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To determine the z-value, we need to first calculate the standard error. To start, we can state the null and alternative hypotheses : Assuming a significance level of p < 0.05, is the company correct in accepting the null hypothesis that the sample does not have different weights on average than the population of metal discs? Suppose that a sample of size 50 has the mean weight of 118 g. Ī company produces metal discs with a mean weight of 120 g and standard deviation of 30 g. If the Z-test statistic is greater than this critical value, then this may provide evidence for rejecting the null hypothesis. For example, the significance level α = 0.01, has a critical value of 2.326. Where, s is the population standard deviation and n is the sample size.įor each significance level, α, the Z-test has a critical value. Where, x is the sample mean, m is the population mean, and SE is the standard error, which can be calculated using the following formula: To calculate a Z-test statistic, the following formula can be used:
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In cases where the population variance is unknown, or the sample size is less than 30, the Student's t-test may be more appropriate. The population is assumed to be normally distributed The variance of the sample is assumed to be the same as the population
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The mean of the sample distribution is known The mean and standard deviation of the population distribution are known Two sample Z-tests are more appropriate for comparing the means of two samples of data. One sample Z-tests are useful when a sample is being compared to a population, such as testing the hypothesis that the distribution of the test statistic follows a normal distribution. The Z-test is used to compare means of two distributions with known variance.
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