Question

 Studies conducted by the manufacturer of Boston and Vermont asphalt shingles have shown product weight to be a major factor in the customer’s perception of quality. Moreover, the weight represents the amount of raw materials being used and is therefore very important to the company from a cost standpoint. The last stage of the assembly line packages the shingles before the packages are placed on wooden pallets. Once a pallet is full (a pallet for most brands holds 16 squares of shingles), it is weighed, and the measurement is recorded. The data file pallet.xls contains the weight (in pounds) from a sample of 368 pallets of Boston shingles and 330 pallets of Vermont shingles. (α = 0.05)

a. Compute the mean, Median, first quartile, and third quartile of variables

b. Compute the range, interquartile range, variance, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. 

c. Interpret the measure of central tendency and variation within the context of this problem. Why should the company be concerned about the central tendency and variation?

d. For the Boston shingles, is there evidence that the mean weight is different from 3,150 pounds? 

e. Interpret the meaning of the p-value in (d). 

f. For the Vermont shingles, is there evidence that the mean weight is different from 3,700 pounds?

Pallet-1.xls