Calculate the statistical parameters, the mean, variance, and standard deviation.
Practical Application Scenario 1
You are the manager of the Gander Mountain store in Frogtown, Illinois. Recently, a customer mentioned they believed your prices for ammunition were lower than the prices of Gander Mountain’s primary competitor in hunting equipment, Cabela’s. You would like to include that statement in a forthcoming print advertisement, so you need statistical evidence to support this assertion.
Identify the null and alternative hypotheses needed to test the contention. Then identify the most appropriate sample selection technique to gather data for testing the hypotheses. What statistical test should you use to accept or reject this hypothesis using the data you will collect?
Practical Application Scenario 2
Your love of golf has brought you back to the range as the new product manager for UniDun’s Straight Flight (SF) line of golf balls. The company’s research and development group has been experimenting with dimple patterns that promote straight flight and feel they have achieved some degree of success; however, you are worried about the effect that the new pattern might have on driving distance.
The Golf Ball Distances document contains test results that compare the driving distances for the two different kinds of balls: 40 balls of the new SF type and 40 of the current UniDun type. Your job is to determine if the current UniDun balls can be driven further than the new SF balls. To resolve this question, you need appropriate answers to the following four questions. Remember to use your Business Statistics in Practice textbook, the supplementary instruction session archives, and the optional course resources to help you answer each of the following questions:
- Identify the appropriate null and alternative hypotheses for this test. Express each in writing and in the form of an equation.
- Identify the appropriate statistical test to accept or reject the null hypothesis.
- Calculate the statistical parameters, the mean, variance, and standard deviation. Then calculate the statistical test and the p-value.
- In a three- to five-paragraph synopsis, explain your results to the vice president of marketing, including the terms of the scenario variables.
