The following ANOVA table and accompanying information are the result of a randomized block ANOVA test.

Summary Count Sum Average Variance 1 4 443 110.8 468.9 2 4 275 68.8 72.9 3 4 1,030 257.5 1,891.7 4 4 300 75.0 433.3 5 4 603 150.8 468.9 6 4 435 108.8 72.9 7 4 1,190 297.5 1,891.7 8 4 460 115.0 433.3 Sample 1 8 1,120 140.0 7,142.9 Sample 2 8 1,236 154.5 8,866.6 Sample 3 8 1,400 175.0 9,000.0 Sample 4 8 980 122.5 4,307.1 ANOVA Source of Variation SS df MS F p-value F-crit Rows 199,899 7 28,557.0 112.8 0.0000 2.488 Columns 11,884 3 3,961.3 15.7 0.0000 3.073 Error 5,317 21 253.2 Total 217,100 31

a. How many blocks were used in this study?

b. How many populations are involved in this test?

c. Test to determine whether blocking is effective using an alpha level equal to 0.05.

d. Test the main hypothesis of interest using a = 0.05.

e. If warranted, conduct an LSD test with a = 0.05 to determine which population means are different.