Given a test statistic of t = 3.018 of a left-tailed test with n = 13, use a 0.01 significance level to test a claim that the mean of a given population is equal to 85. Use Table A-3 to find the range of values for the P-value and state the initial conclusion.

A) 0.005 < P-value < 0.01; fail to reject the null hypothesis
B) P-value < 0.005; reject the null hypothesis
C) P-value < 0.005; fail to reject the null hypothesis
D) 0.005 < P-value < 0.01; reject the null hypothesis

1 answer

To determine the P-value for a left-tailed test with a t-statistic of \( t = 3.018 \) and \( n = 13 \), we need to find the degrees of freedom. The degrees of freedom for this test is calculated as:

\[ \text{df} = n - 1 = 13 - 1 = 12 \]

Next, we can consult the t-distribution table (Table A-3) to find the corresponding P-value for \( t = 3.018 \) with 12 degrees of freedom.

Looking up \( t = 3.018 \) in the t-table for 12 degrees of freedom, we find that:

  • For \( t = 3.106 \), the one-tailed P-value is approximately 0.005.
  • Since \( t = 3.018 \) is slightly less than \( t = 3.106 \), the P-value for \( t = 3.018 \) will be greater than 0.005 but less than 0.01.

Thus, we can conclude:

\[ 0.005 < P\text{-value} < 0.01 \]

Since our significance level is \( \alpha = 0.01 \) and the P-value falls within the range \( 0.005 < P\text{-value} < 0.01 \), we need to reject the null hypothesis. This is because the P-value is lower than the significance level.

Therefore, the correct option is:

D) 0.005 < P-value < 0.01; reject the null hypothesis.