Agriculture near Lake Okeechob
Agriculture near Lake Okeechobee focuses heavily on sugar canefields and citrus groves. These crops require supplementalfertilizer, such as nitrates and phosphates, to be added to thesoil. Many farms apply a set amount of fertilizer. Any leftoverfertilizer that was not absorbed into the soil or used by theplants is washed away by rainwater into streams that flow from LakeOkeechobee to the Everglades. Some farms are testing variablefertilization, which involves testing the soil and then adding onlythe required amount of fertilizer. You have been provided with dataon nitrate levels (ug/L) in streams near farms from two years: 2014(when the farms were using a set amount of fertilizer) and 2017(after the farm switched to the variable fertilizer method). Forboth years, sampling was conducted by collecting water samples from35 streams near these farms. Based on observations of water instreams near these farms during 2014 and 2017, we could ask thefollowing question: Has the nitrate level (ug/L) in streams nearfarms changed with the adoption of variable fertilizationmethods?
1. For the study above, identify the following: (4 points)
a. Population: The average nitrate levels on all the streamsnear farms.
b. Sample: The average nitrate levels on 35 streams that weresampled.
c. Parameter:
d. Statistics:
2. For the study above, identify the following: (3 points)
a. Dependent Variable
b. Independent Variable
c. Is the independent variable categorical or numerical?
3. Write a null, two-tailed alternative, and one-tailedalternative statistical hypothesis for this study. (3 Points)
Answer:
1. For the study above, identify the following: (4 points)
a. Population: All the streams that flow from Lake Okeechobee tothe Everglades.
b. Sample: The sample is 35 streams near the farms that flowfrom Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades.
c. Parameter: The population average nitrate levels on all thestreams near farms.
d. Statistics: The sample mean nitrate levels in 35 streams nearthe farms.
2. For the study above, identify the following: (3 points)
a. Dependent Variable – The nitrate level (ug/L) in streams nearfarms
b. Independent Variable – Fertilization methods – (set amount offertilizer or variable fertilizer method)
c. Is the independent variable categorical or numerical? – Theindependent variable is a categorical variable with 2 levels.
3. Write a null, two-tailed alternative, and one-tailedalternative statistical hypothesis for this study.
Null Hypothesis H0: Average nitrate levels in streams near farmsare equal for set amount of fertilizer and variable fertilizermethod.
Two-tailed alternative Ha: Average nitrate levels in streamsnear farms for set amount of fertilizer is not equal to the averagenitrate levels in streams near farms for variable fertilizermethod.
One-tailed alternative Ha: Average nitrate levels in streamsnear farms for set amount of fertilizer is greater than the averagenitrate levels in streams near farms for variable fertilizermethod.