Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Population Variance
Population variance is a measure of the dispersion of a set of values in a population. It quantifies how much the values in the population deviate from the population mean. The formula for population variance is the average of the squared differences from the mean, which helps in understanding the spread of data points in relation to the mean.
Recommended video:
Population Standard Deviation Known
Hypothesis Testing
Hypothesis testing is a statistical method used to make inferences about population parameters based on sample data. In testing for population variance or standard deviation, we typically set up a null hypothesis (e.g., the population variance equals a specific value) and an alternative hypothesis. We then use statistical tests, such as the Chi-square test, to determine if there is enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis.
Recommended video:
Chi-Square Test
The Chi-square test is a statistical test commonly used to assess whether observed data deviates from expected data under a specific hypothesis. When testing for population variance, the Chi-square test compares the sample variance to a hypothesized population variance. The test statistic follows a Chi-square distribution, allowing researchers to determine the significance of their results based on the degrees of freedom.
Recommended video:
Intro to Least Squares Regression