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13.4 Test of Two Variances

Comparing the spread of two populations rather than their centers, using the ratio of the two sample variances against the F distribution.

Statistics, 13.4 Test of Two Variances

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12 exercises

13.4 Exercise 2

The New York Choral Society divides male singers into four categories from highest voices to lowest: Tenor1, Tenor2, Bass1, and Bass2. In the table are heights of the men in the Tenor1 and Bass2 groups. One suspects that taller men will have lower voices, and that the variance of height may go up with the lower voices as well. Do we have good evidence that the variance of the heights of singers in…

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13.4 Exercise 3

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises. There are two assumptions that must be true to perform an F test of two variances.

Name one assumption that must be true.

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13.4 Exercise 5

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Two coworkers commute from the same building. They are interested in whether there is any variation in the time it takes them to drive to work. They each record their times for 20 commutes. The first worker’s times have a variance of 12.1. The second worker’s times have a variance of 16.9. The first worker thinks that he is more con…

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13.4 Exercise 7

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Two coworkers commute from the same building. They are interested in whether there is any variation in the time it takes them to drive to work. They each record their times for 20 commutes. The first worker’s times have a variance of 12.1. The second worker’s times have a variance of 16.9. The first worker thinks that he is more con…

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13.4 Exercise 9

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Two coworkers commute from the same building. They are interested in whether there is any variation in the time it takes them to drive to work. They each record their times for 20 commutes. The first worker’s times have a variance of 12.1. The second worker’s times have a variance of 16.9. The first worker thinks that he is more con…

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13.4 Exercise 11

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Two coworkers commute from the same building. They are interested in whether there is any variation in the time it takes them to drive to work. They each record their times for 20 commutes. The first worker’s times have a variance of 12.1. The second worker’s times have a variance of 16.9. The first worker thinks that he is more con…

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13.4 Exercise 13

Use the following information to answer the next four exercises. Two students are interested in whether there is variation in their test scores for math class. There are 15 total math tests they have taken so far. The first student’s grades have a standard deviation of 38.1. The second student’s grades have a standard deviation of 22.5. The second student thinks his scores are more consistent.

Wha…

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13.4 Exercise 15

Use the following information to answer the next four exercises. Two students are interested in whether there is variation in their test scores for math class. There are 15 total math tests they have taken so far. The first student’s grades have a standard deviation of 38.1. The second student’s grades have a standard deviation of 22.5. The second student thinks his scores are more consistent.

At…

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13.4 Exercise 17


Use the following information to answer the next three exercises. Two cyclists are comparing the variances of their overall paces going uphill. Each cyclist records his or her speeds going up 35 hills. The first cyclist has a variance of 23.8, and the second cyclist has a variance of 32.1. The cyclists want to see if their variances are the same or different. Assume that speeds are normally distri…

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13.4 Exercise 19

Three students, Linda, Tuan, and Javier, are given five laboratory rats each for a nutritional experiment. Each rat’s weight is recorded in grams. Linda feeds her rats Formula A, Tuan feeds his rats Formula B, and Javier feeds his rats Formula C. At the end of a specified time period, each rat is weighed again and the net gain in grams is recorded.

Determine whether the variance in weight gain is…

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13.4 Exercise 22

Which two magazine types do you think have different variances in length?

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13.4 Exercise 24

Are the variances for incomes on the East Coast and the West Coast the same? Suppose that the table shows the results of a study. Income is shown in thousands of dollars. Assume that both distributions are normal. Use a level of significance of 0.05.

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Adapted from Statistics © 2022 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: Statistics. Imported at revision 7dea80a.