Statistics 2: Statistical Inference: cram pack

Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 10 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.

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1Formulas and methods

Normal distribution

z-score
z = (x − μ)/σ
Below x
P(X < x) = Φ(z)
Above x
P(X > x) = 1 − Φ(z)
Between
Φ(z2) − Φ(z1)
Percentile
x = μ + z·σ

Method

  1. Convert the value to a z-score: z = (x − μ)/σ.
  2. Look up Φ(z), the area to the left of z.
  3. For the area to the right use 1 − Φ(z); for an interval subtract the two left areas.
  4. For a percentile, work backwards: find z for the area, then x = μ + z·σ.

Confidence intervals

σ known
x̄ ± z·σ/√n
σ unknown
x̄ ± t·s/√n, df = n − 1
Critical z
90%: 1.645, 95%: 1.96, 99%: 2.576
Sample size
n = (z·σ/E)², rounded up

Method

  1. Decide between z (population σ known) and t (only the sample s, with n − 1 degrees of freedom).
  2. Find the critical value for the confidence level.
  3. Margin of error: E = critical value × standard deviation/√n.
  4. Interval: x̄ ± E.

Hypothesis tests & confidence intervals

z-test for a mean
z = (x̄ − μ0)/(σ/√n)
t-test for a mean
t = (x̄ − μ0)/(s/√n), df = n − 1
Two-sided at 5%
reject H0 if |z| > 1.96
Confidence interval
x̄ ± z·σ/√n

Method

  1. State H₀ and H₁ and decide whether the test is one- or two-sided.
  2. Calculate the test statistic: (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n), or with s and t.
  3. Compare with the critical value, or find the p-value.
  4. Reject H₀ if the statistic is beyond the critical value (p below α), and state the conclusion in words.

Linear regression & correlation

Sums of squares
Sxx = Σ(x − x̄)² = Σx² − (Σx)²/n, Sxy = Σxy − ΣxΣy/n
Slope
b = Sxy/Sxx
Intercept
a = ȳ − b·x̄
Correlation
r = Sxy/√(SxxSyy)
Residual
e = y − ŷ

Chi-square tests

Test statistic
χ² = Σ(O − E)²/E
Goodness of fit
E = n·p, df = k − 1 − (estimated parameters)
Independence
E = row total × column total / grand total, df = (r − 1)(c − 1)
Critical values (α = 0.05)
df 1: 3.841, 2: 5.991, 3: 7.815, 4: 9.488
Decision
reject H0 if χ² > χ²crit

2Practice problems

1.Normal distributionMedium
640 g649.6 gT = X₁ + … + X₁₆?

The masses of bolts are independent and normal with mean 40 g and standard deviation 1.2 g. Find the probability P that the total mass of 16 of them exceeds 649.6 g. Round z to two decimals.

μ = 40 gσ = 1.2 gn = 16> 649.6 g
P =
2.Normal distributionHard
235240245250255260265gbottom 85%

The bag weights are normally distributed with mean 250 g and standard deviation 5 g. Drag the cut-off so the shaded bottom 85% is to the left of it. Find the cut-off x.

μ = 250 gσ = 5 g85%
x = g
3.Confidence intervalsMedium
μ₁ − μ₂0L = ?Ux̄₁ − x̄₂E99%

The battery life of two phone models is compared. Model 1: 100 phones, mean 112.5 h, known standard deviation 3 h. Model 2: 60 phones, mean 108 h, known standard deviation 9 h. Find the lower limit of the 99% confidence interval for μ₁ − μ₂.

n₁ = 100x̄₁ = 112.5 hσ₁ = 3 hn₂ = 60x̄₂ = 108 hσ₂ = 9 h99%
lower limit = h
4.Confidence intervalsHard
σ = 39, n = ?x̄ − Ex̄ + Ex̄E = 1.590%

The population standard deviation is 39. How large a sample n do you need so that a 90% confidence interval for the mean has a margin of error of at most 1.5?

σ = 39E = 1.590%
n =
5.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervalsMedium
t −2.0302.03

A sample of 36 students has a mean score of 114.8 and a sample standard deviation of 10. Find the test statistic t for H₀: μ = 120.

μ₀ = 120x̄ = 114.8s = 10n = 36
t =
6.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervalsHard
σ = 15, n = ?x̄ − Ex̄ + Ex̄E = 1.599%

How large must a sample be so that the 99% confidence interval for a mean has a margin of error of at most 1.5? The standard deviation is 15. Find the smallest sample size n.

σ = 15E = 1.599%
n =
7.Linear regression & correlationMedium
xy354453557661757xy465560

The table gives 5 paired observations of x = hours studied and y = exam score. Find the coefficient of determination r² of the least-squares line.

n = 5
r² =
8.Linear regression & correlationHard
xy230327436538642738xy246303540ŷ = 40

The table gives 6 paired observations of x = advertising spend in k€ and y = sales in k€. Use the least-squares line ŷ = a + b·x. For which value x does the line predict ŷ = 40?

n = 6ŷ = 40
x =
9.Chi-square testsMedium
lowmediumhighTotalurban321949100rural284131100Total606080200

The contingency table shows observed counts. Compute the chi-square statistic χ² for the test of independence between the row and column variables. Do not use a continuity correction.

N = 2002 × 3
χ² =
10.Chi-square testsHard
dfα = 0.05α = 0.0113.8416.63525.9919.21037.81511.34549.48813.277511.07015.086612.59216.812714.06718.475815.50720.090916.91921.6661018.30723.209

A chi-square test of independence is carried out on a contingency table with 2 rows and 11 columns (not counting the totals). Using the table, find the critical value χ²crit at significance level α = 0.05.

α = 0.05
χ²crit =

3Solutions

1.Normal distribution

Answer: P = 0.02275

Sums and differences of normal variables: if X and Y are independent and normal, X + Y and X − Y are normal too. Means add or subtract: E(X ± Y) = μX ± μY. Variances always add, also for a difference: Var(X ± Y) = σX² + σY², so σ = √(σX² + σY²). Standard deviations never add directly. The total of n independent items with the same distribution has mean n·μ and standard deviation σ·√n. Then standardise as usual: z = (x − mean)/σ and read Φ(z).

Distribution of the total

μT = 640 g, σT = 1.2·√16 = 4.8 g

Standardise

z = (649.6 − 640)/4.8 = 2

Probability

P = 1 − Φ(2) = 0.02275

Answer

P = 0.02275
2.Normal distribution

Answer: x = 255.2 g

From an area back to z: Φ(z) is the area to the left of z. For a left-tail area A, find z with Φ(z) = A in the table. A right-tail area A means Φ(z) = 1 − A. A central area A between −z and z leaves (1 − A)/2 in each tail, so Φ(z) = (1 + A)/2. For a value x, use x = μ + zσ.

Area to the left

Φ(z) = 0.85

z from the table

z ≈ 1.04

Back to the original units

x = 250 + 1.04·5 = 255.2 g

Answer

x = 255.2 g
3.Confidence intervals

Answer: lower limit = 1.409 h

Interval for a difference: estimate ± critical value × standard error. For two independent means with known σ: SE = √(σ₁²/n₁ + σ₂²/n₂) and z. With equal unknown variances: pooled s_p and t with n₁ + n₂ − 2 degrees of freedom. For paired data, work with the differences: d̄ ± t·s_d/√n.

Point estimate

x̄₁ − x̄₂ = 112.5 − 108 = 4.5

Standard error

SE = √(3²/100 + 9²/60) = 1.2

Margin of error

E = 2.576·1.2 = 3.091

Interval

4.5 ± 3.091 → [1.409, 7.591]

Answer

lower limit = 1.409 h

The interval does not contain 0, so the means differ significantly.

4.Confidence intervals

Answer: n = 1830

Confidence interval for a mean: x̄ ± margin of error. With a known population σ the margin is z·σ/√n; with only the sample standard deviation s, use t with n − 1 degrees of freedom: t·s/√n. Critical values: z = 1.645 (90%), 1.96 (95%), 2.576 (99%). To get a margin E or smaller, you need n ≥ (z·σ/E)², rounded up.

Solve for n

n = (1.645·39/1.5)² = 1829

Round up

A sample size is a whole number, and rounding down would make the margin too large.

n = 1830

Answer

n = 1830
5.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervals

Answer: t = −3.12

Testing a mean: the test statistic measures how many standard errors the sample mean lies from the value claimed in H₀: z = (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n) when σ is known, t = (x̄ − μ₀)/(s/√n) when it is estimated from the sample. A confidence interval is x̄ ± (critical value)·(standard error).

Standard error

SE = 10/√36 = 10/6 = 1.667

Test statistic

t = (114.8 − 120)/1.667 = −3.12

Answer

t = −3.12
t0.025; df = 35 = 2.03

|t| > 2.03, so H₀ is rejected at the 5% level (two-sided).

6.Hypothesis tests & confidence intervals

Answer: n = 664

Testing a mean: the test statistic measures how many standard errors the sample mean lies from the value claimed in H₀: z = (x̄ − μ₀)/(σ/√n) when σ is known, t = (x̄ − μ₀)/(s/√n) when it is estimated from the sample. A confidence interval is x̄ ± (critical value)·(standard error).

Solve for n

n = (2.576·15/1.5)² = 663.6

Round up

n = 664

Answer

n = 664
7.Linear regression & correlation

Answer: r² = 0.5

Least-squares regression: with x̄ and ȳ the means, Sxx = Σ(x − x̄)², Syy = Σ(y − ȳ)² and Sxy = Σ(x − x̄)(y − ȳ), the line ŷ = a + b·x has slope b = Sxy/Sxx and intercept a = ȳ − b·x̄, so it always passes through (x̄, ȳ). Pearson's correlation coefficient r = Sxy/√(Sxx·Syy) lies between −1 and 1; r² is the fraction of the variation in y explained by the line.

Means

x̄ = 25/5 = 5
ȳ = 282/5 = 56.4

Sums of squares and products

Sxx = Σ(x − x̄)² = 10
Sxy = Σ(x − x̄)(y − ȳ) = 14
Syy = Σ(y − ȳ)² = 39.2

Coefficient of determination

r² = 14²/(10·39.2) = 0.5

Answer

r² = 0.5

About 50% of the variation in y is explained by the line.

8.Linear regression & correlation

Answer: x = 6.444

Least-squares regression: with x̄ and ȳ the means, Sxx = Σ(x − x̄)², Syy = Σ(y − ȳ)² and Sxy = Σ(x − x̄)(y − ȳ), the line ŷ = a + b·x has slope b = Sxy/Sxx and intercept a = ȳ − b·x̄, so it always passes through (x̄, ȳ). Pearson's correlation coefficient r = Sxy/√(Sxx·Syy) lies between −1 and 1; r² is the fraction of the variation in y explained by the line.

Means

x̄ = 27/6 = 4.5
ȳ = 211/6 = 35.17

Sums of squares and products

Sxx = Σ(x − x̄)² = 17.5
Sxy = Σ(x − x̄)(y − ȳ) = 43.5

Regression line

b = 43.5/17.5 = 2.486
a = 35.17 − 2.486·4.5 = 23.98
ŷ = 23.98 + 2.486·x

Solve for x

x = (40 − 23.98)/2.486 = 6.444

Answer

x = 6.444
9.Chi-square tests

Answer: χ² = 12.38

Chi-square tests: compare observed counts O with the counts E expected under H₀ using χ² = Σ(O − E)²/E. Goodness of fit: E = n·p for each category, df = k − 1 (minus one more for each parameter estimated from the data). Independence in an r × c table: E = row total × column total / grand total, df = (r − 1)(c − 1). Reject H₀ when χ² exceeds the critical value for the chosen α.

Expected counts

urban: 100·60/200 = 30, 100·60/200 = 30, 100·80/200 = 40
rural: 100·60/200 = 30, 100·60/200 = 30, 100·80/200 = 40

Chi-square statistic

χ² = (32 − 30)²/30 + (19 − 30)²/30 + (49 − 40)²/40 + (28 − 30)²/30 + (41 − 30)²/30 + (31 − 40)²/40
χ² = 12.38

Answer

χ² = 12.38

df = 2. At α = 0.05 the critical value is 5.991, so H₀ (independence) is rejected.

10.Chi-square tests

Answer: χ²crit = 18.31

Chi-square tests: compare observed counts O with the counts E expected under H₀ using χ² = Σ(O − E)²/E. Goodness of fit: E = n·p for each category, df = k − 1 (minus one more for each parameter estimated from the data). Independence in an r × c table: E = row total × column total / grand total, df = (r − 1)(c − 1). Reject H₀ when χ² exceeds the critical value for the chosen α.

Degrees of freedom

df = (2 − 1)·(11 − 1) = 10

Table

χ²crit(df = 10, α = 0.05) = 18.307

Answer

χ²crit = 18.307

Reject H₀ if the computed χ² is larger than this value.

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