Chapter 10.2/12.1/13.

1 Multiple-Choice Review
1. Which of the following is not a property of the t distribution?
A. The density curve of the t distribution is symmetric about 0.
B. The density curve of the t distribution has thicker “tails” than the density curve of the standard normal distribution.
C. The density curve of the t distribution more closely resembles the density curve of the standard normal distribution
when the number of degrees of freedom is small.
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2. The heights (in inches) of adult males in the United States are believed to be normally distributed with mean µ. The
average height of a random sample of 25 American adult males is found to be x = 69.72 inches, with a sample standard
deviation of s = 4.15 inches. A 90% confidence interval for µ is
A. 69.72 ± 1.42.
B. 69.72 ± 1.09.
C. 69.72 ± 1.37.
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3. Do students tend to improve their SAT Mathematics (SAT-M) score the second time they take the test? Four randomly
sampled students who took the test twice received the following scores:

Assume that the change in SAT-M score (= second score - first score) for the population of all students taking the test
twice is normally distributed with mean µd. A 95% confidence interval for µd is
A. 25.0 ± 39.60.
B. 25.0 ± 56.09.
C. 25.0 ± 64.29.
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4. You are thinking of using a t procedure to construct a 95% confidence interval for the unknown mean µ of a population
for a random sample taken from the population. You suspect that the distribution of the population is not normal and may
in fact be strongly skewed. Which of the following statements is then correct?
A. You should not use the t procedure since the population does not have a normal distribution.
B. You can use the t procedure provided that your sample size is large (say, at least 40).
C. You can use the t procedure regardless of the sample size since t procedures are robust against nonnormality.
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5. The distribution of times that a company’s technicians take to respond to trouble calls is normal with mean µ and
standard deviation σ = 0.25 hours. The company advertises that its technicians take an average of no more than 2 hours
to respond to trouble calls from customers. We wish to conduct a test to assess the amount of evidence against the
company’s claim. In a random sample of 25 trouble calls, the average amount of time that technicians took to respond
was 2.1 hours. From these data, the P-value of the appropriate test is
A. 0.9772.
B. 0.0228.
C. 0.0456.
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6. On a national compliance test for diabetics, scores have mean µ = 72 and standard deviation σ = 6. A doctor has
developed a new program for informing diabetics how to manage the disease and wants to know whether diabetics using
this program have a significantly different average score on the test than the national average. For a sample of 60
diabetics who used the program, the sample mean test score was 73.5. A boxplot of the 60 scores reveals considerable
skewness. Which of the following statements is true?
A. The P-value of the test is 0.0524.
B. The P-value of the test is 0.0262.
C. We cannot use the test based on the standard normal distribution in this case because the distribution of scores is not
normal.
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7. We wish to test H0: µ = 10 against Ha: µ > 10, where µ is the unknown mean of a normal population for which the
standard deviation σ is also unknown. We draw an SRS of size n = 13 from the population and compute the value of the
test statistic, t. From the table of critical values of the t distribution, find the critical value t* that we would compare against
the value of t to make a decision about the significance of the test results at significance level α = 0.05.
A. 1.771
B. 1.782
C. 2.179
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8. We wish to see whether the dial temperature for a certain model oven is properly calibrated. Four ovens of a certain
model are selected at random. The dial on each oven is set to 300°F. After one hour, the actual temper ature of each oven
is measured. The observed temperatures are 305°, 31 0°, 300°, and 305°. Assuming that actual temperatur es for this
model when the dial is set to 300° are normally dis tributed with mean µ, we test to see whether the oven is properly
calibrated by testing H0: µ = 300 against a two-sided alternative. From the data, the P-value for this test is
A. between 0.01 and 0.025.
B. between 0.025 and 0.05.
C. between 0.05 and 0.10.
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9. A local teachers’ union claims that the average number of school days missed due to illness by the city’s school
teachers is fewer than 5 per year. A random sample of 28 city school teachers missed an average of 4.5 days last year,
with a sample standard deviation of 0.9 days. Assume that “days missed” follow a normal distribution with mean µ. A test
conducted to see whether there is evidence to support the union’s claim would have a P-value of
A. between 0.0025 and 0.005.
B. between 0.001 and 0.0025.
C. between 0.005 and 0.01.
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10. You are thinking of using the t test to test a hypothesis about the mean of a population. A random sample of size n
from the population has a slightly skewed distribution with no apparent outliers. For which of the following sample sizes n
could you not justify using the t test?
A. 5
B. 20
C. neither (A) nor (B). (That is, we can justify using the t test in either case.)
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11. In which of the following situations would it not be appropriate to use the t test for a population mean? (Assume that
standard deviations are unknown and normality conditions are satisfied in all cases; the question relates to whether the
procedure itself would be appropriate.)
A. We compare the average blood pressure of a random sample of patients before using a new drug to control high blood
pressure and after the patients have been using the new drug for a specified period of time.
B. We compare the average blood pressure of a random sample of adult male patients to a known “baseline” value for
that particular population.
C. We compare the average blood pressures of independently gathered random samples of men and women.
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12. An advertisement for Chain X, a certain regional supermarket chain, claimed that the chain has had consistently lower
prices than its regional competitors. As part of a survey conducted by an independent price-checking company, the
average weekly grocery bill (based on the prices of approximately 95 commonly purchased items) was recorded for Chain
X and one of its leading competitors during four randomly selected weeks. The bills (rounded to the nearest dollar) were
as follows:

We wish to conduct a test of H0: µd = 0 vs. Ha: µd < 0, where µd = the average difference between the Chain X bill and the
competitor’s bill during a particular week. (Assume that differences are normally distributed.) The P-value for this test is
A. less than 0.01.
B. between 0.025 and 0.05.
C. between 0.05 and 0.10.
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13. We want to use the t test for a population mean difference µd to test the claim H0: µd = 1. For five paired observations,
the differences are 4, -1, 4, 0, and 3. The approximate value of the test statistic in this case is
A. 0.95.
B. 1.91.
C. 2.13.
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14. The SAT scores of entering freshmen at X University have a normal distribution with mean µ1 = 1200 and standard
deviation σ1 = 90, while the SAT scores of entering freshmen at Y University have a normal distribution with mean µ2 =
1215 and standard deviation σ2 = 110. Independent random samples of 100 freshmen are selected from each university.
The probability that the sample mean from X University exceeds the sample mean from Y University is
A. 0.1446.
B. 0.0475.
C. 0.8554.
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15. Scores on this year’s SAT Mathematics (SAT-M) test for students taking the SAT-M for the first time are believed to be
normally distributed with mean µ1. For students taking the test for the second time, this year’s scores are also believed to
be normally distributed but with a possibly different mean µ2. The standard deviations of SAT-M scores for first- and
second-time test takers appear to stay relatively consistent from year to year and can be assumed known, with value σ1 =
100 for first-time test takers and value σ2 = 90 for second-time test takers. Independent random samples were obtained of
100 students who took the SAT-M for the first time this year and 36 students who took the SAT-M for the second time this
year. The sample mean score for the 100 first-time test takers was x1 = 504.5, and the sample mean score for the 36
second-time test takers was x2 = 539.1. A 95% confidence interval for the difference µ2 - µ1 is
A. 34.6 ± 29.66.
B. 34.6 ± 35.33.
C. -34.6 ± 35.33.
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16. A researcher wishes to compare the effects of two stepping heights (low and high) on heart rate in a step-aerobics
workout. A sample of 50 adults in roughly similar physical condition was randomly divided into two groups of 25 subjects
each. Group 1 did a standard step-aerobics workout using the low stepping height. The sample mean heart rate at the
end of Group 1’s workout was x1 = 90 beats per minute (bpm), with a sample standard deviation of s1 = 9 bpm. Group 2
did the same workout but used the high stepping height. The sample mean heart rate at the end of Group 2’s workout was
x2 = 95.08 bpm, with a sample standard deviation of s2 = 12 bpm. Assume that the two sets of data are independently
generated and that both data distributions are approximately normal. Let µ1 and µ2 represent the mean heart rates we
would observe for the entire population of interest if all members of the population did the workout using the low and high
stepping height, respectively. Suppose that the researcher wishes to test the hypotheses H0: µ1 = µ2, and Ha: µ1 < µ2.
Using the conservative value for the number of degrees of freedom, the P-value of the test is
A. larger than 0.10.
B. between 0.05 and 0.10.
C. between 0.01 and 0.05.
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17. Independent random samples of 9 observations from each of two normally distributed populations are taken and the
following results obtained: Sample from population 1: 10.2, 10.6, 10.7, 10.4, 10.5, 10, 10.2, 10.7, 10.4
Sample from population 2: 9.9, 9.4, 9.3, 9.6, 10.2, 10.6, 10.3, 10, 10.3
The sample standard deviations are found to be s1 ≈ 0.242 and s2 ≈ 0.445. What is the standard error of the sample mean
difference x1 − x2 ?
A. 0.229.
B. 0.056.
C. 0.169.
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18. A sportswriter wishes to see if a football filled with helium travels farther, on average, than a football filled with air. To
test this theory, the writer uses 18 male subjects, randomly divided into two groups of 9 subjects each. Group 1 kicks a
football filled with helium to the recommended pressure, while Group 2 kicks a football filled with air to the same pressure.
The sample mean yardage for Group 1 was x1 = 30 yards, with a sample standard deviation of s1 = 8 yards. The sample
mean yardage from Group 2 was x2 = 26 yards, with a sample standard deviation of s2 = 6 yards. Assume that the two
groups of kicks are independent. Let µ1 and µ2 represent the mean yardage observed for the entire population if all
members of the population kicked a helium-filled football and an air-filled football, respectively. Assuming that two-sample
t procedures are safe to use, and using the conservative value for the number of degrees of freedom, a 90% confidence
interval for µ1 – µ2 is (approximately)
A. 4 ± 5.5 yards.
B. 4 ± 6.2 yards.
C. 4 ± 7.7 yards.

19. Some agricultural researchers have conjectured that stem-pitting disease in peach tree seedlings might be controlled
through weed and soil treatments. An experiment was conducted to compare seedling growth with soil and weeds treated
with one of two herbicides. In a field containing 10 seedlings, 5 were randomly selected and assigned to be treated with
Herbicide A; the remaining 5 seedlings were treated with Herbicide B. Soil and weeds for each seedling were treated with
the appropriate herbicide. At the end of the study period, the height (in centimeters) was recorded for each seedling. A
90% confidence interval for the difference µA–µB in mean seedling height for the two herbicides was found to be (0.2,
14.6). From this result, which of the following statements is correct?
A. The P-value for a test of H0:µA = µB against Ha:µA ≠ µB would be greater than 0.10, since the interval doesn’t contain 0.
B. A 95% confidence interval would not include 0 either, since we would be even more confident that a significant
difference exists between the two groups.
C. Neither (A) nor (B) is correct.
My Solution to Test 2004B/#4a
AP Solutions to Test 2004B/#4
My Solution to Test 2001/#5
AP Solutions to Test 2001/#5