Question

According to the textbook, which of the following scenarios best exemplifies a type II error?

1) Luke's experiment shows that classical music assists the growth of lima bean plants, when in fact it does not.
2) Dr. Simpson incorrectly diagnoses Mark with lymphoma when he is in fact healthy.
3) Robert calculates a p-value of 0.5, but his experimental and control groups are actually different.
4) Gail's experiment finds that dementia in 80-year-olds is strongly correlated with high blood pressure at the age of 70, but in fact there is no such correlation.

Answer 1

A Type II error occurs when a false null hypothesis is not rejected. The best exemplification of a Type II error is option 4, where there is no correlation between dementia and high blood pressure, but it is incorrectly concluded that there is a strong correlation.

Step-by-step explanation:

A Type II error occurs when a false null hypothesis is not rejected. In the given scenarios, the best exemplification of a Type II error is option 4. Gail's experiment finds that dementia in 80-year-olds is strongly correlated with high blood pressure at the age of 70, but in fact, there is no such correlation. This means that Gail fails to reject the null hypothesis that there is no correlation between dementia and high blood pressure, when in fact there is a correlation.