Recent evidence suggests that graduating from college during bad economic times can impact the graduate's earning power for a long time (Financial Times,June 1, 2012). An associate dean at a prestigious college wants to determine if the starting salary of his college graduates has declined from 2008 to 2010. He expects the variance of the salaries to be different between these two years.

Let Sample 1 be the sample of the starting salary of college graduates in 2008 and Sample 2 be the sample of the starting salary of college graduates in 2010.

a.Specify the competing hypotheses that determine whether the starting salary of college graduates has declined from 2008 to 2010.

multiple choice 1

• H₀:₁₂= 0;H_A:₁₂ 0
• H₀:₁₂ 0;H_A:₁₂< 0
• H₀:₁₂ 0;H_A:₁₂> 0

b.Find thep-value.

multiple choice 2

• p-value0.10
• 0.05p-value < 0.10
• 0.025p-value < 0.05
• 0.01p-value < 0.025
• p-value < 0.01

c.At the 5% significance level, have salaries gone down from 2008 to 2010?

multiple choice 3

• RejectH₀; there is evidence that the average starting salary of college graduates has declined from 2008 to 2010.
• RejectH₀; there is not sufficient evidence that the average starting salary of college graduates has declined from 2008 to 2010.
• Do not rejectH₀; there is evidence that the average starting salary of college graduates has declined from 2008 to 2010.
• Do not rejectH₀; there is not sufficient evidence that the average starting salary of college graduates has declined from 2008 to 2010.

Salary 2008

32000

54000

52000

55000

50000

49000

63000

47000

48000

43000

61000

49000

37000

46000

42000

43000

56000

37000

58000

55000

43000

46000

39000

47000

55000

35000

25000

52000

50000

38000

61000

41000

54000

47000

55000

66000

51000

69000

47000

45000

Salary 2010

33000

65000

36000

48000

71000

38000

40000

65000

71000

44000

64000

21000

29000

53000

58000

6000

37000

63000

49000

32000

51000

37000

48000

62000

65000

48000

62000

45000

64000

42000

42000

43000

31000

47000

56000

18000

48000

45000

55000

48000