Step 1 :Define the null and alternative hypotheses. The null hypothesis is that the variances of the two groups are equal, and the alternative hypothesis is that the variances are not equal. So, we have: $H_{0}: \sigma_{1}^{2}=\sigma_{2}^{2}$ $H_{1}: \sigma_{1}^{2} \neq \sigma_{2}^{2}$
Step 2 :Calculate the variance for each group by squaring the standard deviation. For the treatment group, the variance is $2.1^2 = 4.41$. For the placebo group, the variance is $0.81^2 = 0.6561$.
Step 3 :Calculate the test statistic, which is the F statistic. This is the ratio of the two sample variances. So, we have $F = \frac{\sigma_{1}^{2}}{\sigma_{2}^{2}} = \frac{4.41}{0.6561} = 6.72$
Step 4 :The final answer is that the null and alternative hypotheses are $H_{0}: \sigma_{1}^{2}=\sigma_{2}^{2}$ and $H_{1}: \sigma_{1}^{2} \neq \sigma_{2}^{2}$, and the test statistic (F statistic) is \(\boxed{6.72}\)