Final answer:
To test the claim that the population mean is 22 degrees C, we will conduct a hypothesis test using a z-test. The calculated test statistic does not fall within the critical region, so we fail to reject the null hypothesis. Therefore, there is not enough evidence to support the claim that the population mean is different from 20°C at the 5% significance level.
Step-by-step explanation:
To test the claim that the population mean is 22 degrees C, we will conduct a hypothesis test.
Step 1: State the hypotheses.
- Null hypothesis (H0): The population mean is 20°C.
- Alternative hypothesis (Ha): The population mean is different from 20°C.
Step 2: Set the significance level.
The significance level is given as 0.05 (5%).
Step 3: Calculate the test statistic.
Since we are assuming that the population standard deviation is known (1.5 degrees C) and the sample size is large (60), we can use a z-test. The test statistic (z) can be calculated as follows:
z = (sample mean - population mean) / (population standard deviation / sqrt(sample size))
Substituting the given values, we have:
z = (20 - 22) / (1.5 / sqrt(60))
Step 4: Determine the critical value.
Since the alternative hypothesis is two-sided, we need to find the critical values for a two-tailed z-test at the 5% significance level. The critical values for a two-tailed z-test at alpha/2 = 0.025 are approximately -1.96 and 1.96.
Step 5: Make a decision.
If the test statistic falls within the critical region (i.e., z < -1.96 or z > 1.96), we reject the null hypothesis. Otherwise, we fail to reject the null hypothesis.
Step 6: State the conclusion.
In this case, based on the calculated test statistic, z, we do not reject the null hypothesis. There is not enough evidence to support the claim that the population mean is different from 20°C at the 5% significance level.