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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.