This assignment explores using t-tests to determine if we have significant mean differences between two samples.
Step 1: Solve the following problems:
Find solutions to the following problems. use the appropriate t-test to test for significant mean differences in the following research scenarios. Report all relevant information, including hypotheses, degrees of freedom, critical value, and a statement about significance.
1. Dr. Smith conducted an experiment to study the effects of massed versus distributed practice on memory. Twelve participants were randomly assigned to study a short chapter of a history text during either a single 3-hour session or 3 one-hour sessions separated by 24 hours. Twenty-four hours after the study session(s) ended, the participants took an examination on the information in the chapter and the number of correct answers was recorded. Data from that experiment are shown below.
Massed Practice Distributed Practice
55 74
67 67
55 87
47 77
59 68
70 75
x̄1= 58.83
x̄2= 74.67
s1= 8.50
s2= 7.23
2. A researcher wants to see if antihistamines will increase the amount of time in seconds it takes participants to react to a surprise stimulus. He first collects the participants’ reaction times while not on antihistamines, and then gives them the dose of antihistamine. One hour later, he collects the participants’ reaction times again.
Participant ID Reaction Time Before Antihistamine Reaction Time After Antihistamine
1 1.37 1.45
2 2.45 2.90
3 1.95 2.01
4 3.01 3.25
5 .95 1.07
6 1.50 1.71
7 2.05 2.07
8 2.31 2.30
9 3.07 3.15
10 1.99 2.11
x̄ 2.065 2.202
s 0.68 0.72
