QUARTER 3: WEEK 9

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Introductory Message

For the facilitator:

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and evaluated by the
Development and Quality Assurance Teams of SDO TAPAT to assist you in helping the
learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming their personal,
social, and economic constraints in schooling.
As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage their
own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as they
do the tasks included in the module.

For the learner:

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to process
the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.
The following are some reminders in using this module:
1. Use the module with care. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer Let’s Try before moving on to the other activities included in
the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not hesitate
to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and gain
deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

LET’S LEARN

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This module was designed and written to help you understand the concept of t-
distribution and the corresponding percentiles using t-table. Each example follows a step-by-
step procedure which serves as your guide to answer the problem.
After going through this lesson, you are expected to:
1. illustrate the t-distribution; and
2. identify percentiles using the t-table.

LET’S TRY

Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.

1. In the estimation process, t-distribution is an appropriate statistical test use when

______.
A. the sample size is less than 30 B. the sample size is at least 30
C. the population mean is known D. the sample mean is known
2. Which of the following is true about the t-distribution?
A. Approaches the normal distribution as its degrees of freedom increase.
B. Assumes the population is normally distributed.
C. It is more spread out than the standard normal distribution.
D. All of the above statements are true.
3. Which of the following statements is false?
A. The t-distribution is symmetric to its mean.
B. The t-distribution is more spread out than the standard normal distribution.
C. As the degrees of freedom get smaller, the t-distribution’s dispersion gets
smaller.
D. The t-distribution is bell-shaped curve.
4. What is the appropriate distribution to use when n<30 and the population standard is
not known?
A. t-distribution B. z-distribution
C. F-distribution D. H-distribution
5. The total area under the curve of t-distribution is __.
A. 100 B. 10 C. 1 D. 0
6. These number of values are free to vary after a sample statistic have been
computed, they tell us the specific curve to be used when a distribution consists of a
family of curves.
A. t B. n C. df D. α
7. In a t-distribution, the critical values are based on __.
A. z B. t C. n D. α
8. What critical values corresponds to degrees of freedom equal to 28 and 90%
confidence level?
A. t=± 1.699 B. t=± 1.701

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C. t=± 12.045 D. t=± 12.048

9. Suppose that a one-tail t test is being applied to find out if the population mean is
less than 50. The level of significance is .05 and 25 observations were sampled. The
critical value of t is:
A. t=1.708
B. t=1.318
C. t=−1. 711
D. t=−1.316

For nos. 10-12, refer to the given problem below.

The average number of days of absences of 15 students for the month of September is 3
days with a standard deviation of 1.5 days. At 95% confidence level, construct the
confidence interval of the average number of days of absences for the month of September.

10. What is the value of α?

A. 0.01 B. 0.05 C. 0.1 D. 0.5
11. What is the value of df?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 14 D. 15
12. Using the t-table, what is the critical value of t?
A. t=± 2.131 B. t=± 2.145

C. t=± 3.182 D. t=± 4.303

13. Find the area under the t-distribution from t = -2.228 to t = 2.228 when n = 11.
A. 0.90 B. 0.95 C. 0.975 D. 0.995
14. Find the area under the t-distribution to the right of t = -2.763 when n = 29.
A. 0.90 B. 0.95 C. 0.975 D. 0.995
15. Identify the percentile rank of the t-distribution when t = 1.699 and df = 29.
A. 90th B. 95th C. 97.5th D. 99.5th

Write your
Alternatively, you may answer these questions online!
score here
Use this link on your cellphone, laptop or desktop:

https://tinyurl.com/STATQ3W9TRY

Use proper capitalization to activate the link. Make sure you are
connected to the internet! You will see your score after completing the test.
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Lesson
The t -Distributions
1

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There are situations in which using the normal distribution is not appropriate,
especially when the sample size is smaller than 30 and the population variance is unknown.
In times like this, we can use t-distribution.

LET’S RECALL

Before you proceed to the lesson, try to answer the questions below to assess what you
have learned from the past lessons.
Directions: Define the mean and variance of the sampling distribution of sample means.
1. The average lot size of the houses in Brgy. Western Bicutan is 70 square meters with
a variance of 100 square meters. Find the mean and variance of the sampling
distribution of the sample means with a sample size of 40 houses if lot sizes are
normally distributed.
2. The average weight of a sample of 100 loaf breads were computed by a bakery. The
average weight of the loaf breads is 250 g with a variance of 25 g. Find the mean and
variance of the sampling distribution of the sample means.
3. A group of 500 Grade 11 students took an achievement test. The scores have a
normal distribution and the population mean and variance of the scores are 85 and
16, respectively. Estimate the mean and variance of the sampling distribution of the
sample means of the scores with a sample size of 100.

LET’S EXPLORE

Take a look at the problem below.

Ms. Paula wanted to know the average score of Grade 7 students who took the
second periodic exam. To do this, she asked 10 students in one of her classes and found
out that their average score is 28 with a standard deviation of 4.2.

(a) What is the probability that the average of their scores is within the range of 24 to
32?

(b) Will this be an accurate approximation if you use the z-table? Why or why not?

LET’S ELABORATE

William S. Gosset was the statistician who discovered the t-distribution in

1908. The t-distribution is a probability distribution that is used to estimate population
parameters when the sample size is small and/or when the population variance is unknown.
To compute for test-statistic t we use the formula:

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x̄ −μ
t= s
√n
where x̄ = sample mean, μ = population mean, s = sample standard deviation, and n =
sample size.

Listed below are some of the properties of a t-distribution:

1. It is unimodal, symmetric and bell-shaped, just like a normal distribution.

2. Its variance is greater than 1 which makes the distribution wider and flatter in the
middle.

3. The shape depends on the sample size n.

4. The greater the sample size, the closer the t-distribution gets to the standard normal
curve. The smaller the sample size, the more tails of the distribution gets stretched.

5. The area between the curve and the horizontal axis is exactly equal to 1.

As you can see in the figure below, the t-distribution approaches the z-distribution as
the sample size gets larger.
z-distribution

t-distribution (n is close to 30)

t-distribution (n is smaller than 30)

Figure 1. z-distribution and t-distribution

In a normal distribution, the z-table is used to find the critical values. And in t-
distribution, we will use the t-table to find the critical values.

To find the critical values of a t-distribution simply follow the given steps:

Step 1: Determine the alpha error (denoted as α). The alpha error is the probability that the
population parameter is not in the confidence interval. To compute for α, simply
subtract the confidence level from 100% or 1.

α
Step 2: Identify which of the two test is used, is it two-tailed test 2 or one-tailed test α. The
two-tailed test is used when the estimated values of parameter and mean can be
hypothesized from both ends of the distribution. However if it is possible that it can
be done from only one end of the distribution then the one-tailed test is used.

Step 3: Compute for the degrees of freedom. The degrees of freedom (df) are the number of
values that are free to vary after a sample statistic have been computed, they tell us

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the specific curve to be used when a distribution consists of a family of curves. To
compute the df, we use the formula df = n - 1, where n is the sample size.

Step 4: Using the t-table, determine the critical t-value by finding the intersection of df and α.
The df is the row and α is the column. If you will use the two-tailed test, you will
have two critical values, one is positive and the other is negative. That’s because
the t-distribution is symmetric. But if you will use the one-tailed test, the sign will
depend whether the critical value is at the right tail or at the left tail.

One-tailed
0.1 0.05 0.025 0.01 0.005 0.001 0.0005
test
Two-tailed
0.2 0.1 0.05 0.02 0.01 0.002 0.001
test
df
1 3.078 6.314 12.706 31.821 63.656 318.289 636.578
2 1.886 2.920 4.303 6.965 9.925 22.328 31.600
3 1.638 2.353 3.182 4.541 5.841 10.214 12.924
4 1.533 2.132 2.776 3.747 4.604 7.173 8.610
5 1.476 2.015 2.571 3.365 4.032 5.894 6.869
6 1.440 1.943 2.447 3.143 3.707 5.208 5.959
7 1.415 1.895 2.365 2.998 3.499 4.785 5.408
8 1.397 1.860 2.306 2.896 3.355 4.501 5.041
9 1.383 1.833 2.262 2.821 3.250 4.297 4.781
10 1.372 1.812 2.228 2.764 3.169 4.144 4.587
11 1.363 1.796 2.201 2.718 3.106 4.025 4.437
12 1.356 1.782 2.179 2.681 3.055 3.930 4.318
13 1.350 1.771 2.160 2.650 3.012 3.852 4.221
14 1.345 1.761 2.145 2.624 2.977 3.787 4.140
15 1.341 1.753 2.131 2.602 2.947 3.733 4.073
16 1.337 1.746 2.120 2.583 2.921 3.686 4.015
17 1.333 1.740 2.110 2.567 2.898 3.646 3.965
18 1.330 1.734 2.101 2.552 2.878 3.610 3.922
19 1.328 1.729 2.093 2.539 2.861 3.579 3.883
20 1.325 1.725 2.086 2.528 2.845 3.552 3.850
21 1.323 1.721 2.080 2.518 2.831 3.527 3.819
22 1.321 1.717 2.074 2.508 2.819 3.505 3.792
23 1.319 1.714 2.069 2.500 2.807 3.485 3.768
24 1.318 1.711 2.064 2.492 2.797 3.467 3.745
25 1.316 1.708 2.060 2.485 2.787 3.450 3.725
26 1.315 1.706 2.056 2.479 2.779 3.435 3.707
27 1.314 1.703 2.052 2.473 2.771 3.421 3.689
28 1.313 1.701 2.048 2.467 2.763 3.408 3.674
29 1.311 1.699 2.045 2.462 2.756 3.396 3.660
30 1.310 1.697 2.042 2.457 2.750 3.385 3.646
Figure 2. t-table

After finding the critical values, you can also construct the t-distribution for better
understanding. To construct the t-distribution, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Plot the critical values of t on the curve.

Step 2: Shade the region of the confidence level. The region of confidence level will be the
area between the critical values.

Step 3: Label the region of alpha error. The region of alpha error will be the unshaded area.

Now, let’s practice what you have learned.

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Illustrating t-distributions

Using the t-table, find the critical values and construct the t-distribution of the
following examples.

Example 1

What are the critical values of t for area in two tails when the sample size is 17 with
confidence level of 95%? Construct its t-distribution.

Solution

Let’s start with identifying the given information,

Sample size (n) = 17, confidence level = 95%

Now, follow the steps given above

Step 1: Determine the alpha error.

α = 1 - confidence level
α = 1 - 0.95 = 0.05
Step 2: Determine whether it is a two-tailed test or one-tailed test.

α 0 .05
=
2 2 = 0.025 (This value tends to be in one-tail in both
Since it is two-tailed, then
ends)

Step 3: Compute for the degrees of freedom.

df = n – 1 = 17 – 1 = 16

Step 4: Find the intersection of df and α.

Using the t-table, determine the t-value by finding the intersection of df = 16

and α = 0.05 in two tail.
Area in two tails
df
0.20 0.10 0.05
16 2.120

Critical values of t = 2.120 (at the right) and t = -2.120 (at the left). In constructing the
t-distribution, since we know now that the critical values of the given is 2.120 and -2.120, we
can now plot it in the curve.

Step 1: Plot the critical values of t on the curve.

Step 2: Shade the region of confidence level.

t = -2.120 t = 2.120 t = -2.120 t = 2.120

Step 3: Label the region of alpha error.

Thus, the t-distribution of a sample size of 17 with 95% confidence level is:

Example 2

Find the critical value of t on the right

tail when the sample size is 23 with confidence
level of 99%, then construct the t-distribution.
95%
Solution α = 0.025 α = 0.025
Given: n = 23, confidence level = 99%
t = -2.120 t = -2.120
Step 1: Determine the alpha error

α = 1 - confidence level
α = 1 - 0.99 = 0.01
Step 2: Determine whether it is a two-tailed test or one-tailed test.

Since we are looking for the critical value on the right tail, then it is a one- tailed test.

Step 3: Compute for the degrees of freedom.

df = 23 -1 = 22

Step 4: Find the intersection of df and α

Using the t-table, determine the t-value by finding the intersection of df = 22 and α =
0.01 in one-tail.

Area in one-tail
df
0.10 0.05 0.025 0.01
22 2.508

Since the critical value is on the right tail, then it is positive. Critical value of t = 2.508.
In constructing the t-distribution, since we know that the critical values of the given is 2.508
on the right tail, we can now plot it in the curve.

Step 1: Plot the critical values of t on the curve.

Step 2: Shade the region of confidence level.

t = 2.508
t = 2.508
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Step 3: Label the region of alpha error.

Thus, the t-distribution of a sample size of 23 with 99% confidence level is:

z-distribution

99%

α = 0.01%

t = 2.508

One of the properties of a t-distribution states that the greater the sample size, the
closer the t-distribution gets to the standard normal curve. As you can see from the figure,
the t-distribution with a sample size of 23 gets closer to the z-distribution.

Finding the Area and Percentile under the t-distribution.

Up to this point, you have learned the illustration of a t-distribution and how to
construct one. Now let’s reverse the procedure. What if we are looking for the confidence
level (area under the curve) and the given are its critical value and sample size? This lesson
will help you solve those kinds of problems.
One of the properties of a t-distribution is that it is similar to the standard distribution.
The total area under the curve is equal to 100% or 1 and the curve is symmetric about the
mean, which means that the distribution on the left is the same as the distribution on the
right.
The percentile of a t-distribution indicates the value below which a
given percentage of observations in a group of observations falls; for example, the 75th
percentile is the value where 75% of the values lie below it, and 25% lie above it.

Example 1
Find the area and percentile under the t-distribution from t = -1.746 and t = 1.746 with
sample size of 17.
Solution
To find the area or the confidence level and percentile, let’s identify and illustrate the
given.
Given: Critical values of t = 1.746

and t = -1.746 ?
Sample Size (n) = 17
nth percentile mth percentile

t = -1.746 t = 1.746
Step 1: Determine the degrees of freedom.
df = n - 1
df = 17 – 1 = 16

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Step 2: On the t-table, locate the row of df = 16 and α where the critical values 1.746 and -
1.746 belongs. Since, we have 2 critical values then this is in two-tailed test.
Area in two tails
df
0.20 0.10 0.05
16 1.337 1.746 2.120
0. 10
=0 . 05
Therefore, α = 0.10. Since this is in two-tailed test then 2 will be area in
one tail.
Step 3: Find the area under the curve by subtracting 1 to α.
Area = 1 - α
Area = 1 - 0.10 = 0.90

Thus the area under the curve 90%

from t = -1.746 and t = 1.746 is 0.90
or 90%. The critical value -1.746 is 5th percentile 95th percentile
the 5th percentile and 1.746 is the
95th percentile.
t = -1.746 t = 1.746

Example 2

Find the percentile and area to the left of t = 2.101 when df = 18.

Solution

Given: Critical values of t = 2.101,

df = 18 ?
nth percentile

t = 2.101
Step 1: Determine the degrees of
freedom.
df = 18 (Given)
Step 2: On the t-table, locate the row of df = 18 and α where the critical value 2.101 belongs.
Since, we have 1 critical value then this is in one-tailed test.

Area in one-tail
df
0.10 0.05 0.025
18 1.330 1.734 2.101
Therefore, α = 0.025

Step 3: Find the area by subtracting 1 to α.

Area = 1 - α
= 1 - 0.025
Area = 0.975

97.5%
97.5th percentile

t = 2.101
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Thus the area under the curve to the left of t = 2.101 is 0.975 or 97.5%. The critical value
2.101 is the 97.5th percentile.

Example 3

Find the percentile and area to the right

of t = -2.977 when df = 14.
?
Solution
nth percentile
Given: Critical values of t = -2.977
t = -2.977
df = 14 , one-tailed

Step 1: Determine the degrees of freedom.

df = 14 (Given)
Step 2: On the t-table, locate the row of df = 14 and α where the critical value 2.977 belongs.
Since, we have 1 critical value then this is in one-tailed test.
Area in one tail
df
0.10 0.05 0.025 0.01 0.005
14 1.345 1.761 2.145 2.624 2.977
Therefore, α = 0.005

Step 3: Find the area by subtracting 1 to α.

Area = 1 - α
= 1 - 0.005
Area = 0.995

Thus the area under the curve from 99.5%

t = -2.977 is 0.995 or 99.5%. The
critical value -2.977 is the 0.5th 0.5th percentile
percentile.
t = -2.977

Finding t distribution Critical Values by Michelle Lesh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lINCCgUD-ns
)

LET’S DIG IN

Directions: Answer the following.

1. Find the area under the t-distribution from t = -2.060 to t = 2.060 when n = 26 then
illustrate the t-distribution.

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2. Find the area under the t-distribution to the right of t = -3.499 when n = 8 then illustrate
the t-distribution.

3. Find the area under the t-distribution to the left of t = 1.725 when df = 20 then illustrate the
t-distribution.

LET’S REMEMBER
When we assume that the data comes from normal distribution, t-test statistic is an
appropriate test statistic used when the sample data is less than 30. This test is developed
by William S. Gosset. The properties of the normal curve in the t-distribution acquire the
same properties with that of z-distribution. The only difference is the degrees of freedom,
hence, t-distribution approaches the z-distribution as the sample size increases.

In finding the critical values of a t-distribution using a desired level of confidence, we

follow the 4 steps, that is, (a) determining the alpha error, (b) determining the type of test to
be used, (c) computing the degrees of freedom, and (d) finding the intersection of df and
alpha.

In addition, computing the area and percentile under the t-distribution require 3 steps
to follow, that is, (a) determining df, (b) locating df and the critical values on the t-table and
identifying the α, (c) finding the corresponding area or percentile under the normal curve.

LET’S APPLY

Directions: Show the step by step process in solving the following problems.

1. What is the critical values of t for area in two tails when the sample size is 24 with
confidence level of 98%?
2. Construct a t-distribution with a sample size of 16 and a confidence level of 97.5%, where
in the critical value is on the left tail.
3. Find the area to the left of critical value t = 2.500 when sample size is 24.

LET’S EVALUATE (Post-test)

Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following is true about the t-distribution?

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A. A t-distribution is composed of bell-shaped curves. Each curve represents
a degree of freedom.
B. As the sample size decreases, the t-distribution approaches the standard
normal distribution.
C. The population is not normally distributed.
D. The distribution at the left of the mean is not the same as the distribution
at the right of the mean.
2. Which of the following is false about the t-distribution?
A. The shape of the curve depends on the sample size n.
B. The variance of the distribution is greater than one unit.
C. It is used when sample size is greater than 30.
D. It’s total area under any of the curves is equal to 1.
3. What is the first step in finding the critical values of t?
A. Finding the intersection of df and alpha.
B. Computing the degrees of freedom.
C. Determining the type of test to be used.
D. Determining the alpha error.
4. This table shows the probabilities/ areas of the t-distribution for different degrees of
freedom. This is used to find the critical values of t.
A. c-table B. d-table C. t-table D. z-table
For nos. 5-7, refer to the given below

Given n = 25 and confidence level = 90% in two tails

5. What is the value of α?

A. 0.1 in two-tail B. 0.1 in one-tail
C. 0.05 in two-tail D. 0.025 in one-tail

6. What is the value of df?

A. 25 B. 24 C. 23 D. 22
7. What are the critical values of t?
A. ±1.711 B. ±1.708 C. ±1.318 D. ±1.316
For nos. 8-10, refer to the given below

Given n = 10, confidence level = 95%, and critical value on the right tail

8. What is the value of α?

A. 0.05 in two-tail B. 0.05 in one-tail
C. 0.025 in two-tail D. 0.025 in one-tail

9. What is the value of df?

A. 7 B. 8 C. 9 D. 10
10. What is the critical value of t?
A. 2.262 B. 1.833 C. -1.833 D. -2.262
For nos. 11-13, refer to the given below

Given n = 28, confidence level = 99%, and critical value on the left tail

11. What is the value of α?

A. 0.005 in two-tail B. 0.005 in one-tail
C. 0.01 in two-tail D. 0.01 in one-tail

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12. What is the value of df?
A. 27 B. 28 C. 29 D. 30
13. What are the critical values of t?
A. 2.473 B. 2.467 C. -2.467 D. -2.473
For nos. 14-15, refer to the given below

Given df = 19 and t = -2.093

14. What is the area to the right of t = -2.093?

A. 90% B. 95% C. 97.5% D. 99%
15. What is the percentile rank of the critical value of t?
A. 0.05th B. 2.5th C. 97.5th D. 99.5th

Write your
Alternatively, you may answer these questions online!
score here
Use this link on your cellphone, laptop or desktop:

https://tinyurl.com/STATQ3W9EVALUATE

Use proper capitalization to activate the link. Make sure you are
connected to the internet! You will see your score after completing the test.
Make sure to screenshot your work as proof to your teacher then write your score in the box.

References

De Guzman, Danilo “Statistics and Probability”, C & E Publishing, Inc.

Mercado, Jesus P. et al “Next Century Mathematics Statistics and Probability”, Phoenix
Publishing House, Inc.

Development Team of the Module

Writer: NOELLE MAY NONO
Editors:
CONTENT EVALUATORS: LAMBERT QUESADA

LANGUAGE EVALUATOR: AILEEN GENOSO

Reviewers: MRS. MIRASOL I. RONGAVILLA

ARMANDO V. EROLIN 15

Illustrators:
For inquiries, please write or call:

Schools Division of Taguig city and Pateros Upper Bicutan Taguig City

Telefax: 8384251

Email Address: [email protected]

16
ii
Let’s Try Step 1: Identify critical values of t. then
A plot on the curve.
D Critical value of t = -2.131
C Step 2: Shade the region of confidence
A level
C
C Step 3: Label alpha error
D
B Step 1: df = n - 1
C df = 24 - 1
B df = 23
C Step 2: critical values of t = 2.500 in one
B tail.
B Then,
D
B α = 0.01
Let’s Recall Step 3: Area = 1 - α
Area = 1 - 0.01
Area = 0.99 or 99%
Let’s Evaluate
Let’s Dig In A
Area = 95%
C
D
2.5th 97.5th
C
Area = 99.5%
A
0.5th B
Area = 95% A
B
5th C
Let’s Apply B
Step 1: α = 1 - confi.level D
α = 1 - 0.98 A
α = 0.02 D
Step 2: Two-tail C
Step 3: df = n - 1 B
df = 24 - 1
df = 23
Step 4: critical values of t = -2.500 and
2.500
Answer Key
Note: This part is not included for printing. For Teachers’ reference only.