Females report an average of 16.8 hours studying per week, while males report 13.8 hours. Is this evidence of a difference in mean study time by gender? Which test?

Females report an average of 16.8 hours studying per week, while males report 13.8 hours. Is this evidence of a difference in mean study time by gender? Which test?

• A. 1-sample t-test
• B. 2-sample t-test
• C. Paired t-test
• D. ANOVA

Answer: (B)

When you want to know if two independent groups have different averages, use a two-sample t-test. Here, the two groups are females and males, and you’re comparing their average weekly study time. They are separate groups, not the same people measured twice, so a paired t-test isn’t appropriate. A 1-sample t-test would compare a single group to a fixed value, not two groups. ANOVA is designed for three or more groups (and for two groups it’s more common to use a two-sample t-test). To judge significance, you’d need the actual sample sizes and spread (standard deviations) to compute the t-statistic and p-value; the means alone don’t prove a difference. So two-sample t-test is the proper method.

When you want to know if two independent groups have different averages, use a two-sample t-test. Here, the two groups are females and males, and you’re comparing their average weekly study time. They are separate groups, not the same people measured twice, so a paired t-test isn’t appropriate. A 1-sample t-test would compare a single group to a fixed value, not two groups. ANOVA is designed for three or more groups (and for two groups it’s more common to use a two-sample t-test). To judge significance, you’d need the actual sample sizes and spread (standard deviations) to compute the t-statistic and p-value; the means alone don’t prove a difference. So two-sample t-test is the proper method.