Hypothesis Testing

Scheme of work: Year 12 A-Level: Applied: Statistics: Hypothesis Testing

Use simple, discrete probability distributions, including the binomial distribution;
Identify the discrete uniform distribution;
Calculate probabilities using the binomial distribution.
Calculate cumulative probabilities using the binomial distribution

When setting up the null and alternative hypotheses, students often find it helpful to draw a diagram detailing the significance level, critical region and whether it is a one- or two-tailed test.

One-Tailed Test 5% significance level

Two-Tailed Test 5% significance level

Test conclusions must be written based on the context specified in the question.
When testing a hypothesis, students should test against the test statistic rather than finding the critical region, which often leads to errors in working.

When summarizing a hypothesis test with the correct values, some students make an incorrect conclusion or do not conclude.
When identifying the critical region students often use incorrect notation.
Some students write their hypothesis in words rather than H₀: p = 0.5 H₁ : p > 0.5.
Students drop marks in exams through their notation; for instance, they write P(X < a) rather than P(X ≤ a)
Some students try to find the critical region when testing a hypothesis. Unfortunately, this method requires more detailed work, often leading to errors.