MCAT Math Question 34: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 34

4. A hypothesis test was correctly conducted and the experimenter failed to reject the null hypothesis. Which of the following must be true?

I. The p-value was greater than α.

II. A type I error did not occur.

III. The power of the study was too small.

  • A. I only
  • B. II only
  • C. I and II only
  • D. I and III only

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

A type I error occurs when the null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected. Because we failed to reject the null hypothesis, this could not have occurred. Statement I is incorrect because in a two-sided test, the p-value only needs to exceed

Statement III is incorrect because we lack information about power in the question stem. In addition, a study could be extremely well-powered and still fail to reject the null hypothesis if no difference truly exists between two populations.

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