Question

Write the null and alternative hypotheses in words and then symbols for each of the following situations. New York is known as “the city that never sleeps”. A random sample of 25 New Yorkers were asked how much sleep they get per night. Do these data provide convincing evidence that New Yorkers on average sleep less than 8 hours a night?

Answer 1

Null Hypothesis: New Yorkers get 8 hours of sleep per night.

In symbols, H0: t=8 hours

Alternative Hypothesis: New Yorkers get less than 8 hours of sleep per night.

In symbols, Ha: t<8 hours

Explanation:

What you are trying to figure out here is whether the amount of sleep that New Yorkers get is less than 8 hours. By testing this hypothesis, we are assuming that New Yorkers do in fact get 8 hours of sleep every night. Therefore, the null hypothesis (H0) is the ESTABLISHED FACT and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is the TESTED FACT. Remember to be in context!