Exercise 01 (𝒕𝒕-test, 𝑭𝑭-test)
Please submit your answers by 1 pm on Monday, 9 October 2023. You may drop off your submissions
outside my office (Schmitt C-101).
1. A new, rapid procedure is being tested for the determination of sulfur in kerosenes. The procedure was
tested on a sample known from its method of preparation to contain 0.123%S. The results for %S were
0.112, 0.118, 0.115, and 0.119. Do the data indicate that there is a bias in the method at the 95%
confidence level?
2. In a forensic investigation, a glass containing red wine and an open bottle were analyzed for their alcohol
content in order to determine whether the wine in the glass came from the bottle. On the basis of six
analyses, the average content of the wine from the glass was established to be 12.61% ethanol. Four
analyses of the wine from the bottle gave a mean of 12.53% alcohol. The 10 analyses yielded a pooled
standard deviation spooled 5 0.070%. Do the data indicate a difference between the wines?
3. A new automated procedure for determining glucose in serum (Method A) is to be compared to the
established method (Method B). Both methods are performed on serum from the same six patients in order
to eliminate patient-to-patient variability. Do the following results confirm a difference in the two methods at
the 95% confidence level?
Patient 1 Patient 2 Patient 3 Patient 4 Patient 5 Patient 6
Method A glucose, mg/L 1044 720 845 800 957 650
Method A glucose, mg/L 1028 711 820 795 935 639
Difference, mg/L 16 9 25 5 22 11
4. A standard method for the determination of the carbon monoxide (CO) level in gaseous mixtures is known
from many hundreds of measurements to have a standard deviation of 0.21 ppm CO. A modification of the
method yields a value for 𝑠𝑠 of 0.15 ppm CO for a pooled data set with 12 degrees of freedom. A second
modification, also based on 12 degrees of freedom, has a standard deviation of 0.12 ppm CO. Is either
modification significantly more precise than the original?
5. Traces of toxic, man-made hexachlorohexanes in North Sea sediments were extracted by a known process
and by two new procedures, and measured by chromatography.
Concentration found Standard deviation Number of
Method
(pg/g) (pg/g) replications
Conventional 34.4 3.6 6
Procedure A 42.9 1.2 6
Procedure B 51.1 4.6 6
(a) Is the concentration pg/g parts per million, parts per billion, or something else?
(b) Is the standard deviation for procedure B significantly different from that of the conventional procedure?
(c) Is the mean concentration found by procedure B significantly different from that of the conventional
procedure?
(d) Answer the same two questions as parts (b) and (c) to compare procedure A to the conventional
procedure.
6. A trainee in a medical lab will be released to work on her own when her results agree with those of an
experienced worker at the 95% confi dence level. Results for a blood urea nitrogen analysis are shown
below.
𝑋𝑋� (mg/dL) 𝑠𝑠 (mg/dL) 𝑛𝑛 (samples)
Trainee 14.57 0.53 6
Experienced worker 13.95 0.42 5
Should the trainee be authorized to work alone? Why or why not?
7. Nitrite (𝑁𝑁𝑂𝑂2− ), was measured by two methods in rainwater and unchlorinated drinking water. The results ±
standard deviation (number of samples) are
Sample Source Gas Chromatography Spectrophotometry
0.069 ± 0.005 mg/L 0.063 ± 0.008 mg/L
Rainwater
(𝑛𝑛 = 7) (𝑛𝑛 = 5)
0.078 ± 0.007 mg/L 0.087 ± 0.008 mg/L
Drinking Water
(𝑛𝑛 = 5) (𝑛𝑛 = 5)
(a) Do the two methods agree with each other at the 95% confi dence level for both rainwater and drinking
water?
(b) For each method, does the drinking water contain significantly more nitrite than the rainwater (at the
95% confi dence level)?