The Following Data Have Been Collected for a Simple Linear

Multiple Choice

The following data have been collected for a simple linear regression analysis relating sales (y) to price (x) : In applying the least squares criterion, the slope (b) and the intercept (a) for the best-fitting line are b = -12 and a = 162.You are to conduct a hypothesis test to determine whether you can reject the null hypothesis that the population slope, β, is 0 at the 1% significance level.Compute the value of the sample test statistic, t_stat, and use it to reach the proper conclusion.

A) Since t_stat is inside the critical ±9.925 boundaries, we can't reject the β = 0 null hypothesis.
B) Since t_stat is outside the critical ±9.925 boundaries, we can reject the β = 0 null hypothesis.
C) Since t_stat is inside the critical ±7.845 boundaries, we can't reject the β = 0 null hypothesis.
D) Since t_stat is inside the critical ±7.845 boundaries, we can reject the β = 0 null hypothesis.