Question

A study was done to determine if there was a difference in the mean final exam grades for students who took a class online versus students who took the same class in person. A sample of 50 students that took the class online was collected, and a different sample of 75 students that took the class in person was collected with no matching done between the groups. The following statcrunch output was generated using the data collected:

95% confidence interval results:
Difference Sample Diff Std. Dev. Limit U. Limit Mu₁ - Mu₂
-30.6 165.49 -4.22 -1.78

Based on the confidence interval, which population mean appears to be higher?
a) Population mean final exam grade for online students (Mu₁)
b) Population mean final exam grade for in-person students (Mu₂)
c) Both population means are the same
d) Cannot be determined from the given information

Answer 1

The population mean final exam grade for online students appears to be higher based on the 95% confidence interval results.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 95% confidence interval results suggest that the population mean final exam grade for online students (Mu₁) appears to be higher. The confidence interval ranges from -4.22 to -1.78, with a sample difference of -30.6. Since the interval does not contain zero and is entirely negative, it suggests that the mean final exam grade for online students is higher than the mean final exam grade for in-person students.