In: Statistics and Probability
Weight gain during pregnancy. In 2004, the state of North
Carolina released to the public a large data set containing
information on births recorded in this state. This data set has
been of interest to medical researchers who are studying the
relationship between habits and practices of expectant mothers and
the birth of their children. The following histograms show the
distributions of weight gain during pregnancy by 855 younger moms
(less than 35 years old) and 136 mature moms (35 years old and
over) who have been randomly sampled from this large data set. The
average weight gain of younger moms is 30.87 pounds, with a
standard deviation of 14.32 pounds, and the average weight gain of
mature moms is 29.32 pounds, with a standard deviation of 13.43
pounds. Do these data provide strong evidence that there is a
significant difference between the two population means? Conduct a
hypothesis test. Round all numeric answers to 4 decimal
places.
1. Which set of hypotheses should the researcher use?
A. ?0H0: ?1−?2=0p1−p2=0, ??HA:
?1−?2≠0p1−p2≠0
B. ?0H0: ?1−?2=0μ1−μ2=0, ??HA:
?1−?2>0μ1−μ2>0
C. ?0H0: ?1−?2=0μ1−μ2=0, ??HA:
?1−?2≠0μ1−μ2≠0
D. ?0H0: ?1−?2=0p1−p2=0, ??HA:
?1−?2<0p1−p2<0
2. Calculate the test statistic. t =
3. Calculate the p-value for this hypothesis test.
p value =
4. Suppose that a researcher today decides to replicate this
study. Using the information from the 2004 study, they calculate an
effect size of 0.11. Next, they obtain a new sample of 124 younger
moms and a new sample of 86 mature moms and, using their new sample
data, conduct the same hypothesis test. They calculate a p-value of
0.266 and an effect size of 0.096. Does their new study confirm or
conflict with the study from 2004?
A. The researcher cannot make a comparison because
the sample sizes are not the same.
B. It confirms the 2004 study because the effect
sizes are nearly the same.
C. It contradicts the 2004 study because the
effect sizes are not exactly the same.
D. It contradicts the 2004 study because the
p-value is larger.
E. It confirms the 2004 study because the sample
of moms from today is independent of the sample of moms from
2004.