9.5 Homework  (Page 4/7)

A recent year was randomly picked from 1985 to the present. In that year, there were 2051 Hispanic students at Cabrillo College out of a total of 12,328 students. At Lake Tahoe College, there were 321 Hispanic students out of a total of 2441 students. In general, do you think that the percent of Hispanic students at the two colleges is basically the same or different? (Source: Chancellor’s Office, California Community Colleges, November 1994 )

Eight runners were convinced that the mean difference in their individual times for running one mile versus race walking one mile was at most 2 minutes. Below are their times. Do you agree that the mean difference is at most 2 minutes?

Marketing companies have collected data implying that teenage girls use more ring tones on their cellular phones than teenage boys do. In one particular study of 40 randomly chosen teenage girls and boys (20 of each) with cellular phones, the mean number of ring tones for the girls was 3.2 with a standard deviation of 1.5. The mean for the boys was 1.7 with a standard deviation of 0.8. Conduct a hypothesis test to determine if the means are approximately the same or if the girls’ mean is higher than the boys’ mean.

While her husband spent 2½ hours picking out new speakers, a statistician decided to determine whether the percent of men who enjoy shopping for electronic equipment is higher than the percent of women who enjoy shopping for electronic equipment. The population was Saturday afternoon shoppers. Out of 67 men, 24 said they enjoyed the activity. 8 of the 24 women surveyed claimed to enjoy the activity. Interpret the results of the survey.

We are interested in whether children’s educational computer software costs less, on average, than children’s entertainment software. 36 educational software titles were randomly picked from a catalog. The mean cost was $31.14 with a standard deviation of $4.69. 35 entertainment software titles were randomly picked from the same catalog. The mean cost was $33.86 with a standard deviation of $10.87. Decide whether children’s educational software costs less, on average, than children’s entertainment software. (Source: Educational Resources , December catalog)

Parents of teenage boys often complain that auto insurance costs more, on average, for teenage boys than for teenage girls. A group of concerned parents examines a random sample of insurance bills. The mean annual cost for 36 teenage boys was $679. For 23 teenage girls, it was $559. From past years, it is known that the population standard deviation for each group is $180. Determine whether or not you believe that the mean cost for auto insurance for teenage boys is greater than that for teenage girls.