A group of Hope College statistics students wanted to see if there was an association between students’ major and the time (in seconds) it takes them to complete a small Sudoku-like puzzle. They grouped majors into four categories: applied science (as), natural science (ns), social science (ss), and arts/humanities (ah). Their results can be found in the data file MajorPuzzle.
a. Identify the explanatory variable and the response variable in this study.
b. State, in words or symbols, the null and alternative hypotheses.
c. Put the data in the Multiple Means applet and describe what the dotplots and means tell us about the association between major and time to complete the puzzle.
d. What is the value of the MAD statistic?
e. Use a simulation-based approach to determine if there is an association between a student’s majors and the time it takes them to complete the puzzle. Be sure to report a p-value. Is there strong evidence of an association?