34. Exposure to microbial products, especially endotoxin, may have an impact on vulnerability to allergic diseases. The article “Dust Sampling Methods for Endotoxin—An Essential, But Underestimated Issue” (Indoor Air, 2006:

20–27) considered various issues associated with determining endotoxin concentration. The following data on concentration

(EU/mg) in settled dust for one sample of urban homes and another of farm homes was kindly supplied by the authors of the cited article.

U: 6.0 5.0 11.0 33.0 4.0 5.0 80.0 18.0 35.0 17.0 23.0 F: 4.0 14.0 11.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 4.0 20.0 5.0 8.9 21.0 9.2 3.0 2.0 0.3

a. Determine the sample mean for each sample. How do they compare?

b. Determine the sample median for each sample. How do they compare? Why is the median for the urban sample so different from the mean for that sample?

c. Calculate the trimmed mean for each sample by deleting the smallest and largest observation. What are the corresponding trimming percentages? How do the values of these trimmed means compare to the corresponding means and medians?