Statistical Literacy and Critical Thinking
In Exercises 1–4, use the results from a Hankook Tire Gauge Index survey of a simple random sample of 1020 adults. Among the 1020 respondents, 86% rated themselves as above average drivers. We want to test the claim that more than 3/4 of adults rate themselves as above average drivers.


Number and Proportions


a. Identify the actual number of respondents who rated themselves as above average drivers.

Interpreting P-value The Ericsson method is one of several methods claimed to increase the likelihood of a baby girl. In a clinical trial, results could be analyzed with a formal hypothesis test with the alternative hypothesis of p > 0.5 which corresponds to the claim that the method increases the likelihood of having a girl, so that the proportion of girls is greater than 0.5. If you have an interest in establishing the success of the method, which of the following P-values would you prefer as a result in your hypothesis test: 0.999, 0.5, 0.95, 0.05, 0.01, 0.001? Why?

Identifying H0 and H1

In Exercises 5–8, do the following:

a. Express the original claim in symbolic form.

b. Identify the null and alternative hypotheses.

Landline Phones Claim: Fewer than 10% of homes have only a landline telephone and no wireless phone. Sample data: A survey by the National Center for Health Statistics showed that among 16,113 homes, 5.8% had landline phones without wireless phones.

Independent Samples Which of the following involve independent samples?

a. Data Set 4 “Measured and Reported” includes measured heights matched with the heights that were reported when the subjects were asked for those values.

Independent Samples Which of the following involve independent samples?

b. Data Set 6 “Births” includes birth weights of a sample of baby boys and a sample of baby girls.

Discarded Plastic Data Set 42 “Garbage Weight” includes weights (pounds) of discarded plastic from 62 different households. Those 62 weights have a mean of 1.911 pounds and a standard deviation of 1.065 pounds. We want to use a 0.05 level of significance to test the claim that this sample is from a population with a mean less than 2.000 pounds. Identify the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis.

Discarded Plastic The P-value for the hypothesis test described in Exercise 1 is 0.2565.

What should be concluded about the null hypothesis?

What is the final conclusion that addresses the original claim?

Hypotheses and Conclusions Refer to the hypothesis test described in Exercise 1.

a. Identify the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis.

Right-Tailed, Left-Tailed, Two-Tailed Is the hypothesis test described in Exercise 1 right-tailed, left-tailed, or two-tailed? Explain your choice.