Exercise 4.29 on page 234 describes a company that advertises that its milled flaxseed contains, on average, at least 3800 mg of ALNA, the primary omega-3 fatty acid in flaxseed, per tablespoon. In each case below, which of the standard significance levels, 1% or 5% or 10%, makes the most sense for that situation?

(a) The company plans to conduct a test just to double-check that its claim is correct. The company is eager to find evidence that the average amount per tablespoon is greater than 3800 (their alternative hypothesis) and is not really worried about making a mistake. The test is internal to the company and there are unlikely to be any real consequences either way.

(b) Suppose, instead, that a consumer organization plans to conduct a test to see if there is evidence against the claim that the product contains at least 3800 mg per tablespoon. If the organization finds evidence that the advertising claim is false, it will file a lawsuit against the flaxseed company. The organization wants to be very sure that the evidence is strong, since there could be very serious consequences if the company is sued incorrectly.  

Exercise 4.29

Studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids have a wide variety of health benefits. Omega-3 oils can be found in foods such as fish, walnuts, and flaxseed. A company selling milled flaxseed advertises that one tablespoon of the product contains, on average, at least 3800mg of ALNA, the primary omega-3.