In: Statistics and Probability
Researchers wanted to compare the effectiveness of a water softener used with a filtering process with a water softener used without filtering. Ninety locations were randomly divided into two groups of equal size. Group A locations used a water softener and the filtering process, while group B used only the water softener. At the end of three months, a water sample was tested at each location for its level of softness. (Water softness was measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the softest water.) The results were as follows.
group A
x1 = 2.1
s1 = 0.7
group B
x2 = 1.7
s2 = 0.4
Determine, at the 90% confidence level, whether there is a difference between the two types of treatments.