Formulating Appropriate Null and Alternative Hypotheses on a Population

Proportion

Once you already know that you are dealing with a population
proportion, you can conduct the hypothesis test. You can start with the first
step of a hypothesis test which is to determine the hypotheses. In order to
formulate null and alternative hypotheses concerning population
proportions, you can write them in sentence form or you can use different
symbols. Here, you will use the symbol p for the population proportion.
Remember that the hypotheses are claims about the population
proportion, p. The null hypothesis states that the proportion is equal to a
specific value or the hypothesized proportion, p o. On the other hand, the
alternative hypothesis is the competing claim that the population proportion
is less than, greater than, or not equal to po.
As a reminder, the null hypothesis is always a statement of equality.
The alternative hypothesis is always a statement of inequality, using the
symbols <, >, or ≠. Moreover, the hypotheses are stated in such a way that
they are mutually exclusive. That is, if one is true, the other must be false;
and vice versa.

If you are going to write the null hypothesis in sentence form, you
will usually use “is” or “is equal to”. In symbols, you are going to use:

HO : p = po

Meanwhile, to formulate alternative hypothesis in sentence form or in

symbols, you will just remember the following:

 When testing for population proportions, there are three (3) possible
alternative hypotheses. They are based on the wording of the question
instructing you what to hypothesize. (See illustrative examples below.)

a. Ha : p < po smaller, less, decreased, fewer, lower

b. Ha : p > po larger, greater, more, increased
c. Ha : p ≠ po different, not equal to, changed

where: p = population proportion

po = hypothesized proportion

In the given symbols as shown above, letters a and b are used in a

one-tailed test or one-sided tests (directional) while letter c is used for a two-
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tailed test (non-directional).
As you might recall, the differences between one-tailed test
(directional) and two-tailed test (non-directional) were already explained to
you in the previous modules. And for the purpose of this lesson, the table
below shows the differences between one-tailed test and two-tailed test.
One-Tailed Two-Tailed
 Alternative hypothesis contains  Alternative contains the
the greater than (>) or less than inequality (≠) symbol.
(<) symbols
 It is directional (either right-tailed  It has no direction.
or left-tailed)

The next table below shows the null and alternative hypotheses stated
together with the types of hypothesis tests.

Two-Tailed Test Right-Tailed Test Left-Tailed Test

Null 𝐻𝑜: 𝑝 = 𝑝𝑜 or 𝐻𝑜: 𝑝 = 𝑝𝑜 or
𝐻𝑜: 𝑝 = 𝑝𝑜
Hypothesis 𝐻𝑜: 𝑝 ≤ 𝑝𝑜 𝐻𝑜: 𝑝 ≥ 𝑝𝑜
Alternative
𝐻𝑎: 𝑝 ≠ 𝑝𝑜 𝐻𝑎: 𝑝 > 𝑝𝑜 𝐻𝑎: 𝑝 < 𝑝𝑜
Hypothesis

Example 1. It has been claimed that 40% of students in a particular senior

high school dislike Mathematics. When a survey was conducted by a
researcher, it showed that 145 of 800 students dislike Mathematics. Test if
the claim was different at α = 0.05 level.
Null Hypothesis (Ho):
In this example, the hypothesized proportion is 40% or 0.40. Hence,
the null hypothesis will be,
The proportion of students who dislike Mathematics is 40%.
In symbols, you can write,
Ho: p = 0.40
Alternative Hypothesis (Ha):
Our cue word here is “different” which means “not the same” or “not
equal”. Therefore the alternative hypothesis is,
The proportion of students who dislike Mathematics is not equal
to 40%.
In symbols, you can write,
Ha: p ≠ 0.40

Since the word “different” is used in the given problem,

the symbol to be used in alternative
2 hypothesis is “ ≠ ”.
Note: This is a two-tailed test or non-directional.
Example 2. A certain senior high school plans to open STEM (Science and
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) as an academic track only if
60% of the students in their junior high school will enrol on the following
academic year. A survey conducted among a random sample of students
revealed that 450 out of 1000 students will enrol. Is the expected enrolment
significantly lower than the desired enrolment? Test at α = 0.05 level.

Null Hypothesis (Ho):

The hypothesized proportion here is 60%, therefore the null
hypothesis will be,
The proportion of students who will enroll on STEM track is 60%.
In symbols, it can be written as,
Ho: p = 0.60
Alternative Hypothesis (Ha):
Your hint in formulating the alternative hypothesis in this example is
the phrase “lower than” which means “less than”. So, your alternative
hypothesis will be,
The proportion of students who will enroll on STEM track is lower
than 60%.
which can be written as,
Ha: p < 0.60

Since the word “lower” is used in the given problem,

the symbol to be used in alternative hypothesis is “<”.

Note: This is a one-tailed test or directional.

Example 3. It has been claimed that 40% of qualified applicants passed in

a particular job interview. When a survey was conducted by a researcher of
a certain company, it showed that 90 of 145 applicants passed the job
interview. Test if the claim was larger at α = 0.05 level.
Null Hypothesis (Ho):
40% is the hypothesized proportion; hence you have the null
hypothesis stated as
The proportion of qualified applicants in a particular job
interview is 40%.
And it can be written in symbols as
Ho: p = 0.40
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Alternative Hypothesis (Ha):
The word “larger” is synonymous to “greater” hence your alternative
hypothesis will be,
The proportion of qualified applicants in a particular job
interview was larger than 40%.
Or in symbols
Ha: p > 0.40

Since the word “larger” is used in the given problem,

the symbol to be used in alternative hypothesis is “ > “.

Note: This is a one-tailed test or directional.

Activity 1: Please Correct Me If I’m Wrong!

Directions: On the first blank before each number, draw a happy face if
the pair of hypotheses is correct and a sad face if the pair is incorrect. If
incorrect, write the correct ALTERNATIVE hypothesis in symbols on the
second blank.
, 1. In a public market, 65% of the vendors preferred to use
plastic over paper bags. After the local ordinance was signed, 92 out of 120
randomly selected vendors preferred plastic over paper bags. Does this
indicate that vendors in that public market have less preference in using
paper bags? Use 0.05 level of significance.
Ho : p = 0.65
Ha : p < 0.65
, 2. The school principal in a certain private junior high
school claimed that 35% of all students are in favor of the new PE uniform.
A research teacher asked his students to verify the claim. With this, 271 out
of 400 randomly selected students agreed to the new PE uniform.
Using α = 0.10 level, is there enough evidence to conclude that the
percentage of students who are in favor of the new PE uniform is different
from 35%?

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 Ho : p = 0.35
Ha : p > 0.35
, 3. A research found out that 5% of the senior high school
students in a certain school are working students. A researcher randomly
selected 35 out of 300 students who are working. Is there a percentage
increase in the number of senior high school students who are working? Use
α = 0.01 level.
Ho : p = 0.05
Ha : p ≠ 0.05
, 4. Before the national elections, 75% of the voters in a
certain town said that they preferred older senatorial candidates running for
senatorial positions than younger candidates. After a certain survey was
conducted, 910 out of 1,300 randomly selected voters preferred older
senatorial candidates. Does this claim indicate that voters in that town have
a greater interest in older candidates than in younger ones? Use α = 0.05.
Ho : p = 0.75
Ha : p > 0.75
, 5. A researcher claimed that 55% of elementary students
would rather play than read books during break time. Another researcher
was assigned to verify the claim. He randomly selected 300 students. Two
hundred seventy-four (274) of them said they would rather play during
break time than read books.
At 0.10 level, is there enough evidence to conclude that the percentage
of elementary students who would rather play than read books has changed
to 55%?
Ho : p = 0.55
Ha : p < 0.55

Activity 2:
Directions: Using the given problems in Activity 1, write the appropriate
null and alternative hypotheses in sentence form. Write your answers on the
blank provided.
i. Ho
Ha

ii. Ho
Ha

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iii. Ho
Ha

iv. Ho
Ha

v. Ho
Ha

Activity 3:
Directions: In each problem below, give the null and alternative hypotheses
and identify whether it is right-tailed, left-tailed or two-tailed test.

1. A sample of 800 items produced on a new machine showed that 48 of

them are defective. The factory will get rid the machine if the data
indicates that the proportion of defective items is significantly more
than 5%. At a significance level of 10% does the factory get rid of the
machine or not?

2. A drug manufacturer claims that fewer than 10% of patients who take
its new drug for treating certain pneumonia will experience nausea.
In a random sample of 250 patients, 23 experienced nausea. Perform
a significance test at the 5% significance level to test this claim.

3. In a group of 375 Senior High School students, 40 were left-handed. Is

this significantly different from the proportion of all Senior High
School students who are left-handed, which is 12%?

4. In a random survey of 1000 households in Unlad Province, it is found

that 29% of the households have at least one member with a college
degree. Does this finding contradict the statement that the proportion
of all such households in Unlad Province is 35 percent? Test at α = .05
significance level.

5. In a random sample of 400 electronic gadgets, 14 were found to be

defective. The manufacturer wants to claim that less than 5% of all of
their games are defective. Test this claim at the 0.01 significance level