A study has been carried out to compare the United Way contributions made by clerical workers from three corporations. A sample of clerical workers has been randomly selected from each firm, and the dollar amounts of their contributions are as follows.

Firm 1 Firm 2 Firm 3
199 108 162
236 104 86
167 153 160
263 218 135
265 210 207
96 201

What are the null and alternative hypotheses for this test?

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To determine the null and alternative hypotheses for this test, we need to understand the purpose of the study.

In this case, the purpose of the study is to compare the United Way contributions made by clerical workers from three different corporations.

The null hypothesis (H0) states that there is no significant difference in the mean United Way contributions among the clerical workers from the three corporations.

The alternative hypothesis (Ha) states that there is a significant difference in the mean United Way contributions among the clerical workers from the three corporations.

So, in hypothesis testing notation:

Null Hypothesis (H0): μ1 = μ2 = μ3 (Mean United Way contributions by clerical workers from all three corporations are equal)
Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): At least one of the means (μ1, μ2, or μ3) is different from the others (There is a significant difference in mean United Way contributions among the clerical workers from the three corporations)

To test these hypotheses, statistical methods such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) can be used.