Even though this situation is not likely (knowing the population standard deviations), the following example illustrates hypothesis testing for independent means, known population standard deviations. The sampling distribution for the difference between the means is normal, and both populations must be normal. The random variable is
. The normal distribution has the following format:
Normal distribution is
Example 10.6
Independent groups, population standard deviations known: The mean lasting time of two competing floor waxes is to be compared. Twenty floors are randomly assigned to test each wax. Both populations have a normal distribution. The data are recorded in Table 10.8.
Wax | Sample Mean Number of Months Floor Wax Lasts | Population Standard Deviation |
---|---|---|
1 | 3 | 0.33 |
2 | 2.9 | 0.36 |
Does the data indicate that Wax 1 is more effective than Wax 2? Test at a 5 percent level of significance.
The means of the number of revolutions per minute of two competing engines are to be compared. Thirty engines are randomly assigned to be tested. Both populations have normal distributions. Table 10.9 shows the result. Do the data indicate that Engine 2 has higher RPM than Engine 1? Test at a 5 percent level of significance.
Engine | Sample Mean Number of RPM | Population Standard Deviation |
---|---|---|
1 | 1,500 | 50 |
2 | 1,600 | 60 |
Example 10.7
An interested citizen wanted to know if Democratic U.S. senators are older than Republican U.S. senators, on average. On May 26, 2013, the mean age of 30 randomly selected Republican senators was 61 years 247 days (61.675 years) with a standard deviation of 10.17 years. The mean age of 30 randomly selected Democratic senators was 61 years 257 days (61.704 years) with a standard deviation of 9.55 years.
Do the data indicate that Democratic senators are older than Republican senators, on average? Test at a 5 percent level of significance.