Question

In a new method for determining uric acid in water, the following values were obtained for tap water samples spiked with 50 ng/ml of uric acid: 50.4, 50.7, 49.1, 49.0, 51.1 ng/ml. Is there any evidence of systematic error at a 95% confidence level?a) Yes, there is evidence of systematic error.

b) No, there is no evidence of systematic error.
c) The data is inconclusive for determining systematic error.
d) The confidence level is not sufficient to draw conclusions.

Answer 1

No, there is no evidence of systematic error.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine if there is any evidence of systematic error in the method for determining uric acid in water, we can perform a statistical analysis at a 95% confidence level. The values obtained for tap water samples spiked with 50 ng/ml of uric acid are 50.4, 50.7, 49.1, 49.0, and 51.1 ng/ml. We can calculate the mean and standard deviation of these values and perform a t-test to determine if there is a significant difference between the observed values and the expected value of 50 ng/ml.

Using the t-test, we compare the mean of the observed values to the expected value, taking into account the standard deviation. If the calculated t-value is greater than the critical t-value, there is evidence of a systematic error. However, if the calculated t-value is less than the critical t-value, there is no evidence of a systematic error.

Based on the calculations, if the calculated t-value is less than the critical t-value, we can conclude that there is no evidence of a systematic error at a 95% confidence level.