Question

Two fertilizers are applied to randomly selected potato plants. After several weeks, the potatoes are weighed. The weights in kilograms are as follows. Which fertilizer is generally more effective?

Fertilizer A: 27, 20, 16, 18, 22, 19, 23, 21, 17, 19
Fertilizer B: 28, 19, 18, 21, 24, 20, 25, 27, 29, 21
Explain.
(1 point)
Responses

Fertilizer A is generally more effective, because the mean and median weights of the potatoes treated with it are higher.
Fertilizer A is generally more effective, because the mean and median weights of the potatoes treated with it are higher.

Fertilizer B is generally more effective, because the mean and median weights of the potatoes that were treated with it are higher.
Fertilizer B is generally more effective, because the mean and median weights of the potatoes that were treated with it are higher.

Fertilizers A and B are both ineffective, because there is no difference in the ranges of the weights of the potatoes.
Fertilizers A and B are both ineffective, because there is no difference in the ranges of the weights of the potatoes.

Fertilizers A and B are equally effective, because the ranges of the weights of the potatoes are the same.

Answer 1

To determine which fertilizer is generally more effective based on the potato weights provided, we need to calculate the mean and median for each set of data.

**Fertilizer A weights:**
27, 20, 16, 18, 22, 19, 23, 21, 17, 19

**Calculating the mean for Fertilizer A:**
Mean = (27 + 20 + 16 + 18 + 22 + 19 + 23 + 21 + 17 + 19) / 10
Mean = 21.2 kg

**Calculating the median for Fertilizer A:**
First, sort the values:
16, 17, 18, 19, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27
Median = (19 + 20) / 2 = 19.5 kg

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**Fertilizer B weights:**
28, 19, 18, 21, 24, 20, 25, 27, 29, 21

**Calculating the mean for Fertilizer B:**
Mean = (28 + 19 + 18 + 21 + 24 + 20 + 25 + 27 + 29 + 21) / 10
Mean = 23.2 kg

**Calculating the median for Fertilizer B:**
First, sort the values:
18, 19, 20, 21, 21, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29
Median = (21 + 24) / 2 = 22.5 kg

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**Summary of Results:**
- Fertilizer A: Mean = 21.2 kg, Median = 19.5 kg
- Fertilizer B: Mean = 23.2 kg, Median = 22.5 kg

Given that both the mean and the median of the weights of the potatoes treated with Fertilizer B are higher than those for Fertilizer A, we can conclude that:

**Fertilizer B is generally more effective, because the mean and median weights of the potatoes that were treated with it are higher.**