Laboratory Exercise No.

Hypothesis Testing – One Sample z Test

Course : Experiment No. : 1

Group No. : Section :
Group Members : Date Performed :
Date Submitted :
Instructor :
1. Objective(s)

To be able to fully understand the use of the Minitab 18 statistical software in solving probability
problems.

2. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

At the end of the exercise, the students are expected:

1. To establish a good foundation of ergonomics as a discipline for industrial engineering students

and professionals;

2. To demonstrate skills in gathering details and information pertaining to human factors and
ergonomics; and

3. To understand fully the basic principles and theories that governs the ergonomics discipline.

3. Discussion

Use 1-Sample Z to estimate the mean of a population and to compare it to a target value or a reference
value when you know the standard deviation of the population. Using this analysis, you can do the
following:

1. Determine whether the population mean differs from the hypothesized mean that you specify.
2. Calculate a range of values that is likely to include the population mean.
For example, a quality analyst uses a 1-sample Z-test to determine whether the average thread length of
bolts differs from the target of 20 mm. If the mean differs from the target, the analyst uses the confidence
interval to determine how large the difference is likely to be and whether that difference has practical
significance.

Where to find this analysis

To perform a 1-Sample Z-test, choose Stat > Basic Statistics > 1-Sample Z.

Data considerations for 1-Sample Z

To ensure that your results are valid, consider the following guidelines when you collect data, perform
the analysis, and interpret your results.

The population standard deviation is known

If you do not know the standard deviation of the population, use 1-Sample t.

The data must be continuous.

Continuous data has an infinite number of values between any two values.

The sample data should not be severely skewed, and the sample size should be greater than 20
If your sample size is greater than 20 and the underlying distribution is unimodal and continuous, the
hypothesis test performs appropriately even if the data are mildly skewed. If your sample size is less
than 20, you should graph the data to check for skewness and unusual observations.

4. Materials and Equipment

 Minitab 18
 Computer

5. Procedure

A scientist for a company that manufactures processed food wants to assess the percentage of fat in the
company's bottled sauce. The advertised percentage is 15%. The scientist measures the percentage of fat in
20 random samples. Previous measurements found that the population standard deviation is 2.6%.

The scientist performs a 1-sample Z-test to determine whether the fat percentage differs from 15%.

1. Open the sample data, FatContent.MTW.

2. Choose Stat > Basic Statistics > 1-Sample Z.
3. From the drop-down list, select One or more samples, each in a column and enter Percent Fat.
4. In Known standard deviation, enter 2.6.
5. Select Perform hypothesis test.
6. In Hypothesized mean, enter 15.
7. Click OK.

6. Data and Results

 One-Sample Z: Percent Fat
Descriptive Statistics
N Mean StDev SE Mean 95% CI for μ
20 16.460 2.258 0.581 (15.321, 17.599)
μ: mean of Percent Fat
Known standard deviation = 2.6

Test
Null hypothesis H₀: μ = 15
Alternative hypothesis H₁: μ ≠ 15

Z-Value P-Value
2.51 0.012
7. Data Analysis and Conclusion

Interpret the key results for 1-Sample Z

Step 1: Determine a confidence interval for the population mean

First, consider the sample mean, and then examine the confidence interval.

The mean of the sample data is an estimate of the population mean. Because the mean is based on
sample data and not on the entire population, it is unlikely that the sample mean equals the population
mean. To better estimate the population mean, use the confidence interval.

The confidence interval provides a range of likely values for the population mean. For example, a 95%
confidence level indicates that if you take 100 random samples from the population, you could expect
approximately 95 of the samples to produce intervals that contain the population mean.

Key Result: Confidence Interval

One-Sample Z: Percent Fat
Descriptive Statistics
N Mean StDev SE Mean 95% CI for μ
20 16.460 2.258 0.581 (15.321, 17.599)
μ: mean of Percent Fat
Known standard deviation = 2.6
Step 2: Determine whether the test results are statistically significant

To determine whether the difference between the population mean and the hypothesized mean is
statistically significant, compare the p-value to the significance level. Usually, a significance level
(denoted as α or alpha) of 0.05 works well. A significance level of 0.05 indicates a 5% risk of concluding
that a difference exists when there is no actual difference.
P-value ≤ α: The difference between the means is statistically significant (Reject H0)
If the p-value is less than or equal to the significance level, the decision is to reject the null
hypothesis. You can conclude that the difference between the population mean and the
hypothesized mean is statistically significant.

P-value > α: The difference between the means is not statistically significant (Fail to reject H 0)
If the p-value is greater than the significance level, the decision is to fail to reject the null
hypothesis. You do not have enough evidence to conclude that the difference between the
population mean and the hypothesized mean is statistically significant.

Key Result: P-Value

Test
Null hypothesis H₀: μ = 15
Alternative hypothesis H₁: μ ≠ 15

Z-Value P-Value
2.51 0.012
CONCLUSION:
Reject H0
We therefore conclude that the null hypothesis states that the mean of the percentage of fat is
equal to 15% because the p-value is 0.012, which is less than the significance level of 0.05. The scientist
rejected the null hypothesis. The result indicates that the mean of the percentage of fat is different from
15%.
8. Reflection on the Attainment of Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):
9. Assessment Rubric