Activity 32

MATH 216: Statistical Thinking

Power Analysis & Type II Error

Time Allocation: 15 minutes total (5 min reading, 10 min individual work)

Part 1: Conceptual Understanding (3 minutes)

Instructions: Answer the following questions:

  1. What is Type II error (\(\beta\)) and how does it relate to statistical power?
  1. How does increasing the effect size (distance between \(\mu\) and \(\mu_0\)) affect \(\beta\) and power?
  1. What factors influence statistical power besides effect size?

Part 2: Power Calculations (12 minutes)

Perform power analysis calculations for the following 4 scenarios:

Example 1: Medical Testing

Context: Diagnostic test for disease detection

  • \(H_0\): Patient is healthy (no disease present)
  • \(H_a\): Patient has disease (medical condition present)
  • \(\alpha = 0.05\), \(\beta = 0.20\)

Calculate: Power =

Example 2: Quality Control

Context: Manufacturing defect rate monitoring

  • \(H_0\): \(p = 0.05\) (acceptable defect rate)
  • \(H_a\): \(p > 0.05\) (excessive defects)
  • \(n = 100\), \(\alpha = 0.05\), \(p_{\text{actual}} = 0.08\)

Calculate:

  • Rejection boundary =
  • \(\beta\) =
  • Power =

Example 3: Battery Life Study

Context: Testing new battery technology

  • \(H_0\): \(\mu = 2400\) hours
  • \(H_a\): \(\mu > 2400\) hours
  • SE = 28.27, \(\alpha = 0.05\), critical \(\bar{x} = 2446.5\)
  • For \(\mu = 2450\): \(\beta\) = , Power =
  • For \(\mu = 2475\): \(\beta\) = , Power =

Example 4: Rat Response Times

Context: Neuroscience experiment on reaction times

  • \(H_0\): \(\mu = 1.2\) seconds
  • \(H_a\): \(\mu \neq 1.2\) seconds
  • SE = 0.05, \(\alpha = 0.01\), critical values: \(\bar{x} = 1.329, 1.071\)
  • For \(\mu = 1.1\): \(\beta\) = , Power =
  • For \(\mu = 1.25\): \(\beta\) = , Power =

Show your work for one calculation: