Mechanical Engineering Department

MET 902: Design of Experiments and Optimization

Tutorial 3: Single Factor Experiments

P1. An experiment was run to determine whether four specific firing temperatures affect the density of
certain type of brick. The experiment led to following data:

Temperature Density

100 21.8 21.9 21.7 21.6 21.7

125 21.7 21.4 21.5 21.4

150 21.9 21.8 21.8 21.6 21.5

175 21.9 21.7 21.8 21.4

a) Does the firing temperature affect the density of bricks? Use α=0.05
b) Analyze the residuals from this experiment. Are the analysis of variance assumptions satisfied?
c) Construct a graphical display of the treatment. Does this graph adequately summarize the
results of the analysis of variance in part (a)?

P 2. Four different designs for a digital computer circuit are being studied to compare amount of noise
present. The following data have been obtained:

Circuit Design Noise Observed

1 19 20 19 30 8

2 80 61 73 56 80

3 47 26 25 35 50

4 95 46 83 78 97

a) Is the amount of noise present same for all four designs?

b) Analyze the residuals from this experiment. Are the analysis of variance assumptions satisfied?
c) Which circuit design would you select for use? Low noise is the best.
P3. A chemist wishes to test the effect of four chemical agents on the strength of a particular type of
cloth. Because there might be variability from one bolt to other, the chemist decides to use random
block design, with bolts of cloth considered as block. She selects five bolts and applies all four chemicals
in random order to each bolt. The resulting values of tensile strength are as follows. Analyze the data
from this experiment (use α= 0.05) and draw conclusions.

Bolts

Chemicals 1 2 3 4 5

1 73 68 74 71 67

2 73 67 75 72 70

3 75 68 78 73 68

4 73 71 75 75 69

P4 The effect of five different ingredients (A, B, C, D, E) on the reaction time of a chemical process is
being studied. Each batch of new material is only large enough to permit five runs to be made.
Furthermore, each run requires approximately 1.5 hours, so only five runs can be made in a day. The
experimenter decides to run the experiment as a Latin square so that day and batch effects may be
systematically controlled. She obtains the data that follow. Analyze the data from this experiment (use
α=0.05) and draw conclusions.

Day

Batch 1 2 3 4 5

1 A=8 B=7 D=1 C=7 E=3

2 C=11 E=2 A=7 D=3 B=8

3 B=4 A=9 C=10 E=1 D=5

4 D=6 C=8 E=6 B=6 A=10

5 E=4 D=2 B=3 A=8 C=8

P5. As part of the investigation of the collapse of the roof of a building, a testing laboratory is given all
the bolts that connected the steel structure at three different positions on the roof. The forces required
to shear each of these bolts are as follows (coded values) :

Position 1: 90 82 79 98 83 91

Position 2: 105 89 93 104 89 95 86

Position 3: 83 89 80 94

Perform an analysis of variance to test (at the 0.05 level of significance) whether the differences among
the sample means at three positions are significant.

P 6. Samples of ground water were taken from 5 different toxic waste dump sites by each of 3 different
agencies: the EPA, the company that owned each site, and an independent consulting engineer. Each
sample was analyzed for the presence of a certain contaminant by whatever laboratory method was
customarily used by the agency collecting the sample, with the following results:

Concentration (parts per million)

Site A Site B Site C Site D Site E

23.8 7.6 15.4 30.6 4.2

19.2 6.8 13.2 22.5 3.9

20.9 5.9 14.0 27.1 3.0

Agency 1
Agency 2
Agency 3

Use the level of significance α=0.05 to decide:

a) Is there reason to believe that the agencies are not consistent with one another in their
measurements?
b) Do the dump sites differ from one another in their level of contamination?

P7. Part of study “Serum Inorganic Phosphorus Levels in Children with Seizure Disorders Taking
Anticonvulsant Drugs”, conducted at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1982, was
designed to measure serum alkaline phosphatase activity levels (Bessey Lowry Units) in children with a
private physician. Forty Five subjects were found for the study and categorized into four drug groups:

G 1: control (not receiving anticonvulsants and having no history of seizure disorders)

 G 2: Phenobarbital
G 3: Carbamazepine
G 4: Other anticonvulsants

From blood samples collected on each subject the serum alkaline phosphatase activity level was
determined and recorded in table. Test the hypothesis at the level 0.05 level of significance that the
average serum alkaline phosphatase activity level is the same for four drug groups

Drug Group

G1 G2 G3 G4

49.20 97.50 97.07 62.10 110.60

44.54 105.00 73.40 94.95 57.10
45.80 58.05 68.50 142.50 117.60
95.84 86.60 91.85 53.00 77.71
30.10 58.35 106.60 175.00 150.00
36.50 72.80 0.57 79.50 82.90
82.30 116.70 0.79 29.50 111.50
87.85 45.15 0.77 78.40
105.00 70.35 0.81 127.50
95.22 77.40

P 8 Three sections of the same elementary mathematics course are taught by three teachers. The final
grades were recorded as follows:

A B C
 73 88 68
89 78 79
82 48 56
43 91 91
80 51 71
73 85 71
66 74 87
60 77 41
45 31 59
93 78 68
36 62 53
77 76 79
96 15
80
56

Is there a significant difference in the average grades given by the three teachers? Use a 0.05 level of
significance.

P 9 Four different machines M1, M2, M3, and M4, are to be considered in the assembling of a particular
product. It is decided that six different operators are to be used in a randomized block experiment to
compare the machines. The machines are assigned in a random order to each operator. The operation of
the machine requires a certain amount of physical dexterity, and it is anticipated that there will be a
difference among the operators in the speed with which they operate the machines. The following times,
in seconds, were recorded for assembling the product:

M2 M4 M3 M1
39.8 41.3 40.2 42.5

Operator 1

M3 M1 M2 M4
40.5 39.3 40.1 42.2

Operator 2

M2 M1 M4 M3
40.5 39.6 43.5 41.3

Operator 3

M4 M2 M1 M3
44.2 42.3 39.9 43.4

Operator 4

M1 M3 M2 M4
42.9 44.9 42.5 45.9

Operator 5
M2 M4 M3 M1
43.1 42.3 45.1 43.6

Operator 6

Test the hypothesis H0, at the 0.05 level of significance that the machines perform at the same mean rate
of speed.

P 10. Consider an experiment in which the letters A, B, C and D represent the four varieties of wheat; the
rows represent four different fertilizers; and columns account for four different years. The data in tables
are yield for four different varieties of wheat measured in kilograms per plot. It is assumed that various
sources of variation do not interact. Using a 0.05 level of significance, test the hypothesis that

H0: there is no difference in the average yields of the 4 varieties of wheat

YEAR

Fertilizer
Treatment 1981 1982 1983 1984

T1 A B C D
70 75 68 81

T2 D A B C
66 59 55 63

T3 C D A B
59 66 39 42

T4 B C D A
41 57 39 55

P 11 In a study conducted by Department of Health and Physical Education at the Virginia Polytechnic
and state university in 1983, 3 diets were assigned for a period of 3 days to each of six subjects in a
randomized block design. The subjects playing the role of blocks were assigned the following 3 diets in a
random order:

Diet 1: mixed fat and carbohydrates

Diet 2: high fat
Diet 3: high carbohydrates.

At the end of the 3 day period each subject was put on treadmill and time to exhaustion to each subject
was measured. The following data was recorded:

Subject

Diet 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 84 35 91 57 56 45

2 91 48 71 45 61 61

3 122 53 110 71 91 122

Perform the analysis of variance, separating out the diet, subject, and error of sum of squares. Use a 0.01
level of significance to determine if there are significant differences among the diets.

P 12 A manufacturing firm wants to investigate the effects of 5 color additives on the setting time of a
new concrete mix. Variations in the setting time can be expected from day-to-day changes in
temperature and humidity and also from the different workers who prepare the test molds. To eliminate
this extraneous source of variation, a 5x5 Latin Square design was used in which the letters A, B, C, D and
E represent the 5 additives. The setting times in hours for the 25 molds are shown in the table.

At the 0.05 level of significance, can we say that the color additives have any effect on the setting time of
concrete mix?

DAY

Worker 1 2 3 4 5

D E B A C
1 10.7 10.3 11.2 10.9 10.5
 E C D B A
2 11.3 10.5 12.0 11.5 10.3

A B C D E
3 11.8 10.9 10.5 11.3 7.5

B A E C D
4 14.1 11.6 11.0 11.7 11.5

C D A E B
5 14.5 11.5 11.5 12.7 10.9