A hypothesis regarding the weight of newborn infants at a community hospital is that the mean is 6.6 pounds. A sample of seven infants is randomly selected and their weights at birth are recorded as 9.0, 7.3, 6.0, 8.8, 6.8, 8.4, and 6.6 pounds. What is the alternate hypothesis?
A) µ = 6.6
B) µ $\neq$ 6.6
C) µ $\ge$ 6.6
D) µ 7.6

Question

A hypothesis regarding the weight of newborn infants at a community hospital is that the mean is 6.6 pounds. A sample of seven infants is randomly selected and their weights at birth are recorded as 9.0, 7.3, 6.0, 8.8, 6.8, 8.4, and 6.6 pounds. What is the alternate hypothesis?
A) µ = 6.6
B) µ $\neq$ 6.6
C) µ $\ge$ 6.6
D) µ > 7.6

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The alternate hypothesis is always the opposite of the null hypothesis. In this case, the null hypothesis is that the mean weight of newborn infants is 6.6 pounds, so the alternate hypothesis must be that the mean weight of newborn infants is not 6.6 pounds. Therefore, the best choice is B, which states that µ is not equal to 6.6. Choices A and C are incorrect because they both state that µ is equal to or greater than 6.6, which is the null hypothesis. Choice D is incorrect because it states that µ is greater than 7.6, which is not supported by the given data.

A Hypothesis Regarding the Weight of Newborn Infants at a Community