Gums are used to alter the texture and other properties of foods, in part by binding water. An experiment studied the water-binding of various carrageenan gums in gel systems under various conditions. The experiment had factorial treatment structure with four factors. Factor 1 was the type of gum (kappa, mostly kappa with some lambda, and iota). Factor 2 was the concentration of the gum in the gel in g/100g H20 (level 1 is .1; level 2 is .5; and level 3 is 2 for gums 1 and 2, and 1 for gum 3). The third factor was type of solute (NaCl, Na2SO4, sucrose). The fourth factor was solute concentration (ku/kg H20). For sucrose, the three levels were .05, .1, and .25; for NaCl and Na2SO4, the levels were .1, .25, and 1. The response is the water-binding for the gel in mOsm (data from Rey 1981). This experiment was completely randomized. There were two units at each factor-level combination except solute concentration 3, where all but one combination had four units.
Analyze these data to determine the effects and interactions of the factors. Summarize your analysis and conclusions in a report.
