29. Biomass Biomass, the total amount of vegetation held by the earth’s forests, is important in determining the amount of unabsorbed carbon dioxide that is expected to remain in the earth’s atmosphere.2 Suppose a sample of 75 one-square-meter plots, randomly chosen in North America’s boreal (northern) forests, produced a mean biomass of 4.2 kilograms per square meter (kg/m2 ), with a standard deviation of 1.5 kg/m2.

Estimate the average biomass for the boreal forests of North America and find the margin of error for your estimate.

Source: Reprinted with permission from Science News, the weekly news magazine of Science, copyright 1989 by Science Services, Inc.