If we are interested in testing whether the mean of items in population 1 is significantly smaller than the mean of items in population 2, the A) null hypothesis should state μ1- μ2 0 D) alternative hypothesis should state μ1- μ2

Question

If we are interested in testing whether the mean of items in population 1 is significantly smaller than the mean of items in population 2, the
A) null hypothesis should state μ1- μ2 < 0
B) null hypothesis should state P1 - P2 ≥ 0
C) alternative hypothesis should state P1 - P2 > 0
D) alternative hypothesis should state μ1- μ2 < 0

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When testing for a difference in means between two populations, the null hypothesis should state that there is no difference between the means, which can be written as μ1 - μ2 = 0. The alternative hypothesis should state that there is a difference between the means, which can be written as μ1 - μ2 ≠ 0 for a two-tailed test or μ1 - μ2 < 0 for a one-tailed test in which we are specifically interested in whether population 1's mean is smaller than population 2's mean. Therefore, choice D is the correct answer as it correctly states the alternative hypothesis.

If We Are Interested in Testing Whether the Mean of Items