Final answer:
The student would set up a hypothesis test with H0: μ = 2 and Ha: μ ≠ 2, where μ is the mean tree-planting time in hours. They would use a significance level of 0.05 and determine the test statistic and p-value from their sample data to either reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine whether the mean tree-planting time differs from two hours, we must set up a hypothesis test at the significance level of 0.05. The null and alternative hypotheses for this test would be:
- Null hypothesis (H0): μ = 2
- Alternative hypothesis (Ha): μ ≠ 2
In this case, μ represents the mean tree-planting time in hours. The null hypothesis claims that the mean time is exactly two hours, while the alternative hypothesis states that the mean time is not equal to two hours (it could be either less than or greater than two hours).
To test these hypotheses, we would typically collect sample data on tree-planting times and calculate the appropriate test statistic (such as a t-score or z-score depending on the sample size and whether the population standard deviation is known). We then compare the p-value associated with our test statistic to the alpha level of 0.05. If the p-value is less than 0.05, we reject the null hypothesis, suggesting that there is sufficient evidence that the mean tree-planting time does indeed differ from two hours. Conversely, if the p-value is greater than 0.05, we do not reject the null hypothesis, indicating that there is not strong evidence against the null hypothesis, and we may conclude that the mean time does not differ significantly from two hours.