Question

Write the null and alternative hypotheses you would use to answer this question. Are Americans getting fatter? Researchers interested in this question take a random sample of 500 people and record an average weight of 190 pounds. Ten years ago, the average weight was 185 pounds.

Answer 1

H0: u = 185 against Ha: u > 185

or

H0: u ≤ 185 against Ha: u > 185

Explanation:

The null and alternative hypotheses for this experiment would be

H0: u = 185 against Ha: u > 185

or

H0: u ≤ 185 against Ha: u > 185

This is a one tailed test .

If the results are such that we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis it means that the Americans are getting fatter as the mean weight is increasing day by day.

The null hypothesis deals with all the values equal to or less than 185 pounds and the alternative with all the values greater than 185 pounds.