The average manufacturing work week in metropolitan Chattanooga was 40.1 hours last year. It is believed that the recession has led to a reduction in the average work week. To test the validity of this belief, the hypotheses are

Question

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We are interested in comparing the average work week in the current period (after the recession) with the average work week in the past period (before the recession). Therefore, we need to use a one-tailed test. The null hypothesis (H0) is that the average work week is still 40.1 hours (or has not decreased), while the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is that the average work week is now less than 40.1 hours. Option B is the only one that specifies a one-tailed test with a less than sign in the alternative hypothesis. The other options specify two-tailed tests or have incorrect signs in the alternative hypothesis.

The Average Manufacturing Work Week in Metropolitan Chattanooga Was 40