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The next example is a poem written by a statistics student named Nicole Hart. The solution to the problem follows the poem. Notice that the hypothesis test is for a single population proportion. This means that the null and alternate hypotheses use the parameter p . The distribution for the test is normal. The estimated proportion p ′ is the proportion of fleas killed to the total fleas found on Fido. This is sample information. The problem gives a preconceived α = 0.01, for comparison, and a 95% confidence interval computation. The poem is clever and humorous, so please enjoy it!

My dog has so many fleas,
They do not come off with ease.
As for shampoo, I have tried many types
Even one called Bubble Hype,
Which only killed 25% of the fleas,
Unfortunately I was not pleased.
I've used all kinds of soap,
Until I had given up hope
Until one day I saw
An ad that put me in awe.
A shampoo used for dogs
Called GOOD ENOUGH to Clean a Hog
Guaranteed to kill more fleas.
I gave Fido a bath
And after doing the math
His number of fleas
Started dropping by 3's!
Before his shampoo
I counted 42.
At the end of his bath,
I redid the math
And the new shampoo had killed 17 fleas.
So now I was pleased.
Now it is time for you to have some fun
With the level of significance being .01,
You must help me figure out
Use the new shampoo or go without?

Set up the hypothesis test:

H 0 : p ≤ 0.25    H a : p >0.25

Determine the distribution needed:

In words, CLEARLY state what your random variable X ¯ or P′ represents.

P′ = The proportion of fleas that are killed by the new shampoo

State the distribution to use for the test.

Normal.

Test Statistic: z = 2.3163

Calculate the p -value using the normal distribution for proportions:

p -value = 0.0103

In one to two complete sentences, explain what the p -value means for this problem.

If the null hypothesis is true (the proportion is 0.25), then there is a 0.0103 probability that the sample (estimated) proportion is 0.4048 ( 17 42 ) or more.

Use the previous information to sketch a picture of this situation. CLEARLY, label and scale the horizontal axis and shade the region(s) corresponding to the p -value.

Normal distribution graph of the proportion of fleas killed by the new shampoo with values of 0.25 and 0.4048 on the x-axis. A vertical upward line extends from 0.4048 to the curve and the area to the left of this is shaded in. The test statistic of the sample proportion is listed.

Compare α and the p -value:

Indicate the correct decision (“reject” or “do not reject” the null hypothesis), the reason for it, and write an appropriate conclusion, using complete sentences.

alpha decision reason for decision
0.01 Do not reject H 0 α < p -value

Conclusion: At the 1% level of significance, the sample data do not show sufficient evidence that the percentage of fleas that are killed by the new shampoo is more than 25%.

Construct a 95% confidence interval for the true mean or proportion. Include a sketch of the graph of the situation. Label the point estimate and the lower and upper bounds of the confidence interval.

Normal distribution graph of the proportion of fleas killed by the new shampoo with values of 0.26, 17/42, and 0.55 on the x-axis. A vertical upward line extends from 0.26 and 0.55. The area between these two points is equal to 0.95.

Confidence Interval: (0.26,0.55) We are 95% confident that the true population proportion p of fleas that are killed by the new shampoo is between 26% and 55%.

Note

This test result is not very definitive since the p -value is very close to alpha. In reality, one would probably do more tests by giving the dog another bath after the fleas have had a chance to return.

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Source:  OpenStax, Statistics i - math1020 - red river college - version 2015 revision a - draft 2015-10-24. OpenStax CNX. Oct 24, 2015 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11891/1.8
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