Studies of the habits of white-tailed deer indicate that these deer live and feed within very limited ranges, approximately 150 to 205 acres. To determine whether the ranges of deer located in two different geographical areas differ, researchers caught, tagged, and fitted 40 deer with small radio transmitters. Several months later, the deer were tracked and identified, and the distance y from the release point was recorded. The mean and standard deviation of the distances from the release point were as given in the accompanying table.
Location
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
Sample size
|
40
|
40
|
|
Sample mean (ft)
|
2980
|
3205
|
|
Sample standard deviation (ft)
|
1140
|
963
|
|
Population mean
|
μ1
|
μ2
|
a. If you have no preconceived reason for believing that one population mean is larger than the other, what would you choose for your alternative hypothesis? Your null hypothesis?
b. Would your alternative hypothesis in part (a) imply a one-tailed or a two-tailed test? Explain.
c. Do the data provide sufficient evidence to indicate that the mean distances differ for the two geographical locations? Test using α=.10.