Question

Dr. Gongol, a sleep specialist, would like to determine if a new treatment for snoring has any effect. He conducts a hypothesis test about the mean number of snoring events during a sleep study after the new treatment, using a significance level of 10%. The mean number of snoring events of these clients was 25 per hour before the new treatment.

a) What is the null hypothesis in this study?
b) What is the alternative hypothesis in this study?
c) What is the significance level for this hypothesis test?
d) What statistical test is likely being employed in this study?

Answer 1

The null hypothesis suggests no effect of treatment on snoring events, with the alternative indicating an effect. A significance level of 10% is used, likely employing a one-sample t-test or Z-test.

Step-by-step explanation:

The null hypothesis (H0) in Dr. Gongol's study is that the new treatment for snoring has no effect on the mean number of snoring events, which would remain at 25 per hour. The alternative hypothesis (Ha) is that the new treatment does have an effect on the mean number of snoring events, which would not be 25 per hour. The significance level for this hypothesis test is 10%, denoted by α = 0.10. The statistical test likely being employed in this study is either a one-sample t-test (if the sample size is small and the population standard deviation is unknown) or a one-sample Z-test (if the population standard deviation is known), both of which compare the sample mean to the known population mean to check for treatment effects.