A simple random sample of size n = 15 is drawn from a population that is normally distributed. The sample variance is found to be 23.8. Determine whether the population variance is less than 25 at the α = 0.01 level of significance.
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Identify the null and alternative hypotheses. Here, the null hypothesis \(H_0\) is that the population variance \(\sigma^2\) is equal to 25, and the alternative hypothesis \(H_a\) is that the population variance is less than 25. So, \(H_0: \sigma^2 = 25\) and \(H_a: \sigma^2 < 25\).
Determine the test statistic to use. Since the population is normally distributed and the sample variance is given, use the chi-square test statistic for variance:
\[\chi^2 = \frac{(n-1)s^2}{\sigma_0^2}\]
where \(n\) is the sample size, \(s^2\) is the sample variance, and \(\sigma_0^2\) is the hypothesized population variance under \(H_0\).
Calculate the degrees of freedom for the chi-square distribution, which is \(df = n - 1\).
Find the critical value from the chi-square distribution table corresponding to the significance level \(\alpha = 0.01\) and the degrees of freedom \(df\). Since this is a left-tailed test (because \(H_a\) is \(\sigma^2 < 25\)), find the critical value \(\chi^2_{\alpha, df}\) such that the area to the left is 0.01.
Compare the calculated test statistic \(\chi^2\) to the critical value. If \(\chi^2\) is less than the critical value, reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the population variance is less than 25 at the 0.01 significance level; otherwise, do not reject \(H_0\).
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Hypothesis Testing for Variance
This involves testing a claim about a population variance using sample data. The null hypothesis typically states that the population variance equals a specific value, while the alternative reflects the claim to be tested. The test determines if sample evidence is strong enough to reject the null at a given significance level.
When sampling from a normally distributed population, the test statistic for variance follows a chi-square distribution with degrees of freedom equal to n - 1. This distribution is used to find critical values and p-values for hypothesis tests about variance.
The significance level (α) defines the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true (Type I error). For a one-tailed test at α = 0.01, the critical region is determined from the chi-square distribution, and the test statistic is compared to this to decide whether to reject the null.