Hypothesis Testing for Variance and

Standard Deviation

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 1

 Objectives

• How to find critical values for a χ2-test

• How to use the χ2-test to test a variance or a standard
deviation

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 2

 Finding Critical Values for the χ2-Test

1. Specify the level of significance .

2. Determine the degrees of freedom d.f. = n – 1.
3. The critical values for the χ2-distribution are found in Table
(given in ODTUclass). To find the critical value(s) for a
a. right-tailed test, use the value that corresponds to d.f. and
.
b. left-tailed test, use the value that corresponds to d.f. and
1 – .
c. two-tailed test, use the values that corresponds to d.f. and
½ and d.f. and 1 – ½.

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 3

 Finding Critical Values for the χ2-Test

Right-tailed Left-tailed

1–α 
1–α
χ2 χ2
 2
0  2
0

Two-tailed
1
 1
2 
1–α 2

χ2
 L2  R2

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 4

 Example: Finding Critical Values for χ2

Find the critical χ2-value for a left-tailed test when

n = 11 and  = 0.01.
Solution:
•Degrees of freedom: n – 1 = 11 – 1 = 10 d.f.
•The area to the right of the critical value is
1 –  = 1 – 0.01 = 0.99.
0.01

χ2
 02  2 2.558
0
From Chi-Square Table, the critical value is  02 2.558
.
. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 5
Larson/Farber 6th ed. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 66
 Example: Finding Critical Values for χ2
Find the critical χ2-values for a two-tailed test when
n = 9 and  = 0.05.

Solution:
•Degrees of freedom: n – 1 = 9 – 1 = 8 d.f.
•The areas to the right of the critical values are
1
 0.025
2
1
1   0.975
2
From Chi-sq.Table, the critical values are  L2 2.180
 2
and R 17.535
. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 7
 The Chi-Square Test

χ2-Test for a Variance or Standard Deviation

• A statistical test for a population variance or standard
deviation.
• Can only be used when the population is normal.
• The test statistic is s2.
• The standardized test2 statistic
 2 (n  1)s
2
follows a chi-square distribution with degrees of
freedom d.f. = n – 1.

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 8

 Using the χ2-Test for a Variance or
Standard Deviation
In Words In Symbols
1. Verify that the sample is random and
the population is normally
distributed.
2. State the claim mathematically and State H0 and Ha.
verbally. Identify the null and
alternative hypotheses.
3. Specify the level of significance. Identify .
4. Determine the degrees of freedom. d.f. = n – 1
5. Determine any critical value(s). UseTable given in
ODTUClass
. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 9
 Using the χ2-Test for a Variance or
Standard Deviation
In Words In Symbols
5. Determine any rejection
region(s).
6. Find the standardized test 2 (n  1)s 2
 
statistic and sketch the sampling 2
distribution .
If χ2 is in the rejection
7. Make a decision to reject or fail region, reject H0.
to reject the null hypothesis.
Otherwise, fail to
8. Interpret the decision in the reject H0.
context of the original claim.
. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 10
 Example: Hypothesis Test for the
Population Variance
A dairy processing company claims that the variance of
the amount of fat in the whole milk processed by the
company is no more than 0.25. You suspect this is
wrong and find that a random sample of 41 milk
containers has a variance of 0.27. At α = 0.05, is there
enough evidence to reject the company’s claim?
Assume the population is normally distributed.

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 11

 Solution: Hypothesis Test for the
Population Variance
• H0: σ2 ≤ 0.25 • Test Statistic:
• Ha: σ2 > 0.25 (n  1) s 2 (41  1)(0.27)
  2

• α = 0.05 2 0.25
• d.f. = 41 – 1 = 40 43.2
• Rejection Region:
• Decision: Fail to Reject H0
At the 5% level of significance,
 0.05
there is not enough evidence to
χ2 reject the company’s claim that the
55.758 variance of the amount of fat in the
43.2 whole milk is no more than 0.25.
. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 12
 Example: Hypothesis Test for the
Standard Deviation
A company claims that the standard deviation of the
lengths of time it takes an incoming telephone call to be
transferred to the correct office is less than 1.4 minutes.
A random sample of 25 incoming telephone calls has a
standard deviation of 1.1 minutes. At α = 0.10, is there
enough evidence to support the company’s claim?
Assume the population is normally distributed.

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 13

 Solution: Hypothesis Test for the
Standard Deviation
• Test Statistic:
• H0: σ ≥ 1.4 min.
(n  1) s 2 (25  1)(1.1) 2
• Ha: σ < 1.4 min. 2  
2 1.42
• α = 0.10
14.816
• df = 25 – 1 = 24
• Rejection Region: • Decision: Reject H0
At the 10% level of significance, there is
enough evidence to support the claim
that the standard deviation for lengths of
time it takes an incoming telephone call
to be transferred to the correct office is
less than 1.4 minutes.
. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 14
 Example: Hypothesis Test for the
Population Variance
A sporting goods manufacturer claims that the variance
of the strength in a certain fishing line is 15.9. A random
sample of 15 fishing line spools has a variance of 21.8.
At α = 0.05, is there enough evidence to reject the
manufacturer’s claim? Assume the population is
normally distributed.

. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 15

 Solution: Hypothesis Test for the
Population Variance
• H0: σ2 = 15.9 • Test Statistic:
• Ha: σ2 ≠ 15.9 (n  1) s 2 (15  1)(21.8)
  2

• α = 0.05 2 15.9
• df = 15 – 1 = 14 19.195
• Rejection Region:
• Decision: Fail to Reject H0
1
 0.025 At the 5% level of significance,
2
there is not enough evidence to
χ2 reject the claim that the variance in
5.629 26.119 the strength of the fishing line is
19.195 15.9.
. Copyright © 2015, 2012, and 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 16