What is the primary purpose of the T test?

The primary purpose of the T test is to compare two means. This statistical test is widely used in hypothesis testing to determine whether there is a significant difference between the means of two groups. It is particularly useful when the sample sizes are small, and the data is assumed to be normally distributed. The T test helps researchers assess whether any observed difference in sample means could be attributed to random chance or if it reflects a true difference in the population from which the samples were drawn.

In practice, the T test can be applied in various scenarios, such as comparing the average test scores of two different classes, evaluating the effectiveness of two different treatments, or analyzing the performance between two different populations. This makes it a fundamental tool within statistical analysis in many fields, including psychology, medicine, and social sciences, where research often involves comparing two distinct groups.