Step 1 :The problem is asking whether the proportion of females aged 15 and older living alone has changed from a previous year, where it was 55%. A sociologist conducted a random sample of 650 females aged 15 and older and found that 365 are living alone. We are asked to test this at the 0.1 level of significance.
Step 2 :The null hypothesis for this test is \(H_{0}: p = 0.55\), which states that the proportion of females aged 15 and older living alone is still 55%. The alternative hypothesis is \(H_{1}: p \neq 0.55\), which states that the proportion has changed.
Step 3 :The test statistic for a proportion hypothesis test is calculated using the formula \(Z = \frac{\hat{p} - p_0}{\sqrt{\frac{p_0(1-p_0)}{n}}}\), where \(\hat{p}\) is the sample proportion, \(p_0\) is the hypothesized population proportion, and \(n\) is the sample size.
Step 4 :In this case, \(\hat{p} = \frac{365}{650} = 0.5615384615384615\), \(p_0 = 0.55\), and \(n = 650\).
Step 5 :Substituting these values into the formula, we get \(Z = \frac{0.5615384615384615 - 0.55}{\sqrt{\frac{0.55(1-0.55)}{650}}} = 0.5913123959890805\).
Step 6 :Final Answer: The test statistic for this hypothesis test is approximately \(\boxed{0.59}\).