To avoid the problem of not having access to tables of the F distribution when a one-tailed test is required and with F values given for the lower tail, let the
A) smaller sample variance be the numerator of the test statistic.
B) larger sample variance be the numerator of the test statistic.
C) sample variance from the population with the smaller hypothesized variance be the numerator of the test statistic.
D) sample variance from the population with the larger hypothesized variance be the numerator of the test statistic.

Question

To avoid the problem of not having access to tables of the F distribution when a one-tailed test is required and with F values given for the lower tail, let​ the
A) smaller sample variance be the numerator of the test statistic.
B) larger sample variance be the numerator of the test statistic.
C) sample variance from the population with the smaller hypothesized variance be the numerator of the test statistic.
D) sample variance from the population with the larger hypothesized variance be the numerator of the test statistic.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When conducting a one-tailed test with F values given for the lower tail, the smaller sample variance should be the numerator of the test statistic in order to ensure that the F value is less than 1. This allows for easier comparison to the F distribution table and calculation of the p-value.

To Avoid the Problem of Not Having Access to Tables