Question

Scientists studying lion attacks on humans in Tanzania1 found that lion attacks happened between pm and pm within either five days before a full moon or five days after a full moon. Of these, happened during the five days after the full moon while the other happened during the five days before the full moon. Does this sample of lion attacks provide evidence that attacks are more likely after a full moon? In other words, is there evidence that attacks are not equally split between the two five-day periods? (Note that this is a test for a single proportion since the data come from one sample.)

Answer 1

A sample of lion attacks can be tested using a one-sample proportion test to determine if attacks are more likely after a full moon and if attacks are not equally split between the two five-day periods.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking whether a sample of lion attacks provides evidence that attacks are more likely after a full moon, and if there is evidence that attacks are not equally split between the two five-day periods. To answer this question, we can use statistical tests. Since the data comes from one sample, we need to use a test for a single proportion.

To test if the proportion of attacks after a full moon is significantly different from the proportion of attacks before a full moon, we can use a one-sample proportion test. This test compares the observed proportion of attacks after a full moon to the expected proportion based on random chance.

If the p-value of the test is less than a chosen significance level (e.g., 0.05), we can conclude that there is evidence that attacks are more likely after a full moon.