The potential of solar panels on roofs built above national highways as a source of solar energy was investigated in the International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering (Dec. 2013). Computer simulation was used to estimate the monthly solar energy (kilowatt-hours) generated from solar panels installed across a 200- kilometer stretch of highway in India. Each month, the simulation was run under each of four conditions: single-layer solar panels, double-layer solar panels 1 meter apart, double-layer solar panels 2 meters apart, and double-layer solar panels 3 meters apart. The data for 12 months are shown in the table. In order to compare the mean solar energy values generated by the four panel configurations, a randomized block design ANOVA was conducted. A MINITAB printout of the analysis is provided below.

a. Identify the dependent variable, treatments, and blocks for this experiment.
b. What null hypothesis would you test in order to compare the mean solar energy values generated by the four panel configurations?
c. Carry out the test, part b. Give the F-value and associated p-value.
d. What conclusion can you draw from the analysis?

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Double Layer Month Single Layer 1-meter 2-meters 3-meters January February 7,308 6,984 7,874 7,328 7,089 5,730 4,531 4,587 5,985 7,051 6,724 6,883 8,917 8,658 9,227 9,875 9,862 11,092 9,287 8,422 7,069 5,783 5,933 8,208 10,008 9,238 9,144 10,196 9,765 11,861 10,343 9,110 7,536 6,179 6,422 8,925 10,239 9,334 9,808 March April May June 7,930 7,605 6,350 5,120 5,171 6,862 8,608 8,264 8,297 July August September October November December Two-way ANOVA: Energy versus Condition, Month Source DF MS Condition 3 49730750 16576917 115.54 0.000 Month 11 90618107 8238010 57.42 0.000 Error 33 4734730 143477 Total 47 145083587 S - 378.8 R-Sq - 96.748 R-Sq (adj) - 95.358