9.1 Homework (modified r. bloom)  (Page 2/5)

A particular brand of tires claims that its deluxe tire averages at least 50,000 miles before it needs to be replaced. From past studies of this tire, the standard deviation is known to be 8000. A survey of owners of that tire design is conducted. From the 28 tires surveyed, the average lifespan was 46,500 miles with a standard deviation of 9800 miles. Do the data support the claim at the 5% level?

From generation to generation, the average age when smokers first start to smoke varies. However, the standard deviation of that age remains constant of around 2.1 years. A survey of 40 smokers of this generation was done to see if the average starting age is at least 19. The sample average was 18.1 with a sample standard deviation of 1.3. Do the data support the claim at the 5% level?

The cost of a daily newspaper varies from city to city. However, the variation among prices remains steady with a standard deviation of 6¢. A study was done to test the claim that the average cost of a daily newspaper is 35¢. Twelve costs yield an average cost of 30¢ with a standard deviation of 4¢. Do the data support the claim at the 1% level?

An article in the San Jose Mercury News stated that students in the California state university system take an average of 4.5 years to finish their undergraduate degrees. Suppose you believe that the average time is longer. You conduct a survey of 49 students and obtain a sample mean of 5.1 with a sample standard deviation of 1.2. Do the data support your claim at the 1% level?

The average number of sick days an employee takes per year is believed to be about 10. Members of a personnel department do not believe this figure. They randomly survey 8 employees. The number of sick days they took for the past year are as follows: 12; 4; 15; 3; 11; 8; 6; 8. Let $x$ = the number of sick days they took for the past year. Should the personnel team believe that the average number is about 10?

In 1955, Life Magazine reported that the 25 year-old mother of three worked [on average] an 80 hour week. Recently, many groups have been studying whether or not the women's movement has, in fact, resulted in an increase in the average work week for women (combining employment and at-home work). Suppose a study was done to determine if the average work week has increased. 81 women were surveyed with the following results. The sample average was 83 hours; the sample standard deviation was 10 hours. Does it appear that the average work week has increased for women at the 5% level?

Your statistics instructor claims that 60 percent of the students who take her Elementary Statistics class go through life feeling more enriched. For some reason that she can't quite figure out, most people don't believe her. You decide to check this out on your own. You randomly survey 64 of her past Elementary Statistics students and find that 34 feel more enriched as a result of her class. Now, what do you think?