Chapter 9.1, Problem 17BSC

Testing Claims About Proportions. In Exercises 7–22, test the given claim. Identify the null hypothesis, alternative hypothesis, test statistic, P-value or critical value(s), then state the conclusion about the null hypothesis, as well as the final conclusion that addresses the original claim.

17. Cell Phones and Handedness A study was conducted to investigate the association between cell phone use and hemispheric brain dominance. Among 216 subjects who prefer to use their left ear for cell phones, 166 were right-handed. Among 452 subjects who prefer to use their right ear for cell phones, 436 were right-handed (based on data from “Hemispheric Dominance and Cell Phone Use,” by Seidman et al., JAMA Otolaryngology—Head A Neck Surgery, Vol. 139, No. 5). We want to use a 0.01 significance level to test the claim that the rate of right-handedness for those who prefer to use their left ear for cell phones is less than the rate of right-handedness for those who prefer to use their right ear for cell phones. (Try not to get too confused here.)

a. Test the claim using a hypothesis test.

b. Test the claim by constructing an appropriate confidence interval.