figure 9.2.9.

Figure 9.2.9 : Setup for TInterval on TI-83/84 Calculator

Once you press ENTER on Calculate you will see the result shown in Figure 9.2.10.

Figure 9.2.10 : Results of TInterval on TI-83/84 Calculatori

Using R: the command is t.test(variable1, variable2, paired = TRUE, conf.level = C), where C is in decimal form. For this
example the command would be
t.test(cardboard, metal, paired = TRUE, conf.level=0.95)
Paired t-test
data: cardboard and metal
t = 3.1854, df = 17, p-value = 0.005415
alternative hypothesis: true difference in means is not equal to 0
95 percent confidence interval:
0.5440163 2.6782060
sample estimates:
mean of the differences
1.611111
So
0.54cm < μd < 2.68cm
4. There is a 95% chance that 0.54cm < μd < 2.68cm contains the true mean difference in head measurements between
cardboard and metal calibers.
5. The mean difference in head measurements between the cardboard and metal calibers is between 0.54 and 2.68 cm. This
means that the cardboard calibers measure on average the head of a recruit to be between 0.54 and 2.68 cm more in diameter

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 than the metal calibers. That makes it seem that the cardboard calibers are not measuring the same as the metal calibers. (The
positive values on the confidence interval imply that the first mean is higher than the second mean.)

Examples 9.2.2 and 9.2.4 use the same data set, but one is conducting a hypothesis test and the other is conducting a confidence
H
interval. Notice that the hypothesis test’s conclusion was to reject o and say that there was a difference in the means, and the
confidence interval does not contain the number 0. If the confidence interval did contain the number 0, then that would mean that
the two means could be the same. Since the interval did not contain 0, then you could say that the means are different just as in the
hypothesis test. This means that the hypothesis test and the confidence interval can produce the same interpretation. Do be careful
though, you can run a hypothesis test with a particular significance level and a confidence interval with a confidence level that is
not compatible with your significance level. This will mean that the conclusion from the confidence interval would not be the same
as with a hypothesis test. So if you want to estimate the mean difference, then conduct a confidence interval. If you want to show
that the means are different, then conduct a hypothesis test.

Homework
Exercise 9.2.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test or confidence interval. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that
the results of the test or interval may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test or confidence interval.
1. The cholesterol level of patients who had heart attacks was measured two days after the heart attack and then again four
days after the heart attack. The researchers want to see if the cholesterol level of patients who have heart attacks reduces as
the time since their heart attack increases. The data is in Example 9.2.4 ("Cholesterol levels after," 2013). Do the data show
that the mean cholesterol level of patients that have had a heart attack reduces as the time increases since their heart attack?
Test at the 1% level.
Table 9.2.4 : Cholesterol Levels in (mg/dL) of Heart Attack Patients
Patient Cholesterol Level Day 2 Cholesterol Level Day 4

1 270 218

2 236 234

3 210 214

4 142 116

5 280 200

6 272 276

7 160 146

8 220 182

9 225 238

10 242 288

11 186 190

12 266 236

13 206 244

14 318 258

15 294 240

16 282 294

17 234 220

18 224 200

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 Patient Cholesterol Level Day 2 Cholesterol Level Day 4

19 276 220

20 282 186

21 360 352

22 310 202

23 280 218

24 278 248

25 288 278

26 288 248

27 244 270

28 236 242

2. The cholesterol level of patients who had heart attacks was measured two days after the heart attack and then again four
days after the heart attack. The researchers want to see if the cholesterol level of patients who have heart attacks reduces as
the time since their heart attack increases. The data is in Example 9.2.4 ("Cholesterol levels after," 2013). Calculate a 98%
confidence interval for the mean difference in cholesterol levels from day two to day four.
3. All Fresh Seafood is a wholesale fish company based on the east coast of the U.S. Catalina Offshore Products is a
wholesale fish company based on the west coast of the U.S. Example 9.2.5 contains prices from both companies for
specific fish types ("Seafood online," 2013) ("Buy sushi grade," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that a
west coast fish wholesaler is more expensive than an east coast wholesaler? Test at the 5% level.
Table 9.2.5 : Wholesale Prices of Fish in Dollars
Fish All Fresh Seafood Prices Catalina Offshore Product Prices

Cod 19.99 17.99

Tilapi 6.00 13.99
Farmed Salmon 19.99 22.99
Organic Salmon 24.99 24.99
Grouper Fillet 29.99 19.99
Tuna 28.99 31.99
Swordfish 23.99 23.99
Sea Bass 32.99 23.99
Striped Bass 29.99 14.99

4. All Fresh Seafood is a wholesale fish company based on the east coast of the U.S. Catalina Offshore Products is a
wholesale fish company based on the west coast of the U.S. Example 9.2.5 contains prices from both companies for
specific fish types ("Seafood online," 2013) ("Buy sushi grade," 2013). Find a 95% confidence interval for the mean
difference in wholesale price between the east coast and west coast suppliers.
5. The British Department of Transportation studied to see if people avoid driving on Friday the 13th. They did a traffic count
on a Friday and then again on a Friday the 13th at the same two locations ("Friday the 13th," 2013). The data for each
location on the two different dates is in Example 9.2.6. Do the data show that on average fewer people drive on Friday the
13th? Test at the 5% level.
Table 9.2.6 : Traffic Count
Dates 6th 13th

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 Dates 6th 13th

1990, July 139246 138548

1990, July 134012 132909

1991, September 137055 136018

1991, September 133732 131843

1991, December 123552 121641

1991, December 121139 118723

1992, March 128293 125532

1992, March 124631 120249

1992, November 124609 122770

1992, November 117584 117263

6. The British Department of Transportation studied to see if people avoid driving on Friday the 13th. They did a traffic count
on a Friday and then again on a Friday the 13th at the same two locations ("Friday the 13th," 2013). The data for each
location on the two different dates is in Example 9.2.6. Estimate the mean difference in traffic count between the 6th and
the 13th using a 90% level.
7. To determine if Reiki is an effective method for treating pain, a pilot study was carried out where a certified second-degree
Reiki therapist provided treatment on volunteers. Pain was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS) immediately
before and after the Reiki treatment (Olson & Hanson, 1997). The data is in Example 9.2.7. Do the data show that Reiki
treatment reduces pain? Test at the 5% level.
Table 9.2.7 : Pain Measures Before and After Reiki Treatment
VAS before VAS after

6 3

2 1

2 0

9 1

3 0

3 2

4 1

5 2

2 2

3 0

5 1

2 2

3 0

5 1

1 0

6 4

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 VAS before VAS after

6 1

4 4

4 1

7 6

2 1

4 3

8 8

8. To determine if Reiki is an effective method for treating pain, a pilot study was carried out where a certified second-degree
Reiki therapist provided treatment on volunteers. Pain was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS) immediately
before and after the Reiki treatment (Olson & Hanson, 1997). The data is in Example 9.2.7. Compute a 90% confidence
level for the mean difference in VAS score from before and after Reiki treatment.
9. The female labor force participation rates (FLFPR) of women in randomly selected countries in 1990 and latest years of the
1990s are in Example 9.2.8 (Lim, 2002). Do the data show that the mean female labor force participation rate in 1990 is
different from that in the latest years of the 1990s using a 5% level of significance?
Table 9.2.8 : Female Labor Force Participation Rates

Region and country FLFPR 25-54 1990 FLFPR 25-54 Latest years of 1990s

Iran 22.6 12.5

Morocco 41.4 34.5

Qatar 42.3 46.5

Syrian Arab Republic 25.6 19.5

United Arab Emirates 36.4 39.7

Cape Verde 46.7 50.9

Ghana 89.8 90.0

Kenya 82.1 82.6

Lesotho 51.9 68.0

South Africa 54.7 61.7

Bangladesh 73.5 60.6

Malaysia 49.0 50.2

Mongolia 84.7 71.3

Myanmar 72.1 72.3

Argentina 36.8 54

Belize 28.8 42.5

Bolivia 27.3 69.8

Brazil 51.1 63.2

Colombia 57.4 72.7

Ecuador 33.5 64

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 Region and country FLFPR 25-54 1990 FLFPR 25-54 Latest years of 1990s

Nicaragua 50.1 42.5

Uruguay 59.5 71.5

Albania 77.4 78.8

Uzbekistan 79.6 82.8

10. The female labor force participation rates of women in randomly selected countries in 1990 and latest years of the 1990s
are in Example 9.2.8 (Lim, 2002). Estimate the mean difference in the female labor force participation rate in 1990 to latest
years of the 1990s using a 95% confidence level?
11. Example 9.2.9 contains pulse rates collected from males, who are non-smokers but do drink alcohol ("Pulse rates before,"
2013). The before pulse rate is before they exercised, and the after pulse rate was taken after the subject ran in place for one
minute. Do the data indicate that the pulse rate before exercise is less than after exercise? Test at the 1% level.
Table 9.2.9 : Pulse Rate of Males Before and After Exercise
Pulse before Pulse after

76 88

56 110

64 126

50 90

49 83

68 136

68 125

88 150

80 146

78 168

59 92

60 104

65 82

76 150

145 155

84 140

78 141

85 131

78 132

12. Example 9.2.9 contains pulse rates collected from males, who are non-smokers but do drink alcohol ("Pulse rates before,"
2013). The before pulse rate is before they exercised, and the after pulse rate was taken after the subject ran in place for one
minute. Compute a 98% confidence interval for the mean difference in pulse rates from before and after exercise.

Answer

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 For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. For all confidence intervals, just the interval using technology is given.
See solution for the entire answer.
1. Reject Ho
2. 5.39857mg/dL < μd < 41.1729mg/dL
3. Fail to reject Ho
4. −$3.24216 < μd < $8.13327
5. Reject Ho
6. 1154.09 < μd < 2517.51
7. Reject Ho
8. 1.499 < μd < 3.001
9. Fail to reject Ho
10. −10.9096% < μd < 0.2596%
11. Reject Ho
12. −62.0438 beats/min < μd < −37.1141 beats/min

This page titled 9.2: Paired Samples for Two Means is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by
Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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9.3: Independent Samples for Two Means
This section will look at how to analyze when two samples are collected that are independent. As with all other hypothesis tests and
confidence intervals, the process is the same though the formulas and assumptions are different. The only difference with the
independent t-test, as opposed to the other tests that have been done, is that there are actually two different formulas to use
depending on if a particular assumption is met or not.

Hypothesis Test for Independent t-Test (2-Sample t-Test)

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
x1 = random variable 1
x2 = random variable 2
μ1 = mean of random variable 1
μ2 = mean of random variable 2
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance The normal hypotheses would be
Ho : μ = μ
1 2 or Ho : μ 1 −μ 2 =0
HA : μ < μ
1 2 HA : μ 1 −μ 2 <0
HA : μ > μ
1 2 HA : μ 1 −μ 2 >0
HA : μ ≠ μ
1 2 HA : μ 1 −μ 2 ≠0
Also, state your α level here.
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample of size n1 is taken from population 1. A random sample of size n2 is taken from population 2.

Note
The samples do not need to be the same size, but the test is more robust if they are.

b. The two samples are independent.

c. Population 1 is normally distributed. Population 2 is normally distributed. Just as before, the t-test is fairly robust to the
assumption if the sample size is large. This means that if this assumption isn’t met, but your sample sizes are quite large
(over 30), then the results of the t-test are valid.
d. The population variances are unknown and not assumed to be equal. The old assumption is that the variances are equal.
However, this assumption is no longer an assumption that most statisticians use. This is because it isn’t really realistic to
assume that the variances are equal. So we will just assume the assumption of the variances being unknown and not assumed
to be equal is true, and it will not be checked.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value
Sample Statistic:
Calculate x̄¯¯1 , x̄¯¯2 , s1 , s2 , n1 , n2
Test Statistic:
Since the assumption that σ12 = σ22 isn’t being satisfied, then
x̄ x̄ ) − (μ − μ )
( ¯¯1 − ¯¯
t= 2 1 2

√n −−
2
s−−−−
1
2

1 +
s
n 2
2
Usually μ1 − μ2 = 0 , since Ho : μ1 − μ2 = 0
Degrees of freedom: (the Welch–Satterthwaite equation)
( A + B) 2

df =
A 2
B 2

n −1 1
+
n −1
s
2
2
s
2

where A = 1
and B= 2

n 1 n
2
p-value:
Using the TI-83/84: tcdf(lower limit, upper limit, df)

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 Note
If HA : μ1 − μ2 < 0 , then lower limit is −1E 99 and upper limit is your test statistic. If HA : μ1 − μ2 > 0 , then lower
limit is your test statistic and the upper limit is 1E 99. If HA : μ1 − μ2 ≠ 0 , then find the p-value for HA : μ1 − μ2 < 0 ,
and multiply by 2.

Using R: pt(t, df)

Note

If HA : μ1 − μ2 < 0 , then use pt(t, df). If HA : μ1 − μ2 > 0 , then use 1 - pt(t, df). If HA : μ1 − μ2 ≠ 0 , then find the p-
value for HA : μ1 − μ2 < 0 , and multiply by 2.

5. Conclusion
This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then
fail to reject Ho
6. Interpretation This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is
that you either have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

Confidence Interval for the Difference in Means from Two Independent Samples (2 Samp T-Int)
The confidence interval for the difference in means has the same random variables and means and the same assumptions as the
hypothesis test for independent samples. If you have already completed the hypothesis test, then you do not need to state them
again. If you haven’t completed the hypothesis test, then state the random variables and means and state and check the assumptions
before completing the confidence interval step.
1. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval
Sample Statistic:
Calculate Confidence Interval: x̄¯¯1 , x̄¯¯2 , s1 , s2 , n1 , n2
The confidence interval estimate of the difference is μ1 − μ2
Since the assumption that σ12 = σ22 isn’t being satisfied, then
x̄ x̄ ) − E < μ − μ < (x̄ − x̄ ) + E
( ¯¯1 − ¯¯
2 1 2
¯¯
1
¯¯
2
−−−−−−−−
s s
where E = tc √
2 2
1 2

n +n 1 2

where tc is the critical value with degrees of freedom:

Degrees of freedom: (the Welch–Satterthwaite equation)
(A + B) 2

df = A 2B 2
+
n −1 n −1
1
s
2
2
s 2

where A = and B =
1 2

n 1n 2
2. Statistical Interpretation: In general this looks like, “there is a C% chance that (x̄¯¯1 − x̄¯¯2 ) − E < μ1 − μ2 < (x̄¯¯1 − x̄¯¯2 ) + E
contains the true mean difference.”
3. Real World Interpretation: This is where you state what interval contains the true difference in means, though often you state
how much more (or less) the first mean is from the second mean.
The critical value is a value from the Student’s t-distribution. Since a confidence interval is found by adding and subtracting a
margin of error amount from the difference in sample means, and the interval has a probability of containing the true difference in
means, then you can think of this as the statement P ((x̄¯¯1 − x̄¯¯2 ) − E < μ1 − μ2 < (x̄¯¯1 − x̄¯¯2 ) + E ) = C . To find the critical
value you use table A.2 in the Appendix.

How to check the assumptions of two sample t-test and confidence interval:
In order for the t-test or confidence interval to be valid, the assumptions of the test must be true. So whenever you run a t-test or
confidence interval, you must make sure the assumptions are true. So you need to check them. Here is how you do this:

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1. For the random sample assumption, describe how you took the two samples. Make sure your sampling technique is random for
both samples.
2. For the independent assumption, describe how they are independent samples.
3. For the assumption about each population being normally distributed, remember the process of assessing normality from
chapter 6. Make sure you assess each sample separately.
4. You do not need to check the equal variance assumption since it is not being assumed.

Example 9.3.1 hypothesis test for two means

The cholesterol level of patients who had heart attacks was measured two days after the heart attack. The researchers want to
see if patients who have heart attacks have higher cholesterol levels over healthy people, so they also measured the cholesterol
level of healthy adults who show no signs of heart disease. The data is in Table 9.3.1 ("Cholesterol levels after," 2013). Do the
data show that people who have had heart attacks have higher cholesterol levels over patients that have not had heart attacks?
Test at the 1% level.
Table 9.3.1 : Cholesterol Levels in mg/dL
Cholesterol Level of Heart Attack Patients Cholesterol Level of Healthy Individual

270 196

236 232

210 200

142 242

280 206

272 178

160 184

220 198

226 160

242 182

186 182

266 198

206 182

318 238

294 198

282 188

234 166

224 204

276 182

282 178

360 212

310 164

280 230

278 186

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 Cholesterol Level of Heart Attack Patients Cholesterol Level of Healthy Individual

288 162

288 182

244 218

236 170
200
176

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x1 = Cholesterol level of patients who had a heart attack
x2 = Cholesterol level of healthy individuals
μ1 = mean cholesterol level of patients who had a heart attack
μ2 = mean cholesterol level of healthy individuals
2. The normal hypotheses would be
Ho μ μ: 1 = 2 or Ho μ μ
: 1 − 2 =0

HA μ μ: 1 > 2 HA μ μ
: 1 − 2 >0

α = 0.01

3.
a. A random sample of 28 cholesterol levels of patients who had a heart attack is taken. A random sample of 30 cholesterol
levels of healthy individuals is taken. The problem does not state if either sample was randomly selected. So this
assumption may not be valid.
b. The two samples are independent. This is because either they were dealing with patients who had heart attacks or healthy
individuals.
c. Population of all cholesterol levels of patients who had a heart attack is normally distributed. Population of all cholesterol
levels of healthy individuals is normally distributed.
Patients who had heart attacks:

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 Figure 9.3.1 : Histogram of Cholesterol Levels of Patients who had Heart Attacks
This looks somewhat bell shaped.

Figure 9.3.2 : Modified Box Plot of Cholesterol Levels of Patients who had Heart Attacks
There are no outliers

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 Figure 9.3.3 : Normal Quantile Plot of Cholesterol Levels of Patients who had Heart Attacks
This looks somewhat linear.
So, the population of all cholesterol levels of patients who had heart attacks is probably somewhat normally distributed.
Healthy individuals:

Figure 9.3.4 : Histogram of Cholesterol Levels of Healthy Individuals

This does not look bell shaped.

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 Figure 9.3.5 : Modified Box Plot of Cholesterol Levels of Healthy Individuals
There are no outliers.

Figure 9.3.6 : Normal Quantile Plot of Cholesterol Levels of Healthy Individuals

This doesn't look linear.
So, the population of all cholesterol levels of healthy individuals is probably not normally distributed.
This assumption is not valid for the second sample. Since the sample is fairly large, and the t-test is robust, it may not be an
issue. However, just realize that the conclusions of the test may not be valid.
4. Sample Statistic:
x̄
¯
¯
1 ≈ 252.32, x̄
¯
¯
2 ≈ 193.13, s1 ≈ 47.0642, s
2 ≈ 22.3000, n1 = 28, n
2 = 30

Test Statistic:

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 x̄ x̄ ) − (μ − μ )
( ¯¯1 − ¯¯
t= 2
−−−−−−−−
1 2

√ ns + ns 2
1

1
2
2

(252.32 − 193.13) − 0
= −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
√ 47.0642
28
2

+
22.30002
30

≈ 6.051

Degrees of freedom: (the Welch-Satterthwaite equation)

s 2
47.06422
A= n 1
=
28
≈ 79.1085
1

s 2
22.30002
B= n 2
=
30
≈ 16.5763
2

( A + B) 2
(79.1085 + 16.5763)2
df = = ≈ 37.9493
A 2
B 2
79.10852 16.57632
n 1 −1
+
n 2 −1 28 − 1
+
30 − 1

p-value:
Using TI-83/84: tcdf(6.051, 1E 99, 37.9493) ≈ 2.44 × 10−7
Using R: 1 − pt(6.051, 37.9493) ≈ 2.44 × 10−7
Using Technology: Using the TI-83/84:

Figure 9.3.7 : Setup for 2-SampTTest on TI-83/84 Calculator

Note
The Pooled question on the calculator is for whether you are assuming the variances are equal. Since this assumption is not
being made, then the answer to this question is no. Pooled means that you assume the variances are equal and can pool the
sample variances together.

Figure 9.3.8 : Results for 2-SampTTest on TI-83/84 Calculator

Using R: command in general: t.test(variable1, variable2, alternative = "less" or "greater")
For this example, the R command is:
t.test(heartattack, healthy, alternative="greater")
Welch Two Sample t-test

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 data: heartattack and healthy
t = 6.1452, df = 37.675, p-value = 1.86e-07
alternative hypothesis: true difference in means is greater than 0
95 percent confidence interval:
44.1124 Inf
sample estimates:
mean of x mean of y
253.9286 193.1333
The test statistic is t = 6.1452. The p-value is 1.86 × 10−7
5. Reject Ho since the p-value < α .
6. This is enough evidence to show that patients who have had heart attacks have higher cholesterol level on average from
healthy individuals. (Though do realize that some of assumptions are not valid, so this interpretation may be invalid.)

Example 9.3.2 confidence interval for μ1 − μ2

The cholesterol level of patients who had heart attacks was measured two days after the heart attack. The researchers want to
see if patients who have heart attacks have higher cholesterol levels over healthy people, so they also measured the cholesterol
level of healthy adults who show no signs of heart disease. The data is in Example 9.3.1 ("Cholesterol levels after," 2013).
Find a 99% confidence interval for the mean difference in cholesterol levels between heart attack patients and healthy
individuals.
1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.
3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation
Solution
1. These were stated in Example 9.3.1, but are reproduced here for reference.
x1 = Cholesterol level of patients who had a heart attack
x2 = Cholesterol level of healthy individuals
μ 1 = mean cholesterol level of patients who had a heart attack
μ 2 = mean cholesterol level of healthy individuals
2. The assumptions were stated and checked in Example 9.3.1.
3. Sample Statistic:
x̄
¯¯
1 x
≈ 252.32, ¯¯¯¯2¯ ≈ 193.13, s
1 ≈ 47.0642, s2 ≈ 22.3000, n
1 = 28, n
2 = 30

Test Statistic:
Degrees of freedom: (the Welch–Satterthwaite equation)
s 2
47.06422
A= n 1
=
28
≈ 79.1085
1

s 2
22.30002
B= n 2
=
30
≈ 16.5763
2

( A + B) 2
(79.1085 + 16.5763)2
df = = ≈ 37.9493
A 2
B 2
79.10852 16.57632
n 1 −1
+
n2 −1 28 − 1
+
30 − 1

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Since this df is not in the table, round to the nearest whole number.
tc = 2.712
−−−−−−−− −−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
s s √
E = tc √ + = 2.712 47.0642 + 22.3000 ≈ 26.53
2 2 2 2
1 2

n n1 2 28 30

(x̄ − x̄ ) − E < μ − μ < (x̄ − x̄ ) + E

¯¯
1
¯¯
2 1 2
¯¯
1
¯¯
2

(252.32 − 193.13) − 26.53 < μ − μ < (252.32 − 193.13) + 26.53

1 2

32.66mg/dL < μ − μ < 85.72mg/dL

1 2

Using Technology:
Using TI-83/84:

Figure 9.3.9 : Setup for 2-SampTInt on TI-83/84 Calculator

Note
The Pooled question on the calculator is for whether you are assuming the variances are equal. Since this assumption is not
being made, then the answer to this question is no. Pooled means that you assume the variances are equal and can pool the
sample variances together.

Figure 9.3.10 : Results for 2-SampTInt on TI-83/84 Calculator

Using R: the commands is t.test(variable1, variable2, conf.level=C), where C is in decimal form.
For this example, the command is
t.test(heartattack, healthy, conf.level=.99)
Output:
Welch Two Sample t-test
data: heartattack and healthy
t = 6.1452, df = 37.675, p-value = 3.721e-07
alternative hypothesis: true difference in means is not equal to 0
99 percent confidence interval:

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 33.95750 87.63298
sample estimates:
mean of x mean of y
253.9286 193.1333
The confidence interval is 33.96 < μ1 − μ2 < 87.63
4. There is a 99% chance that 33.96 < μ1 − μ2 < 87.63 contains the true difference in means.
5. The mean cholesterol level for patients who had heart attacks is anywhere from 32.66 mg/dL to 85,72 mg/dL more than the
mean cholesterol level for healthy patients. (Though do realize that many of assumptions are not valid, so this interpretation
may be invalid.)

If you do assume that the variances are equal, that is σ12 = σ22 , then the test statistic is:
x̄
( ¯¯1 − x̄ ) − (μ
¯¯
1 − 2) μ
t= 2
−−−−−−−−
sp √ 1
+
1
n 1 n 2
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

where sp = √nn (
s
( 1 − 1) 21 + ( 2 − 1) 22

1 − 1) + (
n
n 2 − 1)
s

sp = pooled standard deviation

The Degrees of Freedom is: df = n + n − 2 1 2

The confidence interval if you do assume that σ = σ has been met, is

2
1
2
2

(x̄ − x̄ ) − E < μ − μ < (x̄ − x̄ ) + E

¯¯
1
¯¯
2 1 2
¯¯
1
¯¯
2
−−−−−−−−
where E = tc sp √n 1
+
1
1
n2
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

and sp = √nn (
n
n − 1)
s
s
( 1 − 1) 21 + ( 2 − 1) 22

1 − 1) + ( 2

Degrees of Freedom: df = n + n − 2 1 2

tc is the critical value where C = 1 - α

To show that the variances are equal, just show that the ratio of your sample variances is not unusual (probability is greater than
0.05). In other words, make sure the following is true.
P (F > s /s ) ≥ 0.05 ( or P (F > s /s ) ≥ 0.05 so that the larger variance is in the numerator). This probability is from an F-
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
distribution. To find the probability on the TI-83/84 calculator use Fcdf(s /s , 1E 99, n − 1, n − 1) . To find the probability on
2
1
2
2 1 2

R, use 1 − pf(s /s , n − 1, n − 1) .
2
1
2
2 1 2

Note

The F-distribution is very sensitive to the normal distribution. A better test for equal variances is Levene's test, though it is
more complicated. It is best to do Levene’s test when using statistical software (such as SPSS or Minitab) to perform the two-
sample independent t-test.

Example 9.3.3 hypothesis test for two means

The amount of sodium in beef hotdogs was measured. In addition, the amount of sodium in poultry hotdogs was also measured
("SOCR 012708 id," 2013). The data is in Example 9.3.2. Is there enough evidence to show that beef has less sodium on
average than poultry hotdogs? Use a 5% level of significance.
Table 9.3.2 : Hotdog Data
Sodium in Beef Hotdogs Sodium in Poultry Hotdogs

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 Sodium in Beef Hotdogs Sodium in Poultry Hotdogs

495 430

477 375

425 396

322 383

482 387

587 542

370 359

322 357

479 528

375 513

330 426

300 513

386 358

401 581

645 588

440 522

317 545

319 430

298 375

253 396

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value.
5. Conclusion
6. Interpretation
Solution
1. x1 = sodium level in beef hotdogs
x2 = sodium level in poultry hotdogs
μ1 = mean sodium level in beef hotdogs
μ2 = mean sodium level in poultry hotdogs
2. The normal hypotheses would be
Ho μ μ: 1 = 2 or Ho μ μ
: 1 − 2 =0

HA μ μ: 1 < 2 HA μ μ
: 1 − 2 <0

α = 0.05

3.

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 a. A random sample of 20 sodium levels in beef hotdogs is taken. A random sample of 20 sodium levels in poultry hotdogs.
The problem does not state if either sample was randomly selected. So this assumption may not be valid.
b. The two samples are independent since these are different types of hotdogs.
c. Population of all sodium levels in beef hotdogs is normally distributed. Population of all sodium levels in poultry hotdogs is
normally distributed. Beef Hotdogs:

Figure 9.3.11 : Histogram of Sodium Levels in Beef Hotdogs

This looks somewhat bell shaped.

Figure 9.3.12 : Modified Box Plot of Sodium Levels in Beef Hotdogs

There are no outliers.

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 Figure 9.3.13 : Normal Quantile Plot of Sodium Levels in Beef Hotdogs
This looks somewhat linear.
So, the population of all sodium levels in beef hotdogs may be normally distributed.
Poultry Hotdogs:

Figure 9.3.14 : Histogram of Sodium Levels in Poultry Hotdogs

This does not look bell shaped.

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 Figure 9.3.15 : Modified Box Plot of Sodium Levels in Poultry Hotdogs
There are no outliers.

Figure 9.3.16 : Normal Quantile Plot of Sodium Levels in Poultry Hotdogs

This does not look linear.
So, the population of all sodium levels in poultry hotdogs is probably not normally distributed.
This assumption is not valid. Since the samples are fairly large, and the t-test is robust, it may not be a large issue. However,
just realize that the conclusions of the test may not be valid.
d. The population variances are equal, i.e. σ12 = σ .
2
2

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s 1 ≈ 102.4347
s 2 ≈ 81.1786
s 2
1 102.43472
= ≈ 1.592
s 2
2 81.1786
2

Using TI-83/84: Fcdf (1.592, 1E 99, 19, 19) ≈ 0.1597 ≥ 0.05

Using R: 1 - pf (1.592, 19, 19) ≈ 0.1597 ≥ 0.05
So you can say that these variances are equal.
4. Find the sample statistic, test statistic, and p-value
Sample Statistic:
x̄
¯¯
1 = 401.15, x̄ ¯¯
2 = 450.2, s1 ≈ 102.4347, s2 ≈ 81.1786, n1 = 20, n
2 = 20

Test Statistic:
The assumption σ12 = σ22 has been met, so
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
n n s s
sp = √
( 1 − 1) 21 + ( 2 − 1) 22
(n − 1) + (n
1 2 − 1)
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
= √ 102.43472 ∗ 19 + 81.17862 ∗ 19
(20 − 1) + (20 − 1)

≈ 92.4198

Though you should try to do the calculations in the problem so you don’t create round off error.
x̄
( ¯¯1 − x̄ ) − (μ
¯¯
1 − 2) μ
t= 2
−−−−−−−−
sP √ n 1
+
1
n
1 2

(401.15 − 450.2) − 0
= −−−−−−−
92.4198
1
20
+
1
20
√
≈ −1.678

df = 20 + 20 - 2 = 38
p-value:
Using TI-83/84: tcdf (−1E 99, −1.678, 38) ≈ 0.0508
Using R: pt (−1.678, 38) ≈ 0.0508
Using technology to find the t and p-value:
Using TI-83/84:

Figure 9.3.17 : Setup for 2-SampTTest on TI-83/84 Calculator

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 Note
The Pooled question on the calculator is for whether you are using the pooled standard deviation or not. In this example,
the pooled standard deviation was used since you are assuming the variances are equal. That is why the answer to the
question is Yes.

Figure 9.3.18 : Results for 2-SampTTest on TI-83/84 Calculator

Using R: the command is t.test(variable1, variable2, alternative="less" or "greater")
For this example, the command is
t.test(beef, poultry, alternative="less", equalvar=TRUE)
Welch Two Sample t-test
data: beef and poultry
t = -1.6783, df = 36.115, p-value = 0.05096
alternative hypothesis: true difference in means is less than 0
95 percent confidence interval:
-Inf 0.2875363
sample estimates:
mean of x mean of y
401.15 450.20
The t = -1.6783 and the p-value = 0.05096.
5. Fail to reject Ho since the p-value > α.
6. This is not enough evidence to show that beef hotdogs have less sodium than poultry hotdogs. (Though do realize that many
of assumptions are not valid, so this interpretation may be invalid.)

Example 9.3.4 confidence interval for μ 1 − μ

2

The amount of sodium in beef hotdogs was measured. In addition, the amount of sodium in poultry hotdogs was also measured
("SOCR 012708 id," 2013). The data is in Example 9.3.2. Find a 95% confidence interval for the mean difference in sodium
levels between beef and poultry hotdogs.
1. State the random variables and the parameters in words.

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 2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.
3. Find the sample statistic and confidence interval.
4. Statistical Interpretation
5. Real World Interpretation
Solution
1. These were stated in Example 9.3.1, but are reproduced here for reference.
x1 = sodium level in beef hotdogs
x2 = sodium level in poultry hotdogs
μ 1 = mean sodium level in beef hotdogs
μ 2 = mean sodium level in poultry hotdogs
2. The assumptions were stated and checked in Example 9.3.3.
3. Sample Statistic:
x̄
¯¯
1 = 401.15, x̄
¯¯
2 = 450.2, s1 ≈ 102.4347, s 2 ≈ 81.1786, n 1 = 20, n
2 = 20

Confidence Interval:
The confidence interval estimate of the difference μ1 − μ2 is
The assumption σ12 = σ22 has been met, so
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
n sn s
sp = √
( 1 − 1) 21 + ( 2 − 1) 22
(n − 1) + (n
1 2 − 1)
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

= √ 102.43472 ∗ 19 + 81.17862 ∗ 19
(20 − 1) + (20 − 1)

≈ 92.4198

Though you should try to do the calculations in the formula for E so you don’t create round off error.
df = = n1 + n2 − 2 = 20 + 20 − 2 = 38
tc = 2.024
−−−−−−−−
E = tc sp √ n1 +
1
n
1 2
−−−−−−−
= 2.024(92.4198) √ 1
20
+
1
20

≈ 59.15

x̄
( ¯¯1 − x̄ ) − E < μ
¯¯
2 1 − μ
x̄ x̄ ) + E2 < ( ¯¯1 − ¯¯
2

(401.15 − 450.2) − 59.15 < μ − μ < (401.15 − 450.2) + 59.15

1 2

−108.20g < μ − μ < 10.10g

1 2

Using technology:
Using the TI-83/84:

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 Figure 9.3.19 : Setup for 2-SampTInt on Ti-83/84 Calculator

Note
The Pooled question on the calculator is for whether you are using the pooled standard deviation or not. In this example,
the pooled standard deviation was used since you are assuming the variances are equal. That is why the answer to the
question is Yes.

Figure 9.3.20 : Results for 2-SampTInt on TI-83/84 Calculator

Using R: the command is t.test(variable1, variable2, equalvar=TRUE, conf.level=C), where C is in decimal form.
For this example, the command is
t.test(beef, poultry, conf.level=.95, equalvar=TRUE)
Welch Two Sample t-test
data: beef and poultry
t = -1.6783, df = 36.115, p-value = 0.1019
alternative hypothesis: true difference in means is not equal to 0
95 percent confidence interval:
-108.31592 10.21592
sample estimates:
mean of x mean of y
401.15 450.20
The confidence interval is −108.32 < μ1 − μ2 < 10.22 .
4. There is a 95% chance that −108.20g < μ1 − μ2 < 10.10g contains the true difference in means.

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 5. The mean sodium level of beef hotdogs is anywhere from 108.20 g less than the mean sodium level of poultry hotdogs to
10.10 g more. (The negative sign on the lower limit implies that the first mean is less than the second mean. The positive sign
on the upper limit implies that the first mean is greater than the second mean.)
Realize that many of assumptions are not valid in this example, so the interpretation may be invalid.

Homework
Exercise 9.3.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test or confidence interval. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that
the results of the test or interval may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test or confidence interval.
Unless directed by your instructor, do not assume the variances are equal (except in problems 11 through 16).
1. The income of males in each state of the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are given in
Example 9.3.3, and the income of females is given in table #9.3.4 ("Median income of," 2013). Is there enough evidence to
show that the mean income of males is more than of females? Test at the 1% level.
Table 9.3.3 : Data of Income for Males

$42,951 $52,379 $42,544 $37,488 $49,281 $50,987 $60,705

$50,411 $66,760 $40,951 $43,902 $45,494 $41,528 $50,746

$45,183 $43,624 $43,993 $41,612 $46,313 $43,944 $56,708

$60,264 $50,053 $50,580 $40,202 $43,146 $41,635 $42,182

$41,803 $53,033 $60,568 $41,037 $50,388 $41,950 $44,660

$46,176 $41,420 $45,976 $47,956 $22,529 $48,842 $41,464

$40,285 $41,309 $43,160 $47,573 $44,057 $52,805 $53,046

$42,125 $46,214 $51,630

Table 9.3.4 : Data of Income for Females

$31,862 $40,550 $36,048 $30,752 $41,817 $40,236 $47,476 $40,500

$60,332 $33,823 $35,438 $37,242 $31,238 $39,150 $34,023 $33,745

$33,269 $32,684 $31,844 $34,599 $48,748 $46,185 $36,931 $40,416

$29,548 $33,865 $31,067 $33,424 $35,484 $41,021 $47,155 $32,316

$42,113 $33,459 $32,462 $35,746 $31,274 $36,027 $37,089 $22,117

$41,412 $31,330 $31,329 $33,184 $35,301 $32,843 $38,177 $40,969

$40,993 $29,688 $35,890 $34,381

2. The income of males in each state of the United States, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are given in
Example 9.3.3, and the income of females is given in Example 9.3.4 ("Median income of," 2013). Compute a 99%
confidence interval for the difference in incomes between males and females in the U.S.
3. A study was conducted that measured the total brain volume (TBV) (in mm3
) of patients that had schizophrenia and
patients that are considered normal. Example 9.3.5 contains the TBV of the normal patients and Example 9.3.6 contains
the TBV of schizophrenia patients ("SOCR data oct2009," 2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the patients with
schizophrenia have less TBV on average than a patient that is considered normal? Test at the 10% level.
Table 9.3.5 : Total Brain Volume (in mm3 ) of Normal Patients

1663407 1583940 1299470 1535137 1431890 1578698

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 1453510 1650348 1288971 1366346 1326402 1503005

1474790 1317156 1441045 1463498 1650207 1523045

1441636 1432033 1420416 1480171 1360810 1410213

1574808 1502702 1203344 1319737 1688990 1292641

1512571 1635918

Table 9.3.6 : Total Brain Volume (in mm3 ) of Schizophrenia Patients

1331777 1487886 1066075 1297327 1499983 1861991

1368378 1476891 1443775 1337827 1658258 1588132

1690182 1569413 1177002 1387893 1483763 1688950

1563593 1317885 1420249 1363859 1238979 1286638

1325525 1588573 1476254 1648209 1354054 1354649

1636119

4. A study was conducted that measured the total brain volume (TBV) (in mm 3
) of patients that had schizophrenia and
patients that are considered normal. Example 9.3.5 contains the TBV of the normal patients and Example 9.3.6 contains
the TBV of schizophrenia patients ("SOCR data oct2009," 2013). Compute a 90% confidence interval for the difference in
TBV of normal patients and patients with Schizophrenia.
5. The length of New Zealand (NZ) rivers that travel to the Pacific Ocean are given in Example 9.3.7 and the lengths of NZ
rivers that travel to the Tasman Sea are given in Example 9.3.8 ("Length of NZ," 2013). Do the data provide enough
evidence to show on average that the rivers that travel to the Pacific Ocean are longer than the rivers that travel to the
Tasman Sea? Use a 5% level of significance.
Table 9.3.7 : Lengths (in km) of NZ Rivers that Flow into the Pacific Ocean

209 48 169 138 64

97 161 95 145 90

121 80 56 64 209

64 72 288 322

Table 9.3.8 : Lengths (in km) of NZ Rivers that Flow into the Tasman Sea

76 64 68 64 37 32

32 51 56 40 64 56

80 121 177 56 80 35

72 72 108 48

6. The length of New Zealand (NZ) rivers that travel to the Pacific Ocean are given in Example 9.3.7 and the lengths of NZ
rivers that travel to the Tasman Sea are given in Example 9.3.8 ("Length of NZ," 2013). Estimate the difference in mean
lengths of rivers between rivers in NZ that travel to the Pacific Ocean and ones that travel to the Tasman Sea. Use a 95%
confidence level.
7. The number of cell phones per 100 residents in countries in Europe is given in Example 9.3.9 for the year 2010. The
number of cell phones per 100 residents in countries of the Americas is given in Example 9.3.10 also for the year 2010
("Population reference bureau," 2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the mean number of cell phones in countries
of Europe is more than in countries of the Americas? Test at the 1% level.
Table 9.3.9 : Number of Cell Phones per 100 Residents in Europe

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 100 76 100 130 75 84

112 84 138 133 118 134

126 188 129 93 64 128

124 122 109 121 127 152

96 63 99 95 151 147

123 95 67 67 118 125

110 115 140 115 141 77

98 102 102 112 118 118

54 23 121 126 47

Table 9.3.10 : Number of Cell Phones per 100 Residents in the America

158 117 106 159 53 50

78 66 88 92 42 3

150 72 86 113 50 58

70 109 37 32 85 101

75 69 55 115 95 73

86 157 100 119 81 113

87 105 96

8. The number of cell phones per 100 residents in countries in Europe is given in Example 9.3.9 for the year 2010. The
number of cell phones per 100 residents in countries of the Americas is given in Example 9.3.10 also for the year 2010
("Population reference bureau," 2013). Find the 98% confidence interval for the difference in mean number of cell phones
per 100 residents in Europe and the Americas.
9. A vitamin K shot is given to infants soon after birth. Nurses at Northbay Healthcare were involved in a study to see if how
they handle the infants could reduce the pain the infants feel ("SOCR data nips," 2013). One of the measurements taken
was how long, in seconds, the infant cried after being given the shot. A random sample was taken from the group that was
given the shot using conventional methods (Example 9.3.11), and a random sample was taken from the group that was
given the shot where the mother held the infant prior to and during the shot (Example 9.3.12). Is there enough evidence to
show that infants cried less on average when they are held by their mothers than if held using conventional methods? Test
at the 5% level.
Table 9.3.11 : Crying Time of Infants Given Shots Using Conventional Methods

63 0 2 46 33 33

29 23 11 12 48 15

33 14 51 37 24 70

63 0 73 39 54 52

39 34 30 55 58 18

Table 9.3.12 : Crying Time of Infants Given Shots Using New Methods

0 32 20 23 14 19

60 59 64 64 72 50

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 44 14 10 58 19 41

17 5 36 73 19 46

9 43 73 27 25 18

10. A vitamin K shot is given to infants soon after birth. Nurses at Northbay Healthcare were involved in a study to see if how
they handle the infants could reduce the pain the infants feel ("SOCR data nips," 2013). One of the measurements taken
was how long, in seconds, the infant cried after being given the shot. A random sample was taken from the group that was
given the shot using conventional methods (Example 9.3.11), and a random sample was taken from the group that was
given the shot where the mother held the infant prior to and during the shot (Example 9.3.12). Calculate a 95% confidence
interval for the mean difference in mean crying time after being given a vitamin K shot between infants held using
conventional methods and infants held by their mothers.
11. Redo problem 1 testing for the assumption of equal variances and then use the formula that utilizes the assumption of equal
variances (follow the procedure in Example 9.3.3).
12. Redo problem 2 testing for the assumption of equal variances and then use the formula that utilizes the assumption of equal
variances (follow the procedure in Example 9.3.3).
13. Redo problem 7 testing for the assumption of equal variances and then use the formula that utilizes the assumption of equal
variances (follow the procedure in Example 9.3.3).
14. Redo problem 8 testing for the assumption of equal variances and then use the formula that utilizes the assumption of equal
variances (follow the procedure in Example 9.3.3).
15. Redo problem 9 testing for the assumption of equal variances and then use the formula that utilizes the assumption of equal
variances (follow the procedure in Example 9.3.3).
16. Redo problem 10 testing for the assumption of equal variances and then use the formula that utilizes the assumption of
equal variances (follow the procedure in Example 9.3.3).

Answer
For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. For all confidence intervals, just the interval using technology is given.
See solution for the entire answer.
1. Reject Ho
2. $65443.80 < μ1 − μ2 < $13340.80
3. Fail to reject Ho
4. −51564.6mm3 < μ1 − μ2 < 75656.6mm3
5. Reject Ho
6. 23.2818km < μ1 − μ2 < 103.67km
7. Reject Ho
8. 4.3641 < μ1 − μ2 < 37.5276
9. Fail to reject Ho
10. −10.9726s < μ1 − μ2 < 11.3059s
11. Reject Ho
12. $6544.98 < μ1 − μ2 < $13339.60
13. Reject Ho
14. 4.8267 < μ1 − μ2 < 37.0649
15. Fail to reject Ho
16. −10.9713s < μ1 − μ2 < 11.3047s

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9.4: Which Analysis Should You Conduct?
One of the most important concept that you need to understand is deciding which analysis you should conduct for a particular
situation. To help you to figure out the analysis to conduct, there are a series of questions you should ask yourself.
1. Does the problem deal with mean or proportion?
Sometimes the problem states explicitly the words mean or proportion, but other times you have to figure it out based on the
information you are given. If you counted number of individuals that responded in the affirmative to a question, then you are
dealing with proportion. If you measured something, then you are dealing with mean.
2. Does the problem have one or two samples?
So look to see if one group was measured or if two groups were measured. If you have the data sets, then it is usually easy to
figure out if there is one or two samples, then there is either one data set or two data sets. If you don’t have the data, then you
need to decide if the problem describes collecting data from one group or from two groups.
3. If you have two samples, then you need to determine if the samples are independent or dependent.
If the individuals are different for both samples, then most likely the samples are independent. If you can’t tell, then determine
if a data value from the first sample influences the data value in the second sample. In other words, can you pair data values
together so you can find the difference, and that difference has meaning. If the answer is yes, then the samples are paired.
Otherwise, the samples are independent.
4. Does the situation involve a hypothesis test or a confidence interval?
If the problem talks about "do the data show", "is there evidence of", "test to see", then you are doing a hypothesis test. If the
problem talks about "find the value", "estimate the" or "find the interval", then you are doing a confidence interval.
So if you have a situation that has two samples, independent samples, involving the mean, and is a hypothesis test, then you have a
two-sample independent t-test. Now you look up the assumptions and the formula or technology process for doing this test. Every
hypothesis test involves the same six steps, and you just have to use the correct assumptions and calculations. Every confidence
interval has the same five steps, and again you just need to use the correct assumptions and calculations. So this is why it is so
important to figure out what analysis you should conduct.

Data Sources:
AP exam scores. (2013, November 20). Retrieved from wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...08_APExamScore s
Buy sushi grade fish online. (2013, November 20). Retrieved from http://www.catalinaop.com/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders - Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Monitoring Network. (2008). Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network-2012. Retrieved from website:
www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/doc...nityReport.pdf
Cholesterol levels after heart attack. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/general/cholest.html
Flanagan, R., Rooney, C., & Griffiths, C. (2005). Fatal poisoning in childhood, england & wales 1968-2000. Forensic Science
International, 148:121-129, Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ice/fat...ning_child.pdf
Friday the 13th datafile. (2013, November 25). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafil...aythe13th.html
Gettler, L. T., McDade, T. W., Feranil, A. B., & Kuzawa, C. W. (2011). Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases
testosterone in human males. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1105403108
Length of NZ rivers. (2013, September 25). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/nzrivers.html
Lim, L. L. United Nations, International Labour Office. (2002). Female labour-force participation. Retrieved from website:
www.un.org/esa/population/pub...ty/RevisedLIMp aper.PDF
Median income of males. (2013, October 9). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...s.aspx?ind=137
Olson, K., & Hanson, J. (1997). Using reiki to manage pain: a preliminary report. Cancer Prev Control, 1(2), 108-13. Retrieved
from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9765732
Population reference bureau. (2013, October 8). Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/...gs.aspx?ind=25
Seafood online. (2013, November 20). Retrieved from http://www.allfreshseafood.com/
SOCR 012708 id data hotdogs. (2013, November 13). Retrieved from http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...D_Data_HotDogs

9.4.1 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5216
SOCR data nips infantvitK shotdata. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...tVitK_ShotData
SOCR data Oct2009 id ni. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index..._Oct2009_ID_NI
Statistics brain. (2013, November 30). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/infidelity-statistics/
Student t-distribution. (2013, November 25). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/student.html

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

10: Regression and Correlation

The previous chapter looked at comparing populations to see if there is a difference between the two. That involved two random
variables that are similar measures. This chapter will look at two random variables that are not similar measures, and see if there is
a relationship between the two variables. To do this, you look at regression, which finds the linear relationship, and correlation,
which measures the strength of a linear relationship.

Note
There are many other types of relationships besides linear that can be found for the data. This book will only explore linear, but
realize that there are other relationships that can be used to describe data.

10.1: Regression
10.2: Correlation
10.3: Inference for Regression and Correlation

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Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
10.1: Regression
When comparing two different variables, two questions come to mind: “Is there a relationship between two variables?” and “How
strong is that relationship?” These questions can be answered using regression and correlation. Regression answers whether there
is a relationship (again this book will explore linear only) and correlation answers how strong the linear relationship is. To
introduce both of these concepts, it is easier to look at a set of data.

Example 10.1.1 if there is a relationship

Is there a relationship between the alcohol content and the number of calories in 12-ounce beer? To determine if there is one a
random sample was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories ("Calories in beer," 2011), and the data is in Example 10.1.1.
Table 10.1.1 : Alcohol and Calorie Content in Beer
Brand Brewery Alcohol Content Calories in 12 oz

Big Sky Scape Goat Pale Ale Big Sky Brewing 4.70% 163

Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale Sierra Nevada 6.70% 215

Steel Reserve MillerCoors 8.10% 222

O'Doul's Anheuser Busch 0.40% 70

Coors Light MillerCoors 4.15% 104

Genesee Cream Ale High Falls Brewing 5.10% 162

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Sierra Nevada 5.00% 158
Beer

Michelob Beer Anheuser Busch 5.00% 155

Flying Dog Doggie Style Flying Dog Brewery 4.70% 158

Big Sky I.P.A. Big Sky Brewing 6.20% 195

Solution
To aid in figuring out if there is a relationship, it helps to draw a scatter plot of the data. It is helpful to state the random
variables, and since in an algebra class the variables are represented as x and y, those labels will be used here. It helps to state
which variable is x and which is y.
State random variables
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer

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 Figure 10.1.1: Scatter Plot of Beer Data
This scatter plot looks fairly linear. However, notice that there is one beer in the list that is actually considered a non-alcoholic
beer. That value is probably an outlier since it is a non-alcoholic beer. The rest of the analysis will not include O’Doul’s. You
cannot just remove data points, but in this case it makes more sense to, since all the other beers have a fairly large alcohol
content.

To find the equation for the linear relationship, the process of regression is used to find the line that best fits the data (sometimes
called the best fitting line). The process is to draw the line through the data and then find the distances from a point to the line,
which are called the residuals. The regression line is the line that makes the square of the residuals as small as possible, so the
regression line is also sometimes called the least squares line. The regression line and the residuals are displayed in Figure . 10.1.2

Figure 10.1.2: Scatter Plot of Beer Data with Regression Line and Residuals
To find the regression equation (also known as best fitting line or least squares line)
Given a collection of paired sample data, the regression equation is
y^ = a + bx
where the slope = b = SS
SS
xy
and y-intercept = a = ȳ¯ − bx̄¯¯
x

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 Definition 10.1.1

The residuals are the difference between the actual values and the estimated values.
residual = y − y^

Definition 10.1.2

SS stands for sum of squares. So you are summing up squares. With the subscript xy, you aren’t really summing squares, but
you can think of it that way in a weird sense.
∑
SSxy = (x − x̄¯¯)(y − ȳ¯¯)
∑
SSx = (x − x̄¯¯)2
∑
SSy = (y − ȳ¯¯)2

Note
The easiest way to find the regression equation is to use the technology.

The independent variable, also called the explanatory variable or predictor variable, is the x-value in the equation. The
independent variable is the one that you use to predict what the other variable is. The dependent variable depends on what
independent value you pick. It also responds to the explanatory variable and is sometimes called the response variable. In the
alcohol content and calorie example, it makes slightly more sense to say that you would use the alcohol content on a beer to predict
the number of calories in the beer.

Definition 10.1.3

The population equation looks like:

y = βo + β1 x
βo = slope
β1 = y -intercept
y^ is used to predict y.

Assumptions of the regression line:

a. The set (x , y ) of ordered pairs is a random sample from the population of all such possible (x , y ) pairs.
b. For each fixed value of x, the y-values have a normal distribution. All of the y distributions have the same variance, and for a
given x-value, the distribution of y-values has a mean that lies on the least squares line. You also assume that for a fixed y, each
x has its own normal distribution. This is difficult to figure out, so you can use the following to determine if you have a normal
distribution.
i. Look to see if the scatter plot has a linear pattern.
ii. Examine the residuals to see if there is randomness in the residuals. If there is a pattern to the residuals, then there is an issue
in the data.

Example 10.1.2 find the equation of the regression line

a. Is there a positive relationship between the alcohol content and the number of calories in 12-ounce beer? To determine if
there is a positive linear relationship, a random sample was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories for several different
beers ("Calories in beer," 2011), and the data are in Example 10.1.2.
b. Use the regression equation to find the number of calories when the alcohol content is 6.50%.
c. Use the regression equation to find the number of calories when the alcohol content is 2.00%.
d. Find the residuals and then plot the residuals versus the x-values.
Table 10.1.2 : Alcohol and Caloric Content in Beer without Outlier
Brand Brewery Alcohol Content Calories in 12 oz

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 Big Sky Scape Goat Pale Ale Big Sky Brewing 4.70% 163

Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale Sierra Nevada 6.70% 215

Steel Reserve MillerCoors 8.10% 222

O'Doul's Anheuser Busch 0.40% 70

Coors Light MillerCoors 4.15% 104

Genesee Cream Ale High Falls Brewing 5.10% 162

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Sierra Nevada 5.00% 158
Beer

Michelob Beer Anheuser Busch 5.00% 155

Flying Dog Doggie Style Flying Dog Brewery 4.70% 158

Big Sky I.P.A. Big Sky Brewing 6.20% 195

Solution
a. State random variables
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer
Assumptions check:
a. A random sample was taken as stated in the problem.
b. The distribution for each calorie value is normally distributed for every value of alcohol content in the beer.
i. From Example 10.1.1, the scatter plot looks fairly linear.
ii. The residual versus the x-values plot looks fairly random. (See Figure 10.1.5.)
It appears that the distribution for calories is a normal distribution.
To find the regression equation on the TI-83/84 calculator, put the x’s in L1 and the y’s in L2. Then go to STAT, over to
TESTS, and choose LinRegTTest. The setup is in Figure 10.1.3. The reason that >0 was chosen is because the question was
asked if there was a positive relationship. If you are asked if there is a negative relationship, then pick <0. If you are just asked
if there is a relationship, then pick ≠ 0 . Right now the choice will not make a different, but it will be important later.

Figure 10.1.3 : Setup for Linear Regression Test on TI-83/84

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 Figure 10.1.4 : Results for Linear Regression Test on TI-83/84
From this you can see that
y^ = 25.0 + 26.3x
To find the regression equation using R, the command is lm(dependent variable ~ independent variable), where ~ is the tilde
symbol located on the upper left of most keyboards. So for this example, the command would be lm(calories ~ alcohol), and
the output would be
Call:
lm(formula = calories ~ alcohol)
Coefficients:
(Intercept) alcohol
25.03 26.32
From this you can see that the y-intercept is 25.03 and the slope is 26.32. So the regression equation is y^ = 25.0 + 26.3x .
Remember, this is an estimate for the true regression. A different random sample would produce a different estimate.
xo = 6.50
b.
y^ = 25.0 + 26.3(6.50) = 196 calories
If you are drinking a beer that is 6.50% alcohol content, then it is probably close to 196 calories. Notice, the mean number of
calories is 170 calories. This value of 196 seems like a better estimate than the mean when looking at the original data. The
regression equation is a better estimate than just the mean.
xo = 2.00
c.
y^ = 25.0 + 26.3(2.00) = 78 calories
If you are drinking a beer that is 2.00% alcohol content, then it has probably close to 78 calories. This doesn’t seem like a very
good estimate. This estimate is what is called extrapolation. It is not a good idea to predict values that are far outside the range
of the original data. This is because you can never be sure that the regression equation is valid for data outside the original
data.
d. To find the residuals, find y^ for each x-value. Then subtract each y^ from the given y value to find the residuals. Realize that
these are sample residuals since they are calculated from sample values. It is best to do this in a spreadsheet.
Table 10.1.3 : Residuals for Beer Calories
x y y^ = 25.0 + 26.3x y − y^

4.70 163 148.61 14.390

6.70 215 201.21 13.790

8.10 222 238.03 -16.030

4.15 104 134.145 -30.145

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 5.10 162 159.13 2.870

5.00 158 156.5 1.500

5.00 155 156.5 -1.500

4.70 158 148.61 9.390

6.20 195 188.06 6.940

Notice the residuals add up to close to 0. They don’t add up to exactly 0 in this example because of rounding error. Normally
the residuals add up to 0.
You can use R to get the residuals. The command is
lm.out = lm(dependent variable ~ independent variable) – this defines the linear model with a name so you can use it later.
Then residual(lm.out) – produces the residuals.
For this example, the command would be
lm(calories~alcohol)
Call:
lm(formula = calories ~ alcohol)
Coefficients:
(Intercept) alcohol
25.03 26.32
> residuals(lm.out)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

14.271307 13.634092 −16.211959 −30.253458 2.743864 1.375725 −1.624275 9.271307 6.793396

So the first residual is 14.271307 and it belongs to the first x value. The residual 13.634092 belongs to the second x value, and
so forth.
You can then graph the residuals versus the independent variable using the plot command. For this example, the command
would be plot(alcohol, residuals(lm.out), main="Residuals for Beer Calories versus Alcohol Content", xlab="Alcohol
Content", ylab="Residuals"). Sometimes it is useful to see the x-axis on the graph, so after creating the plot, type the command
abline(0,0).
The graph of the residuals versus the x-values is in Figure 10.1.5. They appear to be somewhat random.

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 Figure 10.1.5 : Residuals of Beer Calories versus Content

Notice, that the 6.50% value falls into the range of the original x-values. The processes of predicting values using an x within the
range of original x-values is called interpolating. The 2.00% value is outside the range of original x-values. Using an x-value that
is outside the range of the original x-values is called extrapolating. When predicting values using interpolation, you can usually
feel pretty confident that that value will be close to the true value. When you extrapolate, you are not really sure that the predicted
value is close to the true value. This is because when you interpolate, you know the equation that predicts, but when you
extrapolate, you are not really sure that your relationship is still valid. The relationship could in fact change for different x-values.
An example of this is when you use regression to come up with an equation to predict the growth of a city, like Flagstaff, AZ.
Based on analysis it was determined that the population of Flagstaff would be well over 50,000 by 1995. However, when a census
was undertaken in 1995, the population was less than 50,000. This is because they extrapolated and the growth factor they were
using had obviously changed from the early 1990’s. Growth factors can change for many reasons, such as employment growth,
employment stagnation, disease, articles saying great place to live, etc. Realize that when you extrapolate, your predicted value
may not be anywhere close to the actual value that you observe.
What does the slope mean in the context of this problem?

m y
Δ Δ calories 26.3 calories
=
x
Δ
=
Δ alcohol content
=
1%

The calories increase 26.3 calories for every 1% increase in alcohol content.
The y-intercept in many cases is meaningless. In this case, it means that if a drink has 0 alcohol content, then it would have 25.0
calories. This may be reasonable, but remember this value is an extrapolation so it may be wrong.
Consider the residuals again. According to the data, a beer with 6.7% alcohol has 215 calories. The predicted value is 201 calories.
Residual = actual - predicted
=215 - 201
=14
This deviation means that the actual value was 14 above the predicted value. That isn’t that far off. Some of the actual values differ
by a large amount from the predicted value. This is due to variability in the dependent variable. The larger the residuals the less the
model explains the variability in the dependent variable. There needs to be a way to calculate how well the model explains the
variability in the dependent variable. This will be explored in the next section.
The following example demonstrates the process to go through when using the formulas for finding the regression equation, though
it is better to use technology. This is because if the linear model doesn’t fit the data well, then you could try some of the other
models that are available through technology.

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Example 10.1.3 calculating the regression equation with the formula

Is there a relationship between the alcohol content and the number of calories in 12-ounce beer? To determine if there is one a
random sample was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories ("Calories in beer," 2011), and the data are in Example 10.1.2.
Find the regression equation from the formula.
Solution
State random variables
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer
Table 10.1.4 : Calculations for Regression Equation
Alcohol Content Calories x − x̄¯¯ y − ȳ¯¯ (x − x̄
¯¯
)
2
(y − ȳ¯¯)
2
(x − x̄
¯¯
)(y − ȳ¯¯)

4.70 163 -0.8167 -7.2222 0.6669 52.1065 5.8981

6.70 215 1.1833 44.7778 1.4003 2005.0494 52.9870

8.10 222 2.5833 51.7778 6.6736 2680.9383 133.7595

4.15 104 -1.3667 -66.2222 1.8678 4385.3827 90.5037

5.10 162 -0.4167 -8.2222 0.1736 67.6049 3.4259

5.00 158 -0.5167 -12.2222 0.2669 149.3827 6.3148

5.00 155 -0.5167 -15.2222 0.2669 231.7160 7.8648

4.70 158 -0.8167 -12.2222 0.6669 149.3827 9.9815

6.20 195 0.6833 24.7778 0.4669 613.9383 16.9315

10335.5556 = 327.6667 =
5.516667 = x̄¯¯ 170.2222 = ȳ¯¯ 12.45 = SSx
SSy SSxy

SSxy 327.6667
slope: b = = ≈ 26.3
SSx 12.45

y-intercept: a = ȳ¯¯ − bx̄¯¯ = 170.222 − 26.3(5.516667) ≈ 25.0

Regression equation: y^ = 25.0 + 26.3x

Homework
Exercise 10.1.1

For each problem, state the random variables. Also, look to see if there are any outliers that need to be removed. Do the
regression analysis with and without the suspected outlier points to determine if their removal affects the regression. The data
sets in this section are used in the homework for sections 10.2 and 10.3 also.
1. When an anthropologist finds skeletal remains, they need to figure out the height of the person. The height of a person (in
cm) and the length of their metacarpal bone 1 (in cm) were collected and are in Example 10.1.5 ("Prediction of height,"
2013). Create a scatter plot and find a regression equation between the height of a person and the length of their metacarpal.
Then use the regression equation to find the height of a person for a metacarpal length of 44 cm and for a metacarpal length
of 55 cm. Which height that you calculated do you think is closer to the true height of the person? Why?
Table 10.1.5 : Data of Metacarpal versus Height

Length of Metacarpal (cm) Height of Person (cm)

45 171

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 51 178

39 157

41 163

48 172

49 183

46 173

43 175

47 173

2. Example 10.1.6 contains the value of the house and the amount of rental income in a year that the house brings in ("Capital
and rental," 2013). Create a scatter plot and find a regression equation between house value and rental income. Then use the
regression equation to find the rental income a house worth $230,000 and for a house worth $400,000. Which rental income
that you calculated do you think is closer to the true rental income? Why?
Table 10.1.6 : Data of House Value versus Rental
Value Rental Value Rental Value Rental Value Rental

81000 6656 77000 4576 75000 7280 67500 6864

95000 7904 94000 8736 90000 6240 85000 7072

121000 12064 115000 7904 110000 7072 104000 7904

135000 8320 130000 9776 126000 6240 125000 7904

145000 8320 140000 9568 140000 9152 135000 7488

165000 13312 165000 8528 155000 7488 148000 8320

178000 11856 174000 10400 170000 9568 170000 12688

200000 12272 200000 10608 194000 11232 190000 8320

214000 8528 208000 10400 200000 10400 200000 8320

240000 10192 240000 12064 240000 11648 225000 12480

289000 11648 270000 12896 262000 10192 244500 11232

325000 12480 310000 12480 303000 12272 300000 12480

3. The World Bank collects information on the life expectancy of a person in each country ("Life expectancy at," 2013) and
the fertility rate per woman in the country ("Fertility rate," 2013). The data for 24 randomly selected countries for the year
2011 are in Example 10.1.7. Create a scatter plot of the data and find a linear regression equation between fertility rate and
life expectancy. Then use the regression equation to find the life expectancy for a country that has a fertility rate of 2.7 and
for a country with fertility rate of 8.1. Which life expectancy that you calculated do you think is closer to the true life
expectancy? Why?
Table 10.1.7 : Data of Fertility Rates versus Life Expectancy

Fertility Rate Life Expectancy

1.7 77.2

5.8 55.4

2.2 69.9

2.1 76.4

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 Fertility Rate Life Expectancy

1.8 75.0

2.0 78.2

2.6 73.0

2.8 70.8

1.4 82.6

2.6 68.9

1.5 81.0

6.9 54.2

2.4 67.1

1.5 73.3

2.5 74.2

1.4 80.7

2.9 72.1

2.1 78.3

4.7 62.9

6.8 54.4

5.2 55.9

4.2 66.0

1.5 76.0

3.9 72.3

4. The World Bank collected data on the percentage of GDP that a country spends on health expenditures ("Health
expenditure," 2013) and also the percentage of women receiving prenatal care ("Pregnant woman receiving," 2013). The
data for the countries where this information are available for the year 2011 is in Example 10.1.8. Create a scatter plot of
the data and find a regression equation between percentage spent on health expenditure and the percentage of women
receiving prenatal care. Then use the regression equation to find the percent of women receiving prenatal care for a country
that spends 5.0% of GDP on health expenditure and for a country that spends 12.0% of GDP. Which prenatal care
percentage that you calculated do you think is closer to the true percentage? Why?
Table 10.1.8 : Data of Health Expenditure versus Prenatal Care
Health Expenditure (% of GDP) Prenatal Care (%)

9.6 47.9

3.7 54.6

5.2 93.7

5.2 84.7

10.0 100.0

4.7 42.5

4.8 96.4

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 Health Expenditure (% of GDP) Prenatal Care (%)

6.0 77.1

5.4 58.3

4.8 95.4

4.1 78.0

6.0 93.3

9.5 93.3

6.8 93.7

6.1 89.8

5. The height and weight of baseball players are in Example 10.1.9 ("MLB heightsweights," 2013). Create a scatter plot and
find a regression equation between height and weight of baseball players. Then use the regression equation to find the
weight of a baseball player that is 75 inches tall and for a baseball player that is 68 inches tall. Which weight that you
calculated do you think is closer to the true weight? Why?
Table 10.1.9 : Heights and Weights of Baseball Players
Height (inches) Weight (pounds)

76 212

76 224

72 180

74 210

75 215

71 200

77 235

78 235

77 194

76 185

72 180

72 170

75 220

74 228

73 210

72 180

70 185

73 190

71 186

74 200

74 200

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 Height (inches) Weight (pounds)

75 210

79 240

72 208

75 180

6. Different species have different body weights and brain weights are in Example 10.1.10. ("Brain2bodyweight," 2013).
Create a scatter plot and find a regression equation between body weights and brain weights. Then use the regression
equation to find the brain weight for a species that has a body weight of 62 kg and for a species that has a body weight of
180,000 kg. Which brain weight that you calculated do you think is closer to the true brain weight? Why?
Table 10.1.10: Body Weights and Brain Weights of Species
Species Body Weight (kg) Brain Weight (kg)

Newborn Human 3.20 0.37

Adult Human 73.00 1.35

Pithecanthropus Man 70.00 0.93

Squirrel 0.80 0.01

Hamster 0.15 0.00

Chimpanzee 50.00 0.42

Rabbit 1.40 0.01

Dog (Beagle) 10.00 0.07

Cat 4.50 0.03

Rat 0.40 0.00

Bottle-Nosed Dolphin 400.00 1.50

Beaver 24.00 0.04

Gorilla 320.00 0.50

Tiger 170.00 0.26

Owl 1.50 0.00

Camel 550.00 0.76

Elephant 4600.00 6.00

Lion 187.00 0.24

Sheep 120.00 0.14

Walrus 800.00 0.93

Horse 450.00 0.50

Cow 700.00 0.44

Giraffe 950.00 0.53

Green Lizard 0.20 0.00

Sperm Whale 35000.00 7.80

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 Species Body Weight (kg) Brain Weight (kg)

Turtle 3.00 0.00

Alligator 270.00 0.01

7. A random sample of beef hotdogs was taken and the amount of sodium (in mg) and calories were measured. ("Data
hotdogs," 2013) The data are in Example 10.1.11. Create a scatter plot and find a regression equation between amount of
calories and amount of sodium. Then use the regression equation to find the amount of sodium a beef hotdog has if it is 170
calories and if it is 120 calories. Which sodium level that you calculated do you think is closer to the true sodium level?
Why?
Table 10.1.11: Calories and Sodium Levels in Beef Hotdogs
Calories Sodium

186 495

181 477

176 425

149 322

184 482

190 587

158 370

139 322

175 479

148 375

152 330

111 300

141 386

153 401

190 645

157 440

131 317

149 319

135 298

132 253

8. Per capita income in 1960 dollars for European countries and the percent of the labor force that works in agriculture in
1960 are in Example 10.1.12 ("OECD economic development," 2013). Create a scatter plot and find a regression equation
between percent of labor force in agriculture and per capita income. Then use the regression equation to find the per capita
income in a country that has 21 percent of labor in agriculture and in a country that has 2 percent of labor in agriculture.
Which per capita income that you calculated do you think is closer to the true income? Why?
Table 10.1.12: Percent of Labor in Agriculture and Per Capita Income for European Countries

Country Percent in Agriculture Per Capita Income

Sweden 14 1644

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 Country Percent in Agriculture Per Capita Income

Switzerland 11 1361

Luxembourg 15 1242

U. Kingdom 4 1105

Denmark 18 1049

W. Germany 15 1035

France 20 1013

Belgium 6 1005

Norway 20 977

Iceland 25 839

Netherlands 11 810

Austria 23 681

Ireland 36 529

Italy 27 504

Greece 56 324

Spain 42 290

Portugal 44 238

Turkey 79 177

9. Cigarette smoking and cancer have been linked. The number of deaths per one hundred thousand from bladder cancer and
the number of cigarettes sold per capita in 1960 are in Example 10.1.13 ("Smoking and cancer," 2013). Create a scatter plot
and find a regression equation between cigarette smoking and deaths of bladder cancer. Then use the regression equation to
find the number of deaths from bladder cancer when the cigarette sales were 20 per capita and when the cigarette sales were
6 per capita. Which number of deaths that you calculated do you think is closer to the true number? Why?
Table 10.1.13: Number of Cigarettes and Number of Bladder Cancer Deaths in 1960
Bladder Cancer Deaths (per Bladder Cancer Deaths (per
Cigarette Sales (per Capita) Cigarette Sales (per Capita)
100 thousand) 100 Thousand)

18.20 2.90 42.40 6.54

25.82 3.52 28.64 5.98

18.24 2.99 21.16 2.90

28.60 4.46 29.14 5.30

31.10 5.11 19.96 2.89

33.60 4.78 26.38 4.47

40.46 5.60 23.44 2.93

28.27 4.46 23.78 4.89

20.10 3.08 29.18 4.99

27.91 4.75 18.06 3.25

26.18 4.09 20.94 3.64

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 Bladder Cancer Deaths (per Bladder Cancer Deaths (per
Cigarette Sales (per Capita) Cigarette Sales (per Capita)
100 thousand) 100 Thousand)

22.12 4.23 20.08 2.94

21.84 2.91 22.57 3.21

23.44 2.86 14.00 3.31

21.58 4.65 25.89 4.63

28.92 4.79 21.17 4.04

25.91 5.21 21.25 5.14

26.92 4.69 22.86 4.78

24.96 5.27 28.04 3.20

22.06 3.72 30.34 3.46

16.08 3.06 23.75 3.95

27.56 4.04 23.32 3.72

10. The weight of a car can influence the mileage that the car can obtain. A random sample of cars’ weights and mileage was
collected and are in Example 10.1.14 ("Passenger car mileage," 2013). Create a scatter plot and find a regression equation
between weight of cars and mileage. Then use the regression equation to find the mileage on a car that weighs 3800 pounds
and on a car that weighs 2000 pounds. Which mileage that you calculated do you think is closer to the true mileage? Why?
Table 10.1.14: Weights and Mileages of Cars
Weight (100 pounds) Mileage (mpg)

22.5 53.3

22.5 41.1

22.5 38.9

25.0 40.9

27.5 46.9

27.5 36.3

30.0 32.2

30.0 32.2

30.0 31.5

30.0 31.4

30.0 31.4

35.0 32.6

35.0 31.3

35.0 31.3

35.0 28.0

35.0 28.0

35.0 28.0

40.0 23.6

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 Weight (100 pounds) Mileage (mpg)

40.0 23.6

40.0 23.4

40.0 23.1

45.0 19.5

45.0 17.2

45.0 17.0

55.0 13.2

Answer
For regression, only the equation is given. See solutions for the entire answer.
1. y^ = 1.719x +93.709
3. y^ = −4.706x +84.873
5. y^ = 5.859x −230.942
7. y^ = 4.0133x −228.3313
9. y^ = 0.12182x +1.08608

This page titled 10.1: Regression is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak via
source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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10.2: Correlation
A correlation exists between two variables when the values of one variable are somehow associated with the values of the other
variable.
When you see a pattern in the data you say there is a correlation in the data. Though this book is only dealing with linear patterns,
patterns can be exponential, logarithmic, or periodic. To see this pattern, you can draw a scatter plot of the data.
Remember to read graphs from left to right, the same as you read words. If the graph goes up the correlation is positive and if the
graph goes down the correlation is negative.
The words “ weak”, “moderate”, and “strong” are used to describe the strength of the relationship between the two variables.

Figures
The linear correlation coefficient is a number that describes the strength of the linear relationship between the two variables. It is
also called the Pearson correlation coefficient after Karl Pearson who developed it. The symbol for the sample linear correlation
coefficient is r. The symbol for the population correlation coefficient is ρ (Greek letter rho).
The formula for r is
SSxy
r=
√ −−−−−−−
SSx SSy
Where
∑
SSx = (x − x̄¯¯)2
∑
SSy = (y − ȳ¯¯)2
∑
SSxy = (x − x̄¯¯)(y − ȳ¯¯)
Assumptions of linear correlation are the same as the assumptions for the regression line:
a. The set (x, y) of ordered pairs is a random sample from the population of all such possible (x, y) pairs.
b. For each fixed value of x, the y -values have a normal distribution. All of the y -distributions have the same variance, and
for a given x-value, the distribution of y-values has a mean that lies on the least squares line. You also assume that for a
fixed y, each x has its own normal distribution. This is difficult to figure out, so you can use the following to determine if
you have a normal distribution.
i. Look to see if the scatter plot has a linear pattern.
ii. Examine the residuals to see if there is randomness in the residuals. If there is a pattern to the residuals, then
there is an issue in the data.

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Note
Interpretation of the correlation coefficient
r is always between -1 and 1. r = -1 means there is a perfect negative linear correlation and r = 1 means there is a perfect
positive correlation. The closer r is to 1 or -1, the stronger the correlation. The closer r is to 0, the weaker the correlation.
CAREFUL: r = 0 does not mean there is no correlation. It just means there is no linear correlation. There might be a very
strong curved pattern.

r
How strong is the positive relationship between the alcohol content and the number of calories in 12-ounce beer? To determine
if there is a positive linear correlation, a random sample was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories for several different
beers ("Calories in beer," 2011), and the data are in Table 10.2.1. Find the correlation coefficient and interpret that value.
Table 10.2.1 : Alcohol and Calorie Content in Beer without Outlier
Brand Brewery Alcohol Content Calories in 12 oz

Big Sky Scape Goat Pale Ale Big Sky Brewing 4.70% 163

Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale Sierra Nevada 6.70% 215

Steel Reserve MillerCoors 8.10% 222

Coors Light MillerCoors 4.15% 104

Genesee Cream Ale High Falls Brewing 5.10% 162

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Sierra Nevada 5.00% 158
Beer

Michelob Beer Anheuser Busch 5.00% 155

Flying Dog Doggie Style Flying Dog Brewery 4.70% 158

Big Sky I.P.A. Big Sky Brewing 6.20% 195

Solution
State random variables
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer
Assumptions check:
From Example 10.2.2, the assumptions have been met.
To compute the correlation coefficient using the TI-83/84 calculator, use the LinRegTTest in the STAT menu. The setup is in
Figure 10.2.2. The reason that >0 was chosen is because the question was asked if there was a positive correlation. If you are
asked if there is a negative correlation, then pick <0. If you are just asked if there is a correlation, then pick ≠ 0 . Right now the
choice will not make a different, but it will be important later.

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 Figure 10.2.2 : Setup for Linear Regression Test on TI-83/84

Figure 10.2.3 : Results for Linear Regression Test on TI-83/84

To compute the correlation coefficient in R, the command is cor(independent variable, dependent variable). So for this example
the command would be cor(alcohol, calories). The output is
[1] 0.9134414
The correlation coefficient is r = 0.913. This is close to 1, so it looks like there is a strong, positive correlation.

Causation
One common mistake people make is to assume that because there is a correlation, then one variable causes the other. This is
usually not the case. That would be like saying the amount of alcohol in the beer causes it to have a certain number of calories.
However, fermentation of sugars is what causes the alcohol content. The more sugars you have, the more alcohol can be made, and
the more sugar, the higher the calories. It is actually the amount of sugar that causes both. Do not confuse the idea of correlation
with the concept of causation. Just because two variables are correlated does not mean one causes the other to happen.

Example 10.2.2 correlation versus Causation

a. A study showed a strong linear correlation between per capita beer consumption and teacher’s salaries. Does giving a
teacher a raise cause people to buy more beer? Does buying more beer cause teachers to get a raise?
b. A study shows that there is a correlation between people who have had a root canal and those that have cancer. Does that
mean having a root canal causes cancer?
Solution
a. There is probably some other factor causing both of them to increase at the same time. Think about this: In a town where
people have little extra money, they won’t have money for beer and they won’t give teachers raises. In another town where
people have more extra money to spend it will be easier for them to buy more beer and they would be more willing to give
teachers raises.

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 b. Just because there is positive correlation doesn’t mean that one caused the other. It turns out that there is a positive
correlation between eating carrots and cancer, but that doesn’t mean that eating carrots causes cancer. In other words, there are
lots of relationships you can find between two variables, but that doesn’t mean that one caused the other.

Remember a correlation only means a pattern exists. It does not mean that one variable causes the other variable to change.

Explained Variation
As stated before, there is some variability in the dependent variable values, such as calories. Some of the variation in calories is due
to alcohol content and some is due to other factors. How much of the variation in the calories is due to alcohol content?
When considering this question, you want to look at how much of the variation in calories is explained by alcohol content and how
much is explained by other variables. Realize that some of the changes in calories have to do with other ingredients. You can have
two beers at the same alcohol content, but beer one has higher calories because of the other ingredients. Some variability is
explained by the model and some variability is not explained. Together, both of these give the total variability. This is

∑y ∑y ∑y
(total variation) = (explained variation) + (unexplained variation)

( − ȳ)
¯ 2
¯
= (^ − ȳ)
¯ 2
¯
+ ( y
− ^)
2

Note

The proportion of the variation that is explained by the model is

r
explained variation
2
=
total variation

This is known as the coefficient of determination.

To find the coefficient of determination, you square the correlation coefficient. In addition, r is part of the calculator results.
2

Example 10.2.3 finding the coefficient of determination

Find the coefficient of variation in calories that is explained by the linear relationship between alcohol content and calories and
interpret the value.
Solution
From the calculator results,
r2
= 0.8344

Using R, you can do (cor(independent variable, dependent variable))^2. So that would be (cor(alcohol, calories))^2, and the
output would be
[1] 0.8343751
Or you can just use a calculator and square the correlation value.
Thus, 83.44% of the variation in calories is explained to the linear relationship between alcohol content and calories. The other
16.56% of the variation is due to other factors. A really good coefficient of determination has a very small, unexplained part.

and r 2

How strong is the relationship between the alcohol content and the number of calories in 12-ounce beer? To determine if there
is a positive linear correlation, a random sample was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories for several different beers
("Calories in beer," 2011), and the data are in Example 10.2.1. Find the correlation coefficient and the coefficient of
determination using the formula.
Solution
From Example 10.2.2, SSx = 12.45, SSy = 10335.5556, SSxy = 327.6667
Correlation coefficient:

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 SSxy 327.6667
r=
√ −−−−−−− =
SSx SSy −−−−−−−−−−−−−−− ≈ 0.913
√12.45 ∗ 10335.5556

Coefficient of determination:
r2 = (r)2 = (0.913)2 ≈ 0.834

Now that you have a correlation coefficient, how can you tell if it is significant or not? This will be answered in the next section.

Homework

Exercise 10.2.1

For each problem, state the random variables. Also, look to see if there are any outliers that need to be removed. Do the
correlation analysis with and without the suspected outlier points to determine if their removal affects the correlation. The data
sets in this section are in section 10.1 and will be used in section 10.3.
1. When an anthropologist finds skeletal remains, they need to figure out the height of the person. The height of a person (in
cm) and the length of their metacarpal bone 1 (in cm) were collected and are in Example 10.2.5 ("Prediction of height,"
2013). Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination and then interpret both.
2. Example 10.2.6 contains the value of the house and the amount of rental income in a year that the house brings in ("Capital
and rental," 2013). Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination and then interpret both.
3. The World Bank collects information on the life expectancy of a person in each country ("Life expectancy at," 2013) and
the fertility rate per woman in the country ("Fertility rate," 2013). The data for 24 randomly selected countries for the year
2011 are in Example 10.2.7. Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination and then interpret both.
4. The World Bank collected data on the percentage of GDP that a country spends on health expenditures ("Health
expenditure," 2013) and also the percentage of women receiving prenatal care ("Pregnant woman receiving," 2013). The
data for the countries where this information is available for the year 2011 are in Example 10.2.8. Find the correlation
coefficient and coefficient of determination and then interpret both.
5. The height and weight of baseball players are in Example 10.2.9 ("MLB heightsweights," 2013). Find the correlation
coefficient and coefficient of determination and then interpret both.
6. Different species have different body weights and brain weights are in Example 10.2.10. ("Brain2bodyweight," 2013). Find
the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination and then interpret both.
7. A random sample of beef hotdogs was taken and the amount of sodium (in mg) and calories were measured. ("Data
hotdogs," 2013) The data are in Example 10.2.11. Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination and then
interpret both.
8. Per capita income in 1960 dollars for European countries and the percent of the labor force that works in agriculture in
1960 are in Example 10.2.12 ("OECD economic development," 2013). Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of
determination and then interpret both.
9. Cigarette smoking and cancer have been linked. The number of deaths per one hundred thousand from bladder cancer and
the number of cigarettes sold per capita in 1960 are in Example 10.2.13 ("Smoking and cancer," 2013). Find the correlation
coefficient and coefficient of determination and then interpret both.
10. The weight of a car can influence the mileage that the car can obtain. A random sample of cars weights and mileage was
collected and are in Example 10.2.14 ("Passenger car mileage," 2013). Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of
determination and then interpret both.
11. There is a negative correlation between police expenditure and crime rate. Does this mean that spending more money on
police causes the crime rate to decrease? Explain your answer.
12. There is a positive correlation between tobacco sales and alcohol sales. Does that mean that using tobacco causes a person
to also drink alcohol? Explain your answer.
13. There is a positive correlation between the average temperature in a location and the morality rate from breast cancer. Does
that mean that higher temperatures cause more women to die of breast cancer? Explain your answer.
14. There is a positive correlation between the length of time a tableware company polishes a dish and the price of the dish.
Does that mean that the time a plate is polished determines the price of the dish? Explain your answer.

Answer

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 Only the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination are given. See solutions for the entire answer.
1. r = 0.9578, r2 = 0.7357
3. r = -0.9313, r2 = 0.8674
5. r = 0.6605, r2 = 0.4362
7. r = 0.8871, r2 = 0.7869
9. r = 0.7036, r2 = 0.4951
11. No, see solutions.
13. No, see solutions.

This page titled 10.2: Correlation is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Kozak via
source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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10.3: Inference for Regression and Correlation
How do you really say you have a correlation? Can you test to see if there really is a correlation? Of course, the answer is yes. The
hypothesis test for correlation is as follows:

Hypothesis Test for Correlation:

1. State the random variables in words.
x = independent variable
y = dependent variable
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho ρ : = 0 (There is no correlation)

HA ρ : ≠ 0 (There is a correlation)

or

HA ρ : < 0 (There is a negative correlation)

or

HA ρ : > 0 (There is a postive correlation)

Also, state your α level here.

3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
The assumptions for the hypothesis test are the same assumptions for regression and correlation.
4. Find the test statistic and p-value
t r
r
=

√n
−−−−−−
2
1−

−2

with degrees of freedom = df = n - 2

p-value: Using the TI-83/84: tcdf(lower limit, upper limit, df)

Note

If HA : ρ < 0 , then lower limit is -1E99 and upper limit is your test statistic. If HA : ρ > 0 , then lower limit is your test
statistic and the upper limit is 1E99. If HA : ρ ≠ 0 , then find the p-value for HA : ρ < 0 , and multiply by 2.

Using R: pt(t, df)

Note
IfHA ρ : <0 , then use pt(t, df), If HA ρ
: >0 , then use t df
1 − pt( , ) . If HA ρ
: ≠0 , then find the p-value for
HA ρ : <0 , and multiply by 2.

5. Conclusion
This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then
fail to reject Ho .
6. Interpretation
This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

Note
The TI-83/84 calculator results give you the test statistic and the p-value. In R, the command for getting the test statistic and p-
value is cor.test(independent variable, dependent variable, alternative = "less" or "greater"). Use less for HA : ρ < 0 , use
greater for HA : ρ > 0 , and leave off this command for HA : ρ ≠ 0 .

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 Example 10.3.1 Testing the claim of a linear correlation

Is there a positive correlation between beer’s alcohol content and calories? To determine if there is a positive linear correlation,
a random sample was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories for several different beers ("Calories in beer," 2011), and the
data is in Example 10.3.1. Test at the 5% level.
Solution
1. State the random variables in words.
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance.
Since you are asked if there is a positive correlation, ρ > 0 .
Ho ρ: =0

HA ρ: >0

α = 0.05

3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.

The assumptions for the hypothesis test were already checked in Example 10.3.2.
4. Find the test statistic and p-value.
The results from the TI-83/84 calculator are in Figure 10.3.1.

Figure 10.3.1 : Results for Linear Regression Test on TI-83/84

Test statistic: t ≈ 5.938 and p-value: p ≈ 2.884 × 10−4
The results from R are
cor.test(alcohol, calories, alternative = "greater")
Pearson's product-moment correlation
data: alcohol and calories
t = 5.9384, df = 7, p-value = 0.0002884
alternative hypothesis: true correlation is greater than 0
95 percent confidence interval:
0.7046161 1.0000000
sample estimates:
cor
0.9134414
Test statistic: t ≈ 5.9384 and p-value: p ≈ 0.0002884
5. Conclusion
Reject Ho since the p-value is less than 0.05.
6. Interpretation
There is enough evidence to show that there is a positive correlation between alcohol content and number of calories in a
12-ounce bottle of beer.

Prediction Interval
Using the regression equation you can predict the number of calories from the alcohol content. However, you only find one value.
The problem is that beers vary a bit in calories even if they have the same alcohol content. It would be nice to have a range instead

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of a single value. The range is called a prediction interval. To find this, you need to figure out how much error is in the estimate
from the regression equation. This is known as the standard error of the estimate.

Definition

Standard Error of the Estimate

This is the sum of squares of the residuals

√ ∑n
−−−−−−−−−
(y − y
^)2
se =
−2

This formula is hard to work with, so there is an easier formula. You can also find the value from technology, such as the calculator.
−−−−−−−−−−−−
se = √ SSy n b SSxy
− ∗
−2

Example 10.3.2 finding the standard error of the estimate

Find the standard error of the estimate for the beer data. To determine if there is a positive linear correlation, a random sample
was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories for several different beers ("Calories in beer," 2011), and the data are in
Example 10.3.1.
Solution
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer
Using the TI-83/84, the results are in Figure 10.3.2.

Figure 10.3.2 : Results for Linear Regression Test on TI-83/84

The s in the results is the standard error of the estimate. So se ≈ 15.64.
To find the standard error of the estimate in R, the commands are
lm.out = lm(dependent variable ~ independent variable) – this defines the linear model with a name so you can use it later.
Then
summary(lm.out) – this will produce most of the information you need for a regression and correlation analysis. In fact, the
only thing R doesn’t produce with this command is the correlation coefficient. Otherwise, you can use the command to find the
regression equation, coefficient of determination, test statistic, p-value for a two-tailed test, and standard error of the estimate.
The results from R are
lm.out=lm(calories~alcohol)
summary(lm.out)
Call:
lm(formula = calories ~ alcohol)
Residuals:
Min 1Q Median 3Q Max
−30.253 −1.624 2.744 9.271 14.271

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 Coefficients:
Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)

(Intercept) 25.031 24.999 1.001 0.350038

alcohol 26.319 4.432 5.938 0.000577

---
Signif. codes: 0 ‘***’ 0.001 ‘**’ 0.01 ‘*’ 0.05 ‘.’ 0.1 ‘ ’ 1
Residual standard error: 15.64 on 7 degrees of freedom
Multiple R-squared: 0.8344, Adjusted R-squared: 0.8107
F-statistic: 35.26 on 1 and 7 DF, p-value: 0.0005768
From this output, you can find the y-intercept is 25.031, the slope is 26.319, the test statistic is t = 5.938, the p-value for the
two-tailed test is 0.000577. If you want the p-value for a one-tailed test, divide this number by 2. The standard error of the
estimate is the residual standard error and is 15.64. There is some information in this output that you do not need.

If you want to know how to calculate the standard error of the estimate from the formula, refer to Example 10.3.3.

Example 10.3.3 finding the standard error of the estimate from the formula

Find the standard error of the estimate for the beer data using the formula. To determine if there is a positive linear correlation,
a random sample was taken of beer’s alcohol content and calories for several different beers ("Calories in beer," 2011), and the
data are in Example 10.3.1.
Solution
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer
From Example 10.3.3 :
SSy ∑ y ȳ ¯ 2
¯

∑ x x̄
= ( − ) = 10335.56

SSxy = ( − ¯
¯
)( y ȳ
− ¯
¯
) = 327.6666

n =9

b= 26.3

The standard error of the estimate is

√ SSy n b SSxy
−−−−−−−−−−−−

se
∗
−
=
−2

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

= √ 10335.56 − 26.3(327.6666)

9 −2

= 15.67

Prediction Interval for an Individual y

Given the fixed value x , the prediction interval for an individual y is
0

y E y y E
^− < < ^+

where
y a bx
^ = +
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

E tc se √ 1 (xo x̄ −
¯
¯
)
2

n SSx
= 1+ +

df n= −2

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 Note

√ ∑ nx
−−−−−−−−−

To find SSx = ∑x ( − x̄
¯¯)2 remember, the standard derivation formula from chapter 3 sx =
( − x̄
¯¯ 2

−1
)

−−−−−
So, sx = √ nSSx
−1

Now solve for SSx

SSx = s2x (n − 1)

You can get the standard deviation from technology.

R will produce the prediction interval for you. The commands are (Note you probably already did the lm.out command. You do not
need to do it again.)
lm.out = lm(dependent variable ~ independent variable) – calculates the linear model
predict(lm.out, newdata=list(independent variable = value), interval="prediction", level=C) – will compute a prediction interval for
the independent variable set to a particular value (put that value in place of the word value), at a particular C level (given as a
decimal)

Example 10.3.4 find the prediction interval

Find a 95% prediction interval for the number of calories when the alcohol content is 6.5% using a random sample taken of
beer’s alcohol content and calories ("Calories in beer," 2011). The data are in Example 10.3.1.
Solution
x = alcohol content in the beer
y = calories in 12 ounce beer
Computing the prediction interval using the TI-83/84 calculator:
From Example 10.3.2
y^ = 25.0 + 26.3x
xo = 6.50
y^ = 25.0 + 26.3(6.50) = 196 calories
From Example #10.3.2
se ≈ 15.64

Figure 10.3.3 : Results of 1-Var Stats on TI-83/84

x̄¯¯ = 5.517
sx = 1.247497495
n=9
Now you can find
SSx = s2x (n − 1)
2
= (1.247497495 ) (9 − 1)
= 12.45
df = n − 2 = 9 − 2 = 7

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 Now look in table A.2. Go down the first column to 7, then over to the column headed with 95%.
tc = 2.365
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−
x x̄
E = tc se √
2
1 ( o − ¯¯)
1+ +
n SSx
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

= 2.365(15.64) √ 1
1+ +
9
(6.50 − 5.517)2
12.45

= 40.3

Prediction interval is
y^ − E < y < y^ + E
196 − 40.3 < y < 196 + 40.3
155.7 < y < 236.3

Computing the prediction interval using R:

predict(lm.out, newdata=list(alcohol=6.5), interval = "prediction", level=0.95)
fit lwr upr
1 196.1022 155.7847 236.4196

fit = Y when x = 6.5%. lwr = lower limit of prediction interval. upr = upper limit of prediction interval. So the prediction
^

interval is 155.8 < y < 236.4.

Statistical interpretation: There is a 95% chance that the interval 155.8 < y < 236.4 contains the true value for the calories
when the alcohol content is 6.5%.
Real world interpretation: If a beer has an alcohol content of 6.50% then it has between 156 and 236 calories.

Example 10.3.5 Doing a correlation and regression analysis using the ti-83/84

Example 10.3.1 contains randomly selected high temperatures at various cities on a single day and the elevation of the city.
Table 10.3.1 : Temperatures and Elevation of Cities on a Given Day
Elevation (in
7000 4000 6000 3000 7000 4500 5000
feet)
Temperature
50 60 48 70 55 55 60
(°F)

a. State the random variables.

b. Find a regression equation for elevation and high temperature on a given day.
c. Find the residuals and create a residual plot.
d. Use the regression equation to estimate the high temperature on that day at an elevation of 5500 ft.
e. Use the regression equation to estimate the high temperature on that day at an elevation of 8000 ft.
f. Between the answers to parts d and e, which estimate is probably more accurate and why?
g. Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination and interpret both.
h. Is there enough evidence to show a negative correlation between elevation and high temperature? Test at the 5% level.
i. Find the standard error of the estimate.
j. Using a 95% prediction interval, find a range for high temperature for an elevation of 6500 feet.
Solution
a. x = elevation
y = high temperature
b.
a. A random sample was taken as stated in the problem.

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 b. The distribution for each high temperature value is normally distributed for every value of elevation.
i. Look at the scatter plot of high temperature versus elevation.

Figure 10.3.4 : Scatter Plot of Temperature Versus Elevation

The scatter plot looks fairly linear.
ii. There are no points that appear to be outliers.
iii. The residual plot for temperature versus elevation appears to be fairly random. (See Figure 10.3.7.)
It appears that the high temperature is normally distributed.
All calculations computed using the TI-83/84 calculator.

Figure 10.3.5 : Setup for Linear Regression on TI-83/84 Calculator

Figure 10.3.6 : Results for Linear Regression on TI-83/84 Calculator

y^ = 77.4 − 0.0039x
c.
Table 10.3.2 : Residuals for Elevation vs. Temperature Data
x y Y^ y − y^
7000 50 50.1 -0.1

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 x y Y^ y − y^
4000 60 61.8 -1.8

6000 48 54.0 -6.0

3000 70 65.7 4.3

7000 55 50.1 4.9

4500 55 59.85 -4.85

5000 60 57.9 2.1

Figure 10.3.7 : Residual Plot for Temperature vs. Election

The residuals appear to be fairly random.
d.
xo = 5500
y^ = 77.4 − 0.0039(5500) = 55.95 F ∘

e.
xo = 8000
y^ = 77.4 − 0.0039(8000) = 46.2 F ∘

f. Part d is more accurate, since it is interpolation and part e is extrapolation.

g. From Figure 10.3.6, the correlation coefficient is r ≈ -0.814, which is moderate to strong negative correlation.
From Figure 10.3.6, the coefficient of determination is r2 ≈ 0.663, which means that 66.3% of the variability in high
temperature is explained by the linear model. The other 33.7% is explained by other variables such as local weather conditions.
h.
1. State the random variables in words.
x = elevation
y = high temperature
2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : ρ = 0
HA : ρ < 0
α = 0.05
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test The assumptions for the hypothesis test were already checked part
b.
4. Find the test statistic and p-value
From Figure 10.3.6,
Test statistic:

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 t ≈ −3.139
p-value:
p ≈ 0.0129
5. Conclusion
Reject Ho since the p-value is less than 0.05.
6. Interpretation
There is enough evidence to show that there is a negative correlation between elevation and high temperatures.
i. From Figure 10.3.6,
se ≈ 4.677
j. y^ = 77.4 − 0.0039(6500) ≈ 52.1 F ∘

Figure 10.3.8 : Results of 1-Var Stats on TI-83/84

x̄ = 5214.29
¯¯

sx = 1523.624
n=7
Now you can find
SSx = sx (n − 1)
2

2
= (1523.623501 ) (7 − 1)
= 13928571.43
df = n − 2 = 7 − 2 = 5
Now look in table A.2. Go down the first column to 5, then over to the column headed with 95%.
tc = 2.571
So
−−−−−−−−−−−−−− −
x x̄
tc se √
2
1 ( o − ¯¯)
E= 1+
n +
SSx
−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

= 2.571(4.677) √ 1
1+ +
7
(6500 − 5214.29)2
13928571.43

= 13.5

Prediction interval is
y^ − E < y < y^ + E
52.1 − 13.5 < y < 52.1 + 13.5
38.6 < y < 65.6

Statistical interpretation: There is a 95% chance that the interval 38.6 < y < 65.6 contains the true value for the temperature at
an elevation of 6500 feet.
Real world interpretation: A city of 6500 feet will have a high temperature between 38.6°F and 65.6°F. Though this interval is
fairly wide, at least the interval tells you that the temperature isn’t that warm.

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Example 10.3.6 doing a correlation and regression analysis using r

Example 10.3.1 contains randomly selected high temperatures at various cities on a single day and the elevation of the city.
a. State the random variables.
b. Find a regression equation for elevation and high temperature on a given day.
c. Find the residuals and create a residual plot.
d. Use the regression equation to estimate the high temperature on that day at an elevation of 5500 ft.
e. Use the regression equation to estimate the high temperature on that day at an elevation of 8000 ft.
f. Between the answers to parts d and e, which estimate is probably more accurate and why?
g. Find the correlation coefficient and coefficient of determination and interpret both.
h. Is there enough evidence to show a negative correlation between elevation and high temperature? Test at the 5% level.
i. Find the standard error of the estimate.
j. Using a 95% prediction interval, find a range for high temperature for an elevation of 6500 feet.
Solution
a. x = elevation
y = high temperature
b.
a. A random sample was taken as stated in the problem.
b. The distribution for each high temperature value is normally distributed for every value of elevation.
i. Look at the scatter plot of high temperature versus elevation.
R command: plot(elevation, temperature, main="Scatter Plot for Temperature vs Elevation", xlab="Elevation (feet)",
ylab="Temperature (degrees F)", ylim=c(0,80))

Figure 10.3.9 : Scatter Plot of Temperature Versus Elevation

The scatter plot looks fairly linear.
ii. The residual plot for temperature versus elevation appears to be fairly random. (See Figure 10.3.10.)
It appears that the high temperature is normally distributed.
Using R:
Commands:
lm.out=lm(temperature ~ elevation)
summary(lm.out)
Output:
Call:
lm(formula = temperature ~ elevation)

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Residuals:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0.1667 −1.6333 −5.7667 4.4333 5.1667 −4.6667 2.3000

Coefficients:
Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)

(Intercept) 77.36667 6.769182 11.429 8.98 e − 05 ∗ ∗∗

elevation −0.003933 0.001253 −3.139 0.0257∗

---
Signif. codes: 0 ‘***’ 0.001 ‘**’ 0.01 ‘*’ 0.05 ‘.’ 0.1 ‘ ’ 1
Residual standard error: 4.677 on 5 degrees of freedom
Multiple R-squared: 0.6633, Adjusted R-squared: 0.596
F-statistic: 9.852 on 1 and 5 DF, p-value: 0.0257
From the output you can see the slope = -0.0039 and the y-intercept = 77.4. So the regression equation is:
y
^ = 77.4 − 0.0039 x
c. R command: (notice these are also in the summary(lm.out) output, but if you have too many data points, then R only gives a
numerical summary of the residuals.)
residuals(lm.out)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0.1666667 −1.63333333 −5.766667 4.43333333 5.1666667 −4.66666667 2.3000000

So for the first x of 7000, the residual is approximately 0.1667. This means if you find the y^ for when x is 7000 and then
subtract this answer from the y value of 50 that was measured, you would obtain 0.1667. Similar process is computed for the
other residual values.
To plot the residuals, the R command is
plot(elevation, residuals(lm.out), main="Residual Plot for Temperautre vs Elevation", xlab="Elevation (feet)",
ylab="Residuals")
abline(0,0)

Figure 10.3.10: Residual Plot for Temperature vs. Elevation

The residuals appear to be fairly random.
xo = 5500
d.
y
^ = 77.4 − 0.0039(5500) = 55.95
∘
F
xo = 8000
e.
y
^ = 77.4 − 0.0039(8000) = 46.2
∘
F
f. Part d is more accurate, since it is interpolation and part e is extrapolation.
g. The R command for the correlation coefficient is
cor(elevation, temperature)
[1] -0.8144564

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 So, r ≈ −0.814, which is moderate to strong negative correlation.
From summary(lm.out), the coefficient of determination is the Multiple R-squared.
So r2 ≈ 0.663, which means that 66.3% of the variability in high temperature is explained by the linear model. The other
33.7% is explained by other variables such as local weather conditions.
h.
1. State the random variables in words.
x = elevation
y = high temperature
2. . State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho ρ : =0

HA ρ : <0

α = 0.05

3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test.

The assumptions for the hypothesis test were already checked part b.
4. Find the test statistic and p-value
The R command is cor.test(elevation, temperature, alternative = "less")
Pearson's product-moment correlation
data: elevation and temperature
t = -3.1387, df = 5, p-value = 0.01285
alternative hypothesis: true correlation is less than 0
95 percent confidence interval:
-1.0000000 -0.3074247
sample estimates:
cor
-0.8144564
Test statistic: t ≈ −3.1387 and p-value: p ≈ 0.01285
5. Conclusion
Reject Ho since the p-value is less than 0.05.
6. Interpretation
There is enough evidence to show that there is a negative correlation between elevation and high temperatures.
i. From summary(lm.out), Residual standard error: 4.677.
So, se ≈ 4.677

j. R command is predict(lm.out, newdata=list(elevation = 6500), interval = "prediction", level=0.95)

fit lwr upr

1 51.8 38.29672 65.30328

So when x = 6500 feet, y^ = 51.8∘ F and 38.29672 < y < 65.30328 .

Statistical interpretation: There is a 95% chance that the interval 38.3 < y < 65.3 contains the true value for the temperature at
an elevation of 6500 feet.
Real world interpretation: A city of 6500 feet will have a high temperature between 38.3°F and 65.3°F. Though this interval is
fairly wide, at least the interval tells you that the temperature isn’t that warm.

Homework
Exercise 10.3.1

For each problem, state the random variables. The data sets in this section are in the homework for section 10.1 and were also
used in section 10.2. If you removed any data points as outliers in the other sections, remove them in this sections homework
too.

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1. When an anthropologist finds skeletal remains, they need to figure out the height of the person. The height of a person (in
cm) and the length of their metacarpal bone one (in cm) were collected and are in Example 10.3.5 ("Prediction of height,"
2013).
a. Test at the 1% level for a positive correlation between length of metacarpal bone one and height of a person.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 99% prediction interval for height of a person with a metacarpal length of 44 cm.
2. Example 10.3.6 contains the value of the house and the amount of rental income in a year that the house brings in ("Capital
and rental," 2013).
a. Test at the 5% level for a positive correlation between house value and rental amount.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 95% prediction interval for the rental income on a house worth $230,000.
3. The World Bank collects information on the life expectancy of a person in each country ("Life expectancy at," 2013) and
the fertility rate per woman in the country ("Fertility rate," 2013). The data for 24 randomly selected countries for the year
2011 are in Example 10.3.7.
a. Test at the 1% level for a negative correlation between fertility rate and life expectancy.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 99% prediction interval for the life expectancy for a country that has a fertility rate of 2.7.
4. The World Bank collected data on the percentage of GDP that a country spends on health expenditures ("Health
expenditure," 2013) and also the percentage of women receiving prenatal care ("Pregnant woman receiving," 2013). The
data for the countries where this information is available for the year 2011 are in Example 10.3.8.
a. Test at the 5% level for a correlation between percentage spent on health expenditure and the percentage of women
receiving prenatal care.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 95% prediction interval for the percentage of woman receiving prenatal care for a country that spends 5.0 %
of GDP on health expenditure.
5. The height and weight of baseball players are in Example 10.3.9 ("MLB heightsweights," 2013).
a. Test at the 5% level for a positive correlation between height and weight of baseball players.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 95% prediction interval for the weight of a baseball player that is 75 inches tall.
6. Different species have different body weights and brain weights are in Example 10.3.10. ("Brain2bodyweight," 2013).
a. Test at the 1% level for a positive correlation between body weights and brain weights.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 99% prediction interval for the brain weight for a species that has a body weight of 62 kg.
7. A random sample of beef hotdogs was taken and the amount of sodium (in mg) and calories were measured. ("Data
hotdogs," 2013) The data are in Example 10.3.11.
a. Test at the 5% level for a correlation between amount of calories and amount of sodium.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 95% prediction interval for the amount of sodium a beef hotdog has if it is 170 calories.
8. Per capita income in 1960 dollars for European countries and the percent of the labor force that works in agriculture in
1960 are in Example 10.3.12 ("OECD economic development," 2013).
a. Test at the 5% level for a negative correlation between percent of labor force in agriculture and per capita income.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 90% prediction interval for the per capita income in a country that has 21 percent of labor in agriculture.
9. Cigarette smoking and cancer have been linked. The number of deaths per one hundred thousand from bladder cancer and
the number of cigarettes sold per capita in 1960 are in Example 10.3.13 ("Smoking and cancer," 2013).
a. Test at the 1% level for a positive correlation between cigarette smoking and deaths of bladder cancer.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 99% prediction interval for the number of deaths from bladder cancer when the cigarette sales were 20 per
capita.

10.3.13 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5222
 10. The weight of a car can influence the mileage that the car can obtain. A random sample of cars weights and mileage was
collected and are in Example 10.3.14 ("Passenger car mileage," 2013).
a. Test at the 5% level for a negative correlation between the weight of cars and mileage.
b. Find the standard error of the estimate.
c. Compute a 95% prediction interval for the mileage on a car that weighs 3800 pounds.

Answer
For hypothesis test just the conclusion is given. See solutions for entire answer.
1. a. Reject Ho, b. se , c. 151.3161cm < y < 187.3859cm
≈ 4.559

3. a. Reject Ho, b. se , c. 62.945 years

≈ 3.204 < y < 81.391years
5. a. Reject Ho, b. se , c. 176.02 inches
≈ 15.33 < y < 240.92inches
7. a. Reject Ho, b. se , c. 348.46mg < y < 559.38mg
≈ 48.58

9. a. Reject Ho, b. se ≈ 0.6838 , c. 1.613 hundred thousand < y < 5.432 hundred thousand

Data Source:
Brain2bodyweight. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...ain2BodyWeight
Calories in beer, beer alcohol, beer carbohydrates. (2011, October 25). Retrieved from www.beer100.com/beercalories.htm
Capital and rental values of Auckland properties. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from
http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/rentcap.html
Data hotdogs. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...D_Data_HotDogs
Fertility rate. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN
Health expenditure. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS
Life expectancy at birth. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN
MLB heightsweights. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from http://wiki.stat.ucla.edu/socr/index...HeightsWeights
OECD economic development. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafiles/oecdat.html
Passenger car mileage. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafiles/carmpgdat.html
Prediction of height from metacarpal bone length. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from
http://www.statsci.org/data/general/stature.html
Pregnant woman receiving prenatal care. (2013, October 14). Retrieved from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.ANVC.ZS
Smoking and cancer. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafil...cancerdat.html

This page titled 10.3: Inference for Regression and Correlation is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or
curated by Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

10.3.14 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5222
 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

11: Chi-Square and ANOVA Tests

This chapter presents material on three more hypothesis tests. One is used to determine significant relationship between two
qualitative variables, the second is used to determine if the sample data has a particular distribution, and the last is used to
determine significant relationships between means of 3 or more samples.
11.1: Chi-Square Test for Independence
11.2: Chi-Square Goodness of Fit
11.3: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

This page titled 11: Chi-Square and ANOVA Tests is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn
Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

1
11.1: Chi-Square Test for Independence
Remember, qualitative data is where you collect data on individuals that are categories or names. Then you would count how many
of the individuals had particular qualities. An example is that there is a theory that there is a relationship between breastfeeding and
autism. To determine if there is a relationship, researchers could collect the time period that a mother breastfed her child and if that
child was diagnosed with autism. Then you would have a table containing this information. Now you want to know if each cell is
independent of each other cell. Remember, independence says that one event does not affect another event. Here it means that
having autism is independent of being breastfed. What you really want is to see if they are not independent. In other words, does
one affect the other? If you were to do a hypothesis test, this is your alternative hypothesis and the null hypothesis is that they are
independent. There is a hypothesis test for this and it is called the Chi-Square Test for Independence. Technically it should be
called the Chi-Square Test for Dependence, but for historical reasons it is known as the test for independence. Just as with previous
hypothesis tests, all the steps are the same except for the assumptions and the test statistic.

Hypothesis Test for Chi-Square Test

1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : the two variables are independent (this means that the one variable is not affected by the other)
HA : the two variables are dependent (this means that the one variable is affected by the other)
Also, state your α level here.
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample is taken.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5 (The expected frequencies, E, will be calculated later,
and this assumption means E ≥ 5 ).
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
Finding the test statistic involves several steps. First the data is collected and counted, and then it is organized into a table
(in a table each entry is called a cell). These values are known as the observed frequencies, which the symbol for an
observed frequency is O. Each table is made up of rows and columns. Then each row is totaled to give a row total and each
column is totaled to give a column total.
The null hypothesis is that the variables are independent. Using the multiplication rule for independent events you can
calculate the probability of being one value of the first variable, A, and one value of the second variable, B (the probability
of a particular cell P (A and B)) . Remember in a hypothesis test, you assume that Ho is true, the two variables are
assumed to be independent.

PA( and B) = PA PB A
( )⋅ ( ) if and Bareindependent
=
number of ways A can happen
⋅
number of ways B can happen

total number of individuals total number of individuals

row total column total

=
n ∗
n
Now you want to find out how many individuals you expect to be in a certain cell. To find the expected frequencies, you just need
to multiply the probability of that cell times the total number of individuals. Do not round the expected frequencies.
Expected frequency (cell A and B) = E (A and B)

= n( row total

n ⋅
column total

n )
row total -column total
=
n
If the variables are independent the expected frequencies and the observed frequencies should be the same. The test statistic here
will involve looking at the difference between the expected frequency and the observed frequency for each cell. Then you want to
find the “total difference” of all of these differences. The larger the total, the smaller the chances that you could find that test
statistic given that the assumption of independence is true. That means that the assumption of independence is not true. How do
you find the test statistic? First find the differences between the observed and expected frequencies. Because some of these
differences will be positive and some will be negative, you need to square these differences. These squares could be large just

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because the frequencies are large, you need to divide by the expected frequencies to scale them. Then finally add up all of these
fractional values. This is the test statistic.

Test Statistic:
The symbol for Chi-Square is χ 2

χ ∑
O E
( −
2
)

E
2
=

where O is the observed frequency and E is the expected frequency

Distribution of Chi-Square
χ2
has different curves depending on the degrees of freedom. It is skewed to the right for small degrees of freedom and gets more
symmetric as the degrees of freedom increases (see Figure 11.1.1). Since the test statistic involves squaring the differences, the test
statistics are all positive. A chi-squared test for independence is always right tailed.

Figure 11.1.1 : Chi-Square Distribution

p-value:
Using the TI-83/84: χ cdf (lower limit, 1E99, df )
Using R: 1 − pchisq x df )
( 2
,

Where the degrees of freedom is df = (# of rows − 1) ∗ (# of columns − 1)

4. Conclusion
This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then fail to
reject Ho .
5. Interpretation
This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

Example 11.1.1 hypothesis test with chi-square test using formula

Is there a relationship between autism and breastfeeding? To determine if there is, a researcher asked mothers of autistic and
non-autistic children to say what time period they breastfed their children. The data is in table #11.1.1 (Schultz, Klonoff-
Cohen, Wingard, Askhoomoff, Macera, Ji & Bacher, 2006). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that that
breastfeeding and autism are independent? Test at the1% level.
Table 11.1.1 : Autism Versus Breastfeeding

Breast Feeding Timelines

Autis261m Row Total
None Less than 2 months 2 to 6 months More than 6 months

Yes 241 198 164 215 818

No 20 25 27 44 116

Column Total 261 223 191 259 934

Solution
1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : Breastfeeding and autism are independent
HA : Breastfeeding and autism are dependent
α = 0.01
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test

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 a. A random sample of breastfeeding time frames and autism incidence was taken.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5 (ie. E ≥ 5 ). See step 3. All expected frequencies are more
than 5.
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
Test statistic:
First find the expected frequencies for each cell

E
∗
818 261
( Autism and no breastfeeding ) = ≈ 228.585
934

E
∗
818 223
( Autism and < 2 months ) = ≈ 195.304
934
∗

E ( Autism and 2 to 6 months ) =

818 191

934
≈ 167.278

E ( Autism and more than 6 months ) =

818 ∗ 259

934
≈ 226.833

Others are done similarly. It is easier to do the calculations for the test statistic with a table, the others are in table #11.1.2 along
with the calculation for the test statistic. (Note: the column of O-E should add to 0 or close to 0.)
Table 11.1.2 : Calculations for Chi-Square Test Statistic
O E O-E ( O E
− )
2
( O E E
−
2
) /

241 228.585 12.415 154.132225 0.674288448

198 195.304 2.696 7.268416 0.03721591

164 167.278 -3.278 10.745284 0.064236086

215 226.833 -11.833 140.019889 0.617281828

20 32.4154 -12.4154 154.1421572 4.755213792

25 27.6959 -2.6959 7.26787681 0.262417066

27 23.7216 3.2784 10.74790656 0.453085229

44 32.167 11.833 140.019889 4.352904809

Total 0.0001 11.2166432 = χ 2

The test statistic formula is χ ∑ O E

( − )
2

, which is the total of the last column in Example 11.1.2.

E
2
=

p-value:
df ∗
= (2 − 1 ) (4 − 1) = 3

Using TI-83/84: χ cdf(11.2166432, 1E99, 3) ≈ 0.01061

Using R: 1 − pchisq(11.2166432, 3) ≈ 0.01061566
4. Conclusion
Fail to reject Ho since the p-value is more than 0.01.
5. Interpretation
There is not enough evidence to show that breastfeeding and autism are dependent. This means that you cannot say that the
whether a child is breastfed or not will indicate if that the child will be diagnosed with autism.

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Example 11.1.2 hypothesis test with chi-square test using technology

Is there a relationship between autism and breastfeeding? To determine if there is, a researcher asked mothers of autistic and
non-autistic children to say what time period they breastfed their children. The data is in Example 11.1.1 (Schultz, Klonoff-
Cohen, Wingard, Askhoomoff, Macera, Ji & Bacher, 2006). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that that
breastfeeding and autism are independent? Test at the1% level.
Solution
1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : Breastfeeding and autism are independent
HA : Breastfeeding and autism are dependent
α = 0.01
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample of breastfeeding time frames and autism incidence was taken.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5 (ie. E ≥ 5 ). See step 3. All expected frequencies are more
than 5.
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
Test statistic:
To use the TI-83/84 calculator to compute the test statistic, you must first put the data into the calculator. However, this process
is different than for other hypothesis tests. You need to put the data in as a matrix instead of in the list. Go into the MATRX
menu then move over to EDIT and choose 1:[A]. This will allow you to type the table into the calculator. Figure 11.1.2 shows
what you will see on your calculator when you choose 1:[A] from the EDIT menu.

Figure 11.1.2 : Matrix Edit Menu on TI-83/84

The table has 2 rows and 4 columns (don’t include the row total column and the column total row in your count). You need to
tell the calculator that you have a 2 by 4. The 1 X1 (you might have another size in your matrix, but it doesn’t matter because
you will change it) on the calculator is the size of the matrix. So type 2 ENTER and 4 ENTER and the calculator will make a
matrix of the correct size. See Figure 11.1.3.

Figure 11.1.3 : Matrix Setup for Table

Now type the table in by pressing ENTER after each cell value. Figure 11.1.4 contains the complete table typed in. Once you
have the data in, press QUIT.

Figure 11.1.4 : Data Typed into Matrix

To run the test on the calculator, go into STAT, then move over to TEST and choose χ2 -Test from the list. The setup for the test
is in Figure 11.1.5.

Figure 11.1.5 : Setup for Chi-Square Test on TI-83/84

Once you press ENTER on Calculate you will see the results in Figure 11.1.6.

Figure 11.1.6 : Results for Chi-Square Test on TI-83/84

The test statistic is χ2 ≈ 11.2167 and the p-value is p ≈ 0.01061. Notice that the calculator calculates the expected values for
you and places them in matrix B. To eview the expected values, go into MATRX and choose 2:[B]. Figure 11.1.7 shows the
output. Press the right arrows to see the entire matrix.

Figure 11.1.7 : Expected Frequency for Chi-Square Test on TI-83/84

To compute the test statistic and p-value with R,
row1 = c(data from row 1 separated by commas)
row2 = c(data from row 2 separated by commas)
keep going until you have all of your rows typed in.
data.table = rbind(row1, row2, …) – makes the data into a table. You can call it what ever you want. It does not have to be

11.1.4 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5227
 data.table.
data.table – use if you want to look at the table
chisq.test(data.table) – calculates the chi-squared test for independence
chisq.test(data.table)$expected – let’s you see the expected values
For this example, the commands would be
row1 = c(241, 198, 164, 215)
row2 = c(20, 25, 27, 44)
data.table = rbind(row1, row2)
data.table
Output:
[,1] [,2] [,3] [,4]
row1 241 198 164 215
row2 20 25 27 44
chisq.test(data.table)
Output:
Pearson's Chi-squared test
data: data.table
X-squared = 11.217, df = 3, p-value = 0.01061
chisq.test(data.table)$expected
Output: [,1] [,2] [,3] [,4]
row1 228.58458 195.30407 167.27837 226.83298
row2 32.41542 27.69593 23.72163 32.16702
The test statistic is χ2
≈ 11.217 and the p-value is p .
≈ 0.01061

4. Conclusion
Fail to reject Ho since the p-value is more than 0.01.
5. Interpretation
There is not enough evidence to show that breastfeeding and autism are dependent. This means that you cannot say that the
whether a child is breastfed or not will indicate if that the child will be diagnosed with autism.

Example 11.1.3 hypothesis test with chi-square test using formula

The World Health Organization (WHO) keeps track of how many incidents of leprosy there are in the world. Using the WHO
regions and the World Banks income groups, one can ask if an income level and a WHO region are dependent on each other in
terms of predicting where the disease is. Data on leprosy cases in different countries was collected for the year 2011 and a
summary is presented in Table 11.1.3 ("Leprosy: Number of," 2013). Is there evidence to show that income level and WHO
region are independent when dealing with the disease of leprosy? Test at the 5% level.
Table 11.1.3 : Number of Leprosy Cases
World Bank Income Group
WHO Region Upper Middle Lower Middle Row Total
High Income Low Income
Income Income

Americas 174 36028 615 0 36817

Eastern
54 6 1883 604 2547
Mediterranean

Europe 10 0 0 0 10

Western Pacific 26 216 3689 1155 5086

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 Africa 0 39 1986 15928 17953

South-East Asia 0 0 149896 10236 160132

Column Total 264 36289 158069 27923 222545

Solution
1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : WHO region and Income Level when dealing with the disease of leprosy are independent
HA : WHO region and Income Level when dealing with the disease of leprosy are dependent
α = 0.05
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample of incidence of leprosy was taken from different countries and the income level and WHO region was
taken.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5 (ie. E ≥ 5 ). See step 3. There are actually 4 expected
frequencies that are less than 5, and the results of the test may not be valid. If you look at the expected frequencies you will
notice that they are all in Europe. This is because Europe didn’t have many cases in 2011.
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
Test statistic:
First find the expected frequencies for each cell.

E ( Americas and High Income ) =

36817 ∗ 264

222545
≈ 43.675

E ( Americas and Upper Middle Income ) =

36817 ∗ 36289

222545
≈ 6003.514

E ( Americas and Lower Middle Income) =

36817 ∗ 158069
≈ 26150.335
222545

E ( Americas and Lower Income ) =

36817 ∗ 27923

222545
≈ 4619.475

Others are done similarly. It is easier to do the calculations for the test statistic with a table, and the others are in Example
11.1.4 along with the calculation for the test statistic.
Table 11.1.4 : Calculations for Chi-Square Test Statistic
O E O-E ( O E
− )
2
( O E E
−
2
) /

174 43.675 130.325 16984.564 388.8838719

54 3.021 50.979 2598.813 860.1218328

10 0.012 9.988 99.763 8409.746711

26 6.033 19.967 398.665 66.07628214

0 21.297 -21.297 453.572 21.29722977

0 189.961 -189.961 36085.143 189.9608978

36028 6003.514 30024.486 901469735.315 150157.0038

6 415.323 -409.323 167545.414 403.4097962

0 1.631 -1.631 2.659 1.6306365

216 829.342 -613.342 376188.071 453.5983897

39 2927.482 -2888.482 8343326.585 2850.001268

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 O E O-E ( O − E) 2
( O − E) /E
2

0 26111.708 -26111.708 681821316.065 26111.70841

615 26150.335 -25535.335 652053349.724 24934.7988

1883 1809.080 73.290 5464.144 3.020398811

0 7.103 -7.103 50.450 7.1027882

3689 3612.478 76.522 5855.604 1.620938405

1986 12751.636 -10765.636 115898911.071 9088.944681

149896 113738.368 36157.632 1307374351.380 11494.57632

0 4619.475 -4619.475 21339550.402 4619.475122

604 319.575 284.425 80897.421 253.1404187

0 1.255 -1.255 1.574 1.25471253

1155 638.147 516.853 267137.238 418.6140882

15928 2252.585 13675.415 187016964.340 83023.25138

10236 20091.963 -9855.963 97140000.472 4834.769106

Total 0.000 328594.008 = χ2

The test statistic formula is χ2 = ∑ O − E)

( 2
, which is the total of the last column in Example 11.1.2.
E
p-value:
df = (6 − 1) ∗ (4 − 1) = 15
Using the TI-83/84: χ cdf(328594.008, 1E99, 15) ≈ 0
Using R: 1 − pchisq (328594.008, 15) ≈ 0
4. Conclusion
Reject Ho since the p-value is less than 0.05.
5. Interpretation
There is enough evidence to show that WHO region and income level are dependent when dealing with the disease of leprosy.
WHO can decide how to focus their efforts based on region and income level. Do remember though that the results may not be
valid due to the expected frequencies not all be more than 5.

Example 11.1.4 hypothesis test with chi-square test using technology

The World Health Organization (WHO) keeps track of how many incidents of leprosy there are in the world. Using the WHO
regions and the World Banks income groups, one can ask if an income level and a WHO region are dependent on each other in
terms of predicting where the disease is. Data on leprosy cases in different countries was collected for the year 2011 and a
summary is presented in Table 11.1.3 ("Leprosy: Number of," 2013). Is there evidence to show that income level and WHO
region are independent when dealing with the disease of leprosy? Test at the 5% level.
Solution
1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : WHO region and Income Level when dealing with the disease of leprosy are independent
HA : WHO region and Income Level when dealing with the disease of leprosy are dependent
α = 0.05

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2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample of incidence of leprosy was taken from different countries and the income level and WHO region was
taken.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5 (ie. E ≥5
). See step 3. There are actually 4 expected
frequencies that are less than 5, and the results of the test may not be valid. If you look at the expected frequencies you will
notice that they are all in Europe. This is because Europe didn’t have many cases in 2011.
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
Test statistic:
Using the TI-83/84. See Example 11.1.2 for the process of doing the test on the calculator. Remember, you need to put the data
in as a matrix instead of in the list.

Figure 11.1.8: Setup for Matrix on TI-83/84

Figure 11.1.9 : Results for Chi-Square Test on TI-83/84
χ2 ≈ 328594.0079
Figure 11.1.10: Expected Frequency for Chi-Square Test on TI-83/84
Press the right arrow to look at the other expected frequencies.
p-value:
p −value ≈ 0
Using R:
row1=c(174, 36028, 615, 0)
row2=c(54, 6, 1883, 604)
row3=c(10, 0, 0, 0)
row4=c(26, 216, 3689, 1155)
row5=c(0, 39, 1986, 15928)
row6=c(0, 0, 149896, 10236)
chisq.test(data.table)
Pearson's Chi-squared test
data: data.table
X-squared = 328590, df = 15, p-value < 2.2e-16
Warning message:
In chisq.test(data.table) : Chi-squared approximation may be incorrect
chisq.test(data.table)$expected
[, 1] [, 2] [, 3] [, 4]
row1 43.67515783 6003.514404 2.615034e +04 4619.475122
row2 3.02144735 415.323117 1.809080e +03 319.575281
row3 0.01186277 1.630637 7.102788e +00 1.254713
row4 6.03340448 829.341724 3.612478e +03 638.146793
row5 21.29722977 2927.481709 1.275164e +04 2252.585405
row6 189.96089780 26111.708410 1.137384e +05 20091.962686
Warning message:
In chisq.test(data.table) : Chi-squared approximation may be incorrect
χ2 = 328590 and p-value = 2.2 ×10−16
4. Conclusion
Reject Ho since the p-value is less than 0.05.
5. Interpretation

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 There is enough evidence to show that WHO region and income level are dependent when dealing with the disease of leprosy.
WHO can decide how to focus their efforts based on region and income level. Do remember though that the results may not be
valid due to the expected frequencies not all be more than 5.

Homework

Exercise 11.1.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that the results of the test
may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test.
1. The number of people who survived the Titanic based on class and sex is in Example 11.1.5 ("Encyclopedia Titanica,"
2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the class and the sex of a person who survived the Titanic are independent?
Test at the 5% level.
Table 11.1.5 : Surviving the Titanic

Sex
Class Total
Female Male

1st 134 59 193

2nd 94 25 119

3rd 80 58 138

Total 308 142 450

2. Researchers watched groups of dolphins off the coast of Ireland in 1998 to determine what activities the dolphins partake in
at certain times of the day ("Activities of dolphin," 2013). The numbers in Example 11.1.6 represent the number of groups
of dolphins that were partaking in an activity at certain times of days. Is there enough evidence to show that the activity and
the time period are independent for dolphins? Test at the 1% level.
Table 11.1.6 : Dolphin Activity

Period
Activity Row Total
Morning Noon Afternoon Evening

Travel 6 6 14 13 39

Feed 28 4 0 56 88

Social 38 5 9 10 62

Column Total 72 15 23 79 189

3. Is there a relationship between autism and what an infant is fed? To determine if there is, a researcher asked mothers of
autistic and non-autistic children to say what they fed their infant. The data is in Example 11.1.7 (Schultz, Klonoff-Cohen,
Wingard, Askhoomoff, Macera, Ji & Bacher, 2006). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that that what an infant
is fed and autism are independent? Test at the 1% level.
Table 11.1.7 : Autism Versus Breastfeeding

Feeding
Autism Formula with Formula without Row Total
Breast feeding
DHA/ARA DRA/ARA

Yes 12 39 65 116

No 6 22 10 38

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 Column Total 18 61 75 164

4. A person’s educational attainment and age group was collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1984 to see if age group and
educational attainment are related. The counts in thousands are in Example 11.1.8 ("Education by age," 2013). Do the data
show that educational attainment and age are independent? Test at the 5% level.
Table 11.1.8 : Educational Attainment and Age Group

Age Group
Education Row Total
25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 >64

Did not
5416 5030 5777 7606 13746 37575
complete HS

Completed HS 16431 1855 9435 8795 7558 44074

College 1-3
8555 5576 3124 2524 2503 22282
years

College 4 or
9771 7596 3904 3109 2483 26863
more years

Column Total 40173 20057 22240 22034 26290 130794

5. Students at multiple grade schools were asked what their personal goal (get good grades, be popular, be good at sports) was
and how important good grades were to them (1 very important and 4 least important). The data is in Example 11.1.9
("Popular kids datafile," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that goal attainment and importance of grades
are independent? Test at the 5% level.
Table 11.1.9 : Personal Goal and Importance of Grades

Grades Importance Rating

Goal Row Total
1 2 3 4

Grades 70 66 55 56 247

Popular 14 33 45 49 141

Sports 10 24 33 23 90

Column Total 94 123 133 128 478

6. Students at multiple grade schools were asked what their personal goal (get good grades, be popular, be good at sports) was
and how important being good at sports were to them (1 very important and 4 least important). The data is in Example
11.1.10 ("Popular kids datafile," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that goal attainment and importance

of sports are independent? Test at the 5% level.

Table 11.1.10: Personal Goal and Importance of Sports

Sports Importance Rating

Goal Row Total
1 2 3 4

Grades 83 81 55 28 247

Popular 32 49 43 17 141

Sports 50 24 14 2 90

Column Total 165 154 112 47 478

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 7. Students at multiple grade schools were asked what their personal goal (get good grades, be popular, be good at sports) was
and how important having good looks were to them (1 very important and 4 least important). The data is in Example
11.1.11 ("Popular kids datafile," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that goal attainment and importance

of looks are independent? Test at the 5% level.

Table 11.1.11: Personal Goal and Importance of Looks

Looks Importance Rating

Goal Row Total
1 2 3 4

Grades 80 66 66 35 247

Popular 81 30 18 12 141

Sports 24 30 17 19 90

Column Total 185 126 101 66 478

8. Students at multiple grade schools were asked what their personal goal (get good grades, be popular, be good at sports) was
and how important having money were to them (1 very important and 4 least important). The data is in Example 11.1.12
("Popular kids datafile," 2013). Do the data provide enough evidence to show that goal attainment and importance of
money are independent? Test at the 5% level.
Table 11.1.12: Personal Goal and Importance of Money

Money Importance Rating

Goal Row Total
1 2 3 4

Grades 14 34 71 128 247

Popular 14 29 35 63 141

Sports 6 12 26 46 90

Column Total 34 75 132 237 478

Answer
For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. See solutions for the entire answer.
1. Reject Ho
3. Reject Ho
5. Reject Ho
7. Reject Ho

This page titled 11.1: Chi-Square Test for Independence is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by
Kathryn Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

11.1.11 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5227
11.2: Chi-Square Goodness of Fit
In probability, you calculated probabilities using both experimental and theoretical methods. There are times when it is important to
determine how well the experimental values match the theoretical values. An example of this is if you wish to verify if a die is fair.
To determine if observed values fit the expected values, you want to see if the difference between observed values and expected
values is large enough to say that the test statistic is unlikely to happen if you assume that the observed values fit the expected
values. The test statistic in this case is also the chi-square. The process is the same as for the chi-square test for independence.

Hypothesis Test for Goodness of Fit Test

1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : The data are consistent with a specific distribution
HA : The data are not consistent with a specific distribution
Also, state your α level here.
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample is taken.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5 (The expected frequencies, E, will be calculated later, and
this assumption means E ≥ 5 ).
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
Finding the test statistic involves several steps. First the data is collected and counted, and then it is organized into a table (in a
table each entry is called a cell). These values are known as the observed frequencies, which the symbol for an observed
frequency is O. The table is made up of k entries. The total number of observed frequencies is n. The expected frequencies are
calculated by multiplying the probability of each entry, p, times n.
Expected frequency( entry i ) = E np
=
∗

Test Statistic:

χ ∑
O E
( −
2
)

E
2
=

where O is the observed frequency and E is the expected frequency.

Again, the test statistic involves squaring the differences, so the test statistics are all positive. Thus a chi-squared test for goodness
of fit is always right tailed.
p-value:
Using the TI-83/84: χ cdf ( lower limit, 1E99, df )
Using R: 1 − pchisq χ df )
( 2
,

Where the degrees of freedom is df = k - 1

4. Conclusion
This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then fail to
reject Ho ,
5. Interpretation
This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

Example 11.2.1 goodness of fit test using the formula

Suppose you have a die that you are curious if it is fair or not. If it is fair then the proportion for each value should be the same.
You need to find the observed frequencies and to accomplish this you roll the die 500 times and count how often each side
comes up. The data is in Example 11.2.1. Do the data show that the die is fair? Test at the 5% level.
Table 11.2.1 : Observed Frequencies of Die
Die values 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total

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 Observed
78 87 87 76 85 87 100
Frequency

Solution
1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : The observed frequencies are consistent with the distribution for fair die (the die is fair)
HA : The observed frequencies are not consistent with the distribution for fair die (the die is not fair)
α = 0.05
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample is taken since each throw of a die is a random event.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5. See step 3.
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
First you need to find the probability of rolling each side of the die. The sample space for rolling a die is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}.
Since you are assuming that the die is fair, then P (1) = P (2) = P (3) = P (4) = P (5) = P (6) =
1
.
6

Now you can find the expected frequency for each side of the die. Since all the probabilities are the same, then each expected
frequency is the same.

Expected Frequency = E np
=
∗
= 500 ∗
1

6
≈ 83.33

Test Statistic:
It is easier to calculate the test statistic using a table.
Table 11.2.2 : Calculation of the Chi-Square Test Statistic

O E O-E O E 2
( O E
− )
2

E
( − )

78 83.33 -5.22 28.4089 0.340920437

87 83.33 3.67 13.4689 0.161633265

87 83.33 3.67 13.4689 0.161633265

76 83.33 -7.33 53.7289 0.644772591

85 83.33 1.67 2.7889 0.033468139

87 83.33 3.67 13.4689 0.161633265

Total 0.02 χ
2
≈ 1.504060962

The test statistic is χ2

≈ 1.504060962

The degrees of freedom are df = k - 1 = 6 - 1 = 5

Using TI-83/84: p − value = χ 2
cdf(1.50406096, 1 E 99, 5) ≈ 0.913

Using R: p − value = 1 − pchisq (1.50406096, 5) ≈ 0.9126007

4. Conclusion
Fail to reject Ho since the p-value is greater than 0.05.
5. Interpretation
There is not enough evidence to show that the die is not consistent with the distribution for a fair die. There is not enough
evidence to show that the die is not fair.

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Example 11.2.2 goodness of fit test using technology

Suppose you have a die that you are curious if it is fair or not. If it is fair then the proportion for each value should be the same.
You need to find the observed frequencies and to accomplish this you roll the die 500 times and count how often each side
comes up. The data is in Example 11.2.1. Do the data show that the die is fair? Test at the 5% level.
Solution
1. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho : The observed frequencies are consistent with the distribution for fair die (the die is fair)
HA : The observed frequencies are not consistent with the distribution for fair die (the die is not fair)
α = 0.05
2. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample is taken since each throw of a die is a random event.
b. Expected frequencies for each cell are greater than or equal to 5. See step 3.
3. Find the test statistic and p-value
Using the TI-83/84 calculator:
Using the TI-83:
To use the TI-83 calculator to compute the test statistic, you must first put the data into the calculator. Type the observed
frequencies into L1 and the expected frequencies into L2. Then you will need to go to L3, arrow up onto the name, and type in
(L1 − L2 )∧ 2/ L2. Now you use 1-Var Stats L3 to find the total. See Figure 11.2.1 for the initial setup, Figure 11.2.2 for the
results of that calculation, and Figure 11.2.3 for the result of the 1-Var Stats L3.

Figure 11.2.1 : Input into TI-83

Figure 11.2.2 : Result for L3 on TI-83
Figure 11.2.3 : 1-Var Stats L3 Result on TI-83
The total is the chi-square value, χ =
2
∑x ≈ 1.50406 .

The p-value is found using p − value = χ cdf(1.50406096, 1E 99, 5) ≈ 0.913, where the degrees of freedom is df = k - 1 = 6
2

- 1 = 5.
Using the TI-84:
To run the test on the TI-84, type the observed frequencies into L1 and the expected frequencies into L2, then go into STAT,
move over to TEST and choose χ2 GOF-Test from the list. The setup for the test is in Figure 11.2.4.

Figure 11.2.4 : Setup for Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test on TI-84

Once you press ENTER on Calculate you will see the results in Figure 11.2.5.

Figure 11.2.5 : Results for Chi-Square Test on TI-83/84

The test statistic is χ ≈ 1.504060962
2

The p-value ≈ 0.913

The CNTRB represent the

(O − E) 2
for each die value. You can see the values by pressing the right arrow.
E
Using R:
Type in the observed frequencies. Call it something like observed.
observed<- c(type in data with commas in between)
Type in the probabilities that you are comparing to the observed frequencies.
Call it something like null.probs.
null.probs <- c(type in probabilities with commas in between)
chisq.test(observed, p=null.probs) – the command for the hypothesis test

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 For this example (Note since you are looking to see if the die is fair, then the probability of each side of a fair die coming up is
1/6.)
observed<-c(78, 87, 87, 76, 85, 87)
null.probs<-c(1/6, 1/6, 1/6, 1/6, 1/6, 1/6)
chisq.test(observed, p=null.probs)
Output:
Chi-squared test for given probabilities
data: observed
X-squared = 1.504, df = 5, p-value = 0.9126
The test statistic is χ
2
= 1.504 and the p-value = 0.9126.
4. Conclusion
Fail to reject Ho since the p-value is greater than 0.05.
5. Interpretation
There is not enough evidence to show that the die is not consistent with the distribution for a fair die. There is not enough
evidence to show that the die is not fair.

Homework
Exercise 11.2.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that the results of the test
may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test.
1. According to the M&M candy company, the expected proportion can be found in Example 11.2.3. In addition, the table
contains the number of M&M’s of each color that were found in a case of candy (Madison, 2013). At the 5% level, do the
observed frequencies support the claim of M&M?
Table 11.2.3 : M&M Observed and Proportions
Blue Brown Green Orange Red Yellow Total

Observed
481 371 483 544 372 369 2620
Frequencies
Expected
0.24 0.13 0.16 0.20 0.13 0.14
Proportion

2. Eyeglassomatic manufactures eyeglasses for different retailers. They test to see how many defective lenses they made the
time period of January 1 to March 31. Example 11.2.4 gives the defect and the number of defects. Do the data support the
notion that each defect type occurs in the same proportion? Test at the 10% level.
Table 11.2.4 : Number of Defective Lenses

Defect type Number of defects

Scratch 5865

Right shaped - small 4613

Flaked 1992

Wrong axis 1838

Chamfer wrong 1596

Crazing, cracks 1546

Wrong shape 1485

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 Defect type Number of defects

Wrong PD 1398

Spots and bubbles 1371

Wrong height 1130

Right shape - big 1105

Lost in lab 976

Spots/bubble - intern 976

3. On occasion, medical studies need to model the proportion of the population that has a disease and compare that to
observed frequencies of the disease actually occurring. Suppose the end-stage renal failure in south-west Wales was
collected for different age groups. Do the data in Example 11.2.5 show that the observed frequencies are in agreement with
proportion of people in each age group (Boyle, Flowerdew & Williams, 1997)? Test at the 1% level.
Table 11.2.5 : Renal Failure Frequencies
Age Group 16-29 30-44 45-59 60-75 75+ Total
Observed
32 66 132 218 91 539
Frequency
Expected
0.23 0.25 0.22 0.21 0.09
Proportion

4. In Africa in 2011, the number of deaths of a female from cardiovascular disease for different age groups are in Example
11.2.6 ("Global health observatory," 2013). In addition, the proportion of deaths of females from all causes for the same

age groups are also in Example 11.2.6. Do the data show that the death from cardiovascular disease are in the same
proportion as all deaths for the different age groups? Test at the 5% level.
Table 11.2.6 : Deaths of Females for Different Age Groups

Age 5-14 15-29 30-49 50-69 Total

Cardiovascular
9 16 56 433 513
Frequency

All Cause
0.10 0.12 0.26 0.52
Proportion

5. In Australia in 1995, there was a question of whether indigenous people are more likely to die in prison than non-
indigenous people. To figure out, the data in Example 11.2.7 was collected. ("Aboriginal deaths in," 2013). Do the data
show that indigenous people die in the same proportion as non-indigenous people? Test at the 1% level.
Table 11.2.7 : Death of Prisoners

Prisoner Dies Prisoner Did Not Die Total

Indigenous Prisoner
17 2890 2907
Frequency

Frequency of Non-
42 14459 14501
Indigenous Prisoner

6. A project conducted by the Australian Federal Office of Road Safety asked people many questions about their cars. One
question was the reason that a person chooses a given car, and that data is in Example 11.2.8 ("Car preferences," 2013).
Table 11.2.8 : Reason for Choosing a Car

Safety Reliability Cost Performance Comfort Looks

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 84 62 46 34 47 27

Answer
For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. See solutions for the entire answer.
1. Reject Ho
3. Reject Ho
5. Reject Ho

This page titled 11.2: Chi-Square Goodness of Fit is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn
Kozak via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

11.2.6 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5228
11.3: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
There are times where you want to compare three or more population means. One idea is to just test different combinations of two
means. The problem with that is that your chance for a type I error increases. Instead you need a process for analyzing all of them
at the same time. This process is known as analysis of variance (ANOVA). The test statistic for the ANOVA is fairly complicated,
you will want to use technology to find the test statistic and p-value. The test statistic is distributed as an F-distribution, which is
skewed right and depends on degrees of freedom. Since you will use technology to find these, the distribution and the test statistic
will not be presented. Remember, all hypothesis tests are the same process. Note that to obtain a statistically significant result there
need only be a difference between any two of the k means.
Before conducting the hypothesis test, it is helpful to look at the means and standard deviations for each data set. If the sample
means with consideration of the sample standard deviations are different, it may mean that some of the population means are
different. However, do realize that if they are different, it doesn’t provide enough evidence to show the population means are
different. Calculating the sample statistics just gives you an idea that conducting the hypothesis test is a good idea.

Hypothesis test using ANOVA to compare k means

1. State the random variables and the parameters in words
x 1 = random variable 1

x 2 = random variable 2

xk = random variable k
μ 1 = mean of random variable 2

μ 2 = mean of random variable 2

μk = mean of random variable k

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho μ μ μ : 1 = 2 = μk
3 =⋯ =

HA : at least two of the means are not equal

Also, state your α level here.
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample of size ni is taken from each population.
b. All the samples are independent of each other.
c. Each population is normally distributed. The ANOVA test is fairly robust to the assumption especially if the sample sizes
are fairly close to each other. Unless the populations are really not normally distributed and the sample sizes are close to
each other, then this is a loose assumption.
d. The population variances are all equal. If the sample sizes are close to each other, then this is a loose assumption.
4. . Find the test statistic and p-value
The test statistic is F
MSB , where M S SSB is the mean square between the groups (or factors), and M SW
SSW
B
MSW dfB dfW
= = =

is the mean square within the groups. The degrees of freedom between the groups is dfB = k − 1 and the degrees of freedom
within the groups is dfW = n + n + ⋯ + nk − k . To find all of the values, use technology such as the TI-83/84 calculator
1 2

or R.
The test statistic, F, is distributed as an F-distribution, where both degrees of freedom are needed in this distribution. The p-
value is also calculated by the calculator or R.
5. Conclusion
This is where you write reject Ho or fail to reject Ho . The rule is: if the p-value < α , then reject Ho . If the p-value ≥ α , then
fail to reject Ho .
6. Interpretation
This is where you interpret in real world terms the conclusion to the test. The conclusion for a hypothesis test is that you either
have enough evidence to show HA is true, or you do not have enough evidence to show HA is true.

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 H
If you do in fact reject o , then you know that at least two of the means are different. The next question you might ask is which are
different? You can look at the sample means, but realize that these only give a preliminary result. To actually determine which
means are different, you need to conduct other tests. Some of these tests are the range test, multiple comparison tests, Duncan test,
Student-Newman-Keuls test, Tukey test, Scheffé test, Dunnett test, least significant different test, and the Bonferroni test. There is
no consensus on which test to use. These tests are available in statistical computer packages such as Minitab and SPSS.

Example 11.3.1 hypothesis test involving several means

Cancer is a terrible disease. Surviving may depend on the type of cancer the person has. To see if the mean survival time for
several types of cancer are different, data was collected on the survival time in days of patients with one of these cancer in
advanced stage. The data is in Example 11.3.1 ("Cancer survival story," 2013). (Please realize that this data is from 1978.
There have been many advances in cancer treatment, so do not use this data as an indication of survival rates from these
cancers.) Do the data indicate that at least two of the mean survival time for these types of cancer are not all equal? Test at the
1% level.
Table 11.3.1 : Survival Times in Days of Five Cancer Types
Stomach Bronchus Colon Ovary Breast

124 81 248 1234 1235

42 461 377 89 24

25 20 189 201 1581

45 450 1843 356 1166

412 246 180 2970 40

51 166 537 456 727

1112 63 519 3808

46 64 455 791

103 155 406 1804

876 859 365 3460

146 151 942 719

340 166 776

396 37 372

223 163

138 101

72 20

245 283

Solution
1. State the random variables and the parameters in words

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x 1 = survival time from stomach cancer

x 2 = survival time from bronchus cancer

x 3 = survival time from colon cancer

x 4 = survival time from ovarian cancer

x 5 = survival time from breast cancer

μ 1 = mean survival time from breast cancer

μ 1 = mean survival time from bronchus cancer

μ 3 = mean survival time from colon cancer

μ 4 = mean survival time from ovarian cancer

μ 5 = mean survival time from breast cancer

Now before conducting the hypothesis test, look at the means and standard deviations.
x̄
¯
¯
1 = 286 s
1 ≈ 346.31

x̄
¯
¯
2 ≈ 211.59 s
2 ≈ 209.86

x̄
¯
¯
3 ≈ 457.41 s
3 ≈ 427.17

x̄
¯
¯
4 ≈ 884.33 s
4 ≈ 1098.58

x̄
¯
¯
5 ≈ 1395.91 s
5 ≈ 1238.97

There appears to be a difference between at least two of the means, but realize that the standard deviations are very different.
The difference you see may not be significant.
Notice the sample sizes are not the same. The sample sizes are
n1 = 13, n 2 = 17, n
3 = 17, n
4 = 6, n
5 = 11

2. State the null and alternative hypotheses and the level of significance
Ho μ μ μ μ μ
: 1 = 2 = 3 = 4 = 5

HA : at least two of the means are not equal

α = 0.01
3. State and check the assumptions for the hypothesis test
a. A random sample of 13 survival times from stomach cancer was taken. A random sample of 17 survival times from
bronchus cancer was taken. A random sample of 17 survival times from colon cancer was taken. A random sample of 6
survival times from ovarian cancer was taken. A random sample of 11 survival times from breast cancer was taken. These
statements may not be true. This information was not shared as to whether the samples were random or not but it may be
safe to assume that.
b. Since the individuals have different cancers, then the samples are independent.
c. Population of all survival times from stomach cancer is normally distributed.
Population of all survival times from bronchus cancer is normally distributed.
Population of all survival times from colon cancer is normally distributed.
Population of all survival times from ovarian cancer is normally distributed.
Population of all survival times from breast cancer is normally distributed.
Looking at the histograms, box plots and normal quantile plots for each sample, it appears that none of the populations are
normally distributed. The sample sizes are somewhat different for the problem. This assumption may not be true.
d. The population variances are all equal. The sample standard deviations are approximately 346.3, 209.9, 427.2, 1098.6, and
1239.0 respectively. This assumption does not appear to be met, since the sample standard deviations are very different.
The sample sizes are somewhat different for the problem. This assumption may not be true.
4. Find the test statistic and p-value
To find the test statistic and p-value using the TI-83/84, type each data set into L1 through L5. Then go into STAT and over to
TESTS and choose ANOVA(. Then type in L1,L2,L3,L4,L5 and press enter. You will get the results of the ANOVA test.

11.3.3 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5229
 Figure 11.3.1 : Setup for ANOVA on TI-83/84

Figure 11.3.2 : Results of ANOVA on TI-83/84

The test statistic is F ≈ 6.433 and p − value ≈ 2.29 × 10
−4

Just so you know, the Factor information is between the groups and the Error is within the groups. So
M SB ≈ 2883940.13, SSB ≈ 11535760.5, and dfB = 4 and

M SW ≈ 448273.635, SSW ≈ 448273.635, and dfW = 59

To find the test statistic and p-value on R:

The commands would be:
variable=c(type in all data values with commas in between) – this is the response variable
factor=c(rep("factor 1", number of data values for factor 1), rep("factor 2", number of data values for factor 2), etc) – this
separates the data into the different factors that the measurements were based on.

11.3.4 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5229
 data_name = data.frame(variable, factor) – this puts the data into one variable. data_name is the name you give this variable
aov(variable ~ factor, data = data name) – runs the ANOVA analysis
For this example, the commands would be:
time=c(124, 42, 25, 45, 412, 51, 1112, 46, 103, 876, 146, 340, 396, 81, 461, 20, 450, 246, 166, 63, 64, 155, 859, 151, 166, 37,
223, 138, 72, 245, 248, 377, 189, 1843, 180, 537, 519, 455, 406, 365, 942, 776, 372, 163, 101, 20, 283, 1234, 89, 201, 356,
2970, 456, 1235, 24, 1581, 1166, 40, 727, 3808, 791, 1804, 3460, 719)
factor=c(rep("Stomach", 13), rep("Bronchus", 17), rep("Colon", 17), rep("Ovary", 6), rep("Breast", 11))
survival=data.frame(time, factor)
results=aov(time~factor, data=survival)
summary(results)
Df Sum Sq Mean Sq F value Pr(>F)

factor 4 11535761 2883940 6.4333 0.000229 ∗ ∗∗

Residuals 59 26448144 448274

---
Signif. codes: 0 ‘***’ 0.001 ‘**’ 0.01 ‘*’ 0.05 ‘.’ 0.1 ‘ ’ 1
The test statistic is F = 6.433 and the p-value = 0.000229.
5. Conclusion
Reject Ho since the p-value is less than 0.01.
6. Interpretation
There is evidence to show that at least two of the mean survival times from different cancers are not equal.
By examination of the means, it appears that the mean survival time for breast cancer is different from the mean survival times
for both stomach and bronchus cancers. It may also be different for the mean survival time for colon cancer. The others may
not be different enough to actually say for sure.

Homework
Exercise 11.3.1

In each problem show all steps of the hypothesis test. If some of the assumptions are not met, note that the results of the test
may not be correct and then continue the process of the hypothesis test.
1. Cuckoo birds are in the habit of laying their eggs in other birds’ nest. The other birds adopt and hatch the eggs. The lengths
(in cm) of cuckoo birds’ eggs in the other species nests were measured and are in Example 11.3.2 ("Cuckoo eggs in,"
2013). Do the data show that the mean length of cuckoo bird’s eggs is not all the same when put into different nests? Test at
the 5% level.
Table 11.3.2 : Lengths of Cuckoo Bird Eggs in Different Species Nests
Meadow Pipit Tree Pipit Hedge Sparrow Robin Pied Wagtail Wren

19.65 22.25 21.05 20.85 21.05 21.05 19.85

20.05 22.25 21.85 21.65 21.85 21.85 20.05

20.65 22.25 22.05 22.05 22.05 21.85 20.25

20.85 22.25 22.45 22.85 22.05 21.85 20.85

21.65 22.65 22.65 23.05 22.05 22.05 20.85

21.65 22.65 23.25 23.05 22.25 22.45 20.85

21.65 22.85 23.25 23.05 22.45 22.65 21.05

21.85 22.85 23.25 23.05 22.45 23.05 21.05

11.3.5 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5229
 Meadow Pipit Tree Pipit Hedge Sparrow Robin Pied Wagtail Wren

21.85 22.85 23.45 23.45 22.65 23.05 21.05

21.85 22.85 23.45 23.85 23.05 23.25 21.25

22.05 23.05 23.65 23.85 23.05 23.45 21.45

22.05 23.25 23.85 23.85 23.05 24.05 22.05

22.05 23.25 24.05 24.05 23.05 24.05 22.05

22.05 23.45 24.05 25.05 23.05 24.05 22.05

22.05 23.65 24.05 23.25 24.85 22.25

22.05 23.85 23.85

22.05 24.25

22.05 24.45

22.05 22.25

22.05 22.25

22.25 22.25

22.25 22.25

22.25

2. Levi-Strauss Co manufactures clothing. The quality control department measures weekly values of different suppliers for
the percentage difference of waste between the layout on the computer and the actual waste when the clothing is made
(called run-up). The data is in Example 11.3.3, and there are some negative values because sometimes the supplier is able
to layout the pattern better than the computer ("Waste run up," 2013). Do the data show that there is a difference between
some of the suppliers? Test at the 1% level.

Table 11.3.3 : Run-ups for Different Plants Making Levi Strauss Clothing
Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 Plant 5

1.2 16.4 12.1 11.5 24

10.1 -6 9.7 10.2 -3.7

-2 -11.6 7.4 3.8 8.2

1.5 -1.3 -2.1 8.3 9.2

-3 4 10.1 6.6 -9.3

-0.7 17 4.7 10.2 8

3.2 3.8 4.6 8.8 15.8

2.7 4.3 3.9 2.7 22.3

-3.2 10.4 3.6 5.1 3.1

-1.7 4.2 9.6 11.2 16.8

2.4 8.5 9.8 5.9 11.3

0.3 6.3 6.5 13 12.3

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 Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 Plant 5

3.5 9 5.7 6.8 16.9

-0.8 7.1 5.1 14.5

19.4 4.3 3.4 5.2

2.8 19.7 -0.8 7.3

13 3 -3.9 7.1

42.7 7.6 0.9 3.4

1.4 70.2 1.5 0.7

3 8.5

2.4 6

1.3 2.9

3. Several magazines were grouped into three categories based on what level of education of their readers the magazines are
geared towards: high, medium, or low level. Then random samples of the magazines were selected to determine the number
of three-plus-syllable words were in the advertising copy, and the data is in Example 11.3.4 ("Magazine ads readability,"
2013). Is there enough evidence to show that the mean number of three-plus-syllable words in advertising copy is different
for at least two of the education levels? Test at the 5% level.

Table 11.3.4 : Number of Three Plus Syllable Words in Advertising Copy

High Education Medium Education Low Education

34 13 7

21 22 7

37 25 7

31 3 7

10 5 7

24 2 7

39 9 8

10 3 8

17 0 8

18 4 8

32 29 8

17 26 8

3 5 9

10 5 9

6 24 9

5 15 9

6 3 9

11.3.7 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5229
 High Education Medium Education Low Education

6 8 9

4. A study was undertaken to see how accurate food labeling for calories on food that is considered reduced calorie. The
group measured the amount of calories for each item of food and then found the percent difference between measured and
( measured - labeled )
labeled food, ∗ 100% . The group also looked at food that was nationally advertised, regionally
labeled
distributed, or locally prepared. The data is in Example 11.3.5 ("Calories datafile," 2013). Do the data indicate that at least
two of the mean percent differences between the three groups are different? Test at the 10% level.

Table 11.3.5 : Percent Differences Between Measured and Labeled Food

National Advertised Regionally Advertised Locally Prepared

2 41 15

-28 46 60

-6 2 250

8 25 145

6 39 6

-1 16.5 8-

1- 17 95

13 28 3

15 -3

-4 14

-4 34

-18 42

10

-7

-0.5

-10

5. The amount of sodium (in mg) in different types of hotdogs is in Example 11.3.6 ("Hot dogs story," 2013). Is there
sufficient evidence to show that the mean amount of sodium in the types of hotdogs are not all equal? Test at the 5% level.

Table 11.3.6 : Amount of Sodium (in mg) in Beef, Meat, and Poultry Hotdogs
Beef Meat Poultry

495 458 430

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 Beef Meat Poultry

477 506 375

425 473 396

322 545 383

482 496 387

587 360 542

370 387 359

322 386 357

479 507 528

375 393 513

330 405 426

300 372 513

386 144 358

401 511 581

645 405 588

440 428 522

317 339 545

319

298

253

Answer
For all hypothesis tests, just the conclusion is given. See solutions for the entire answer.
1. Reject Ho
3. Reject Ho
5. Fail to reject Ho

Data Source:
Aboriginal deaths in custody. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/custody.html
Activities of dolphin groups. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/general/dolpacti.html
Boyle, P., Flowerdew, R., & Williams, A. (1997). Evaluating the goodness of fit in models of sparse medical data: A simulation
approach. International Journal of Epidemiology, 26(3), 651-656. Retrieved from
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/conten...3/651.full.pdf html
Calories datafile. (2013, December 07). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafiles/Calories.html
Cancer survival story. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories...rSurvival.html
Car preferences. (2013, September 26). Retrieved from http://www.statsci.org/data/oz/carprefs.html
Cuckoo eggs in nest of other birds. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/cuckoo.html
Education by age datafile. (2013, December 05). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafil...tionbyage.html

11.3.9 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5229
Encyclopedia Titanica. (2013, November 09). Retrieved from www.encyclopediatitanica.org/
Global health observatory data respository. (2013, October 09). Retrieved from
http://apps.who.int/gho/athena/data/...t=GHO/MORT_400 &profile=excel&filter=AGEGROUP:YEARS05-
14;AGEGROUP:YEARS15- 29;AGEGROUP:YEARS30-49;AGEGROUP:YEARS50-69;AGEGROUP:YEARS70
;MGHEREG:REG6_AFR;GHECAUSES:*;SEX:*
Hot dogs story. (2013, November 16). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/Hotdogs.html
Leprosy: Number of reported cases by country. (2013, September 04). Retrieved from
http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A1639
Magazine ads readability. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafiles/magadsdat.html
Popular kids datafile. (2013, December 05). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Datafil...pularKids.html
Schultz, S. T., Klonoff-Cohen, H. S., Wingard, D. L., Askhoomoff, N. A., Macera, C. A., Ji, M., & Bacher, C. (2006).
Breastfeeding, infant formula supplementation, and autistic disorder: the results of a parent survey. International Breastfeeding
Journal, 1(16), doi: 10.1186/1746-4358-1-16
Waste run up. (2013, December 04). Retrieved from lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/Stories/wasterunup.html

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 CHAPTER OVERVIEW

12: Appendix- Critical Value Tables

12.1: Critical Values for t-Interval
12.2: Normal Critical Values for Confidence Levels

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1
12.1: Critical Values for t-Interval
Table A.2: Critical Values for t-Interval
Degrees of Freedom
80% 90% 95% 98% 99%
(df)

1 3.078 6.314 12.706 31.821 63.657

2 1.886 2.920 4.303 6.965 9.925

3 1.638 2.353 3.182 4.541 5.841

4 1.533 2.132 2.776 3.747 4.604

5 1.476 2.015 2.571 3.365 4.032

6 1.440 1.943 2.447 3.143 3.707

7 1.415 1.895 2.365 2.998 3.499

8 1.397 1.860 2.306 2.896 3.355

9 1.383 1.833 2.262 2.821 3.250

10 1.372 1.812 2.228 2.764 3.169

11 1.363 1.796 2.201 2.718 3.106

12 1.356 1.782 2.179 2.681 3.055

13 1.350 1.771 2.160 2.650 3.012

14 1.345 .1761 2.145 2.624 2.977

15 1.341 1.753 2.131 2.602 2.947

16 1.337 1.746 2.120 2.583 2.921

17 1.333 1.740 2.110 2.567 2.898

18 1.330 1.734 2.101 2.552 2.878

19 1.328 1.729 2.093 2.539 2.861

20 1.325 1.725 2.086 2.528 2.845

21 1.323 1.721 2.080 2.518 2.831

22 1.321 1.717 2.074 2.508 2.819

23 1.319 1.714 2.069 2.500 2.807

24 1.318 1.711 2.064 2.492 2.797

25 1.316 1.708 2.060 2.485 2.787

26 1.315 1.706 2.056 2.479 2.779

27 1.314 1.703 2.052 2.473 2.771

28 1.313 1.701 2.048 2.467 2.763

29 1.311 1.699 2.045 2.462 2.756

30 1.310 1.697 2.042 2.457 2.750

31 1.309 1.696 2.040 2.453 2.744

32 1.309 1.694 2.037 2.449 2.738

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Degrees of Freedom
80% 90% 95% 98% 99%
(df)

33 1.308 1.692 2.035 2.445 2.733

34 1.307 1.691 2.032 2.441 2.728

35 1.306 1.690 2.030 2.438 2.724

36 1.306 1.688 2.028 2.434 2.719

37 1.305 1.687 2.026 2.431 2.715

38 1.304 1.686 2.024 2.429 2.712

39 1.304 1.685 2.023 2.426 2.712

40 1.303 1.684 2.021 2.423 2.704

41 1.303 1.683 2.020 2.421 2.701

42 1.302 1.682 2.018 2.418 2.698

43 1.302 1.681 2.017 2.416 2.695

44 1.301 1.680 2.015 2.414 2.692

45 1.301 1.679 2.014 2.412 2.690

46 1.300 1.679 2.013 2.410 2.687

47 1.300 1.678 2.012 2.408 2.685

48 1.299 1.677 2.011 2.407 2.682

49 1.299 1.677 2.010 2.405 2.680

50 1.299 1.676 2.009 2.403 2.678

51 1.298 1.675 2.008 2.402 2.676

52 1.298 1.675 2.007 2.400 2.674

53 1.298 1.674 2.006 2.399 2.672

54 1.297 1.674 2.005 2.397 2.670

55 1.297 1.673 2.004 2.396 2.668

56 1.297 1.673 2.003 2.395 2.667

57 1.297 1.672 2.002 2.394 2.665

58 1.296 1.672 2.002 2.392 2.663

59 1.296 1.671 2.001 2.391 2.662

60 1.296 1.671 2.000 2.390 2.660

61 1.296 1.670 2.000 2.389 2.659

62 1.295 1.670 1.999 2.388 2.657

63 1.295 1.669 1.998 2.387 2.656

64 1.295 1.669 1.998 2.386 2.655

65 1.295 1.669 1.997 2.385 2.654

66 1.295 1.668 1.997 2.384 2.652

12.1.2 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/5235
Degrees of Freedom
80% 90% 95% 98% 99%
(df)

67 1.294 1.668 1.996 2.383 2.651

68 1.294 1.668 1.995 2.382 2.650

69 1.294 1.667 1.995 2.382 2.649

70 1.294 1.667 1.994 2.381 2.648

71 1.294 1.667 1.994 2.380 2.647

72 1.293 1.666 1.993 2.379 2.646

73 1.293 1.666 1.993 2.379 2.645

74 1.293 1.666 1.993 2.378 2.644

75 1.293 1.665 1.992 2.377 2.643

76 1.293 1.665 1.992 2.376 2.642

77 1.293 1.665 1.991 2.376 2.641

78 1.292 1.665 1.991 2.375 2.640

79 1.292 1.664 1.990 2.374 2.640

80 1.292 1.664 1.990 2.374 2.639

81 1.292 1.664 1.990 2.373 2.638

82 1.292 1.664 1.989 2.373 2.637

83 1.292 1.663 1.989 2.372 2.636

84 1.292 1.663 1.989 2.372 2.636

85 1.292 1.663 1.988 2.371 2.635

86 1.291 1.663 1.988 2.370 2.634

87 1.291 1.663 1.988 2.370 2.634

88 1.291 1.662 1.987 2.369 2.633

89 1.291 1.662 1.987 2.369 2.632

90 1.291 1.662 1.987 2.368 2.632

91 1.291 1.662 1.986 2.368 2.631

92 1.291 1.662 1.986 2.368 2.630

93 1.291 1.661 1.986 2.367 2.630

94 1.291 1.661 1.986 2.367 2.629

95 1.291 1.661 1.985 2.366 2.629

96 1.290 1.661 1.985 2.366 2.628

97 1.290 1.661 1.985 2.365 2.627

98 1.290 1.661 1.984 2.365 2.627

99 1.290 1.660 1.984 2.365 2.626

100 1.290 1.660 1.984 2.364 2.626

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 Degrees of Freedom
80% 90% 95% 98% 99%
(df)

101 1.290 1.660 1.984 2.364 2.625

102 1.290 1.660 1.983 2.363 2.625

103 1.290 1.660 1.983 2.363 2.624

104 1.290 1.660 1.983 2.363 2.624

105 1.290 1.659 1.983 2.362 2.623

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12.2: Normal Critical Values for Confidence Levels
Table A.1: Normal Critical Values for Confidence Levels
Confidence Level, C Critical Value, Zc

99% 2.575

98% 2.33

95% 1.96

90% 1.645

80% 1.28

Critical values for Zc created using Microsoft Excel

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Index
A E N
ANOVA equally likely outcomes normal distribution
11.3: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) 4.2: Theoretical Probability 6.2: Graphs of the Normal Distribution

B F O
bar graphs frequency distribution overgeneralization
2.1: Qualitative Data 2.2: Quantitative Data 1.4: How Not to Do Statistics
Bernoulli trial
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution H P
binomial experiment hidden bias Pareto charts
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution 1.4: How Not to Do Statistics 2.1: Qualitative Data
binomial probability distribution histogram percentiles
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution 2.2: Quantitative Data 3.3: Ranking
5.3: Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial
Distribution
hypothesis testing pie charts
7.1: Basics of Hypothesis Testing 2.1: Qualitative Data

C
I Q
central limit theorem
6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit
Inferential Theory quartiles
Theorem 4: Probability 3.3: Ranking
Chebyshev’s theorem
3.2: Measures of Spread L R
Chi Square Law of Large Numbers Range
8: Estimation 4.1: Empirical Probability 3.2: Measures of Spread
Complementary events lurking variable
4.2: Theoretical Probability 1.4: How Not to Do Statistics S
confidence intervals sample variance
8.1: Basics of Confidence Intervals M 3.2: Measures of Spread
confounding variable mean sampling distribution
1.4: How Not to Do Statistics 3.1: Measures of Center 6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit
continuous probability distribution median Theorem
6: Continuous Probability Distributions 3.1: Measures of Center
mode T
D 3.1: Measures of Center Theoretical Probabilities
deviation mutually exclusive 4.2: Theoretical Probability
3.2: Measures of Spread 4.2: Theoretical Probability
U
uniform distribution
6.1: Uniform Distribution

1 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/9142
Index
A E N
ANOVA equally likely outcomes normal distribution
11.3: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) 4.2: Theoretical Probability 6.2: Graphs of the Normal Distribution

B F O
bar graphs frequency distribution overgeneralization
2.1: Qualitative Data 2.2: Quantitative Data 1.4: How Not to Do Statistics
Bernoulli trial
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution H P
binomial experiment hidden bias Pareto charts
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution 1.4: How Not to Do Statistics 2.1: Qualitative Data
binomial probability distribution histogram percentiles
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution 2.2: Quantitative Data 3.3: Ranking
5.3: Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial
Distribution
hypothesis testing pie charts
7.1: Basics of Hypothesis Testing 2.1: Qualitative Data

C
I Q
central limit theorem
6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit
Inferential Theory quartiles
Theorem 4: Probability 3.3: Ranking
Chebyshev’s theorem
3.2: Measures of Spread L R
Chi Square Law of Large Numbers Range
8: Estimation 4.1: Empirical Probability 3.2: Measures of Spread
Complementary events lurking variable
4.2: Theoretical Probability 1.4: How Not to Do Statistics S
confidence intervals sample variance
8.1: Basics of Confidence Intervals M 3.2: Measures of Spread
confounding variable mean sampling distribution
1.4: How Not to Do Statistics 3.1: Measures of Center 6.5: Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit
continuous probability distribution median Theorem
6: Continuous Probability Distributions 3.1: Measures of Center
mode T
D 3.1: Measures of Center Theoretical Probabilities
deviation mutually exclusive 4.2: Theoretical Probability
3.2: Measures of Spread 4.2: Theoretical Probability
U
uniform distribution
6.1: Uniform Distribution
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Preface - Undeclared Theorem - CC BY-SA 4.0

1: Statistical Basics - CC BY-SA 4.0 7: One-Sample Inference - CC BY-SA 4.0

1.1: What is Statistics? - CC BY-SA 4.0 7.1: Basics of Hypothesis Testing - CC BY-SA 4.0
1.2: Sampling Methods - CC BY-SA 4.0 7.2: One-Sample Proportion Test - CC BY-SA 4.0
1.3: Experimental Design - CC BY-SA 4.0 7.3: One-Sample Test for the Mean - CC BY-SA 4.0
1.4: How Not to Do Statistics - CC BY-SA 4.0 8: Estimation - CC BY-SA 4.0
2: Graphical Descriptions of Data - CC BY-SA 4.0 8.1: Basics of Confidence Intervals - CC BY-SA 4.0
8.2: One-Sample Interval for the Proportion - CC BY-
2.1: Qualitative Data - CC BY-SA 4.0
SA 4.0
2.2: Quantitative Data - CC BY-SA 4.0
8.3: One-Sample Interval for the Mean - CC BY-SA
2.3: Other Graphical Representations of Data - CC
4.0
BY-SA 4.0
9: Two-Sample Interference - CC BY-SA 4.0
3: Examining the Evidence Using Graphs and Statistics -
CC BY-SA 4.0 9.1: Two Proportions - CC BY-SA 4.0
3.1: Measures of Center - CC BY-SA 4.0 9.2: Paired Samples for Two Means - CC BY-SA 4.0
3.2: Measures of Spread - CC BY-SA 4.0 9.3: Independent Samples for Two Means - CC BY-SA
3.3: Ranking - CC BY-SA 4.0 4.0
9.4: Which Analysis Should You Conduct? - CC BY-
4: Probability - CC BY-SA 4.0
SA 4.0
4.1: Empirical Probability - CC BY-SA 4.0
10: Regression and Correlation - CC BY-SA 4.0
4.2: Theoretical Probability - CC BY-SA 4.0
4.3: Conditional Probability - CC BY-SA 4.0 10.1: Regression - CC BY-SA 4.0
4.4: Counting Techniques - CC BY-SA 4.0 10.2: Correlation - CC BY-SA 4.0
10.3: Inference for Regression and Correlation - CC
5: Discrete Probability Distributions - CC BY-SA 4.0
BY-SA 4.0
5.1: Basics of Probability Distributions - CC BY-SA
11: Chi-Square and ANOVA Tests - CC BY-SA 4.0
4.0
11.1: Chi-Square Test for Independence - CC BY-SA
5.2: Binomial Probability Distribution - CC BY-SA
4.0
4.0
11.2: Chi-Square Goodness of Fit - CC BY-SA 4.0
5.3: Mean and Standard Deviation of Binomial
11.3: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) - CC BY-SA 4.0
Distribution - CC BY-SA 4.0
6: Continuous Probability Distributions - CC BY-SA 4.0 12: Appendix- Critical Value Tables - CC BY-SA 4.0

6.1: Uniform Distribution - CC BY-SA 4.0 12.1: Critical Values for t-Interval - CC BY-SA 4.0

1 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/32574
 12.2: Normal Critical Values for Confidence Levels - Index - Undeclared
CC BY-SA 4.0 Glossary - Undeclared
Back Matter - Undeclared Detailed Licensing - Undeclared
Index - Undeclared

2 https://stats.libretexts.org/@go/page/32574