Question

1. An instructor in a college biology course wants to test a new method for learning Punnett squares. He begins by pairing students with similar entrance exam scores (ACT scores). Then he randomly selects one student from each pair to receive a new curriculum on Punnett squares, while the other student receives the traditional curriculum. At the end of the semester, he administers a genetics quiz with multiple Punnett square problems and records the number of errors. There are 24 students in this experiment. The data are as follows:

Pair	Intervention	Control	Difference
1	10	26	-16
2	22	40	-18
3	44	66	-22
4	23	55	-32
5	8	16	-8
6	33	33	0
7	0	8	-8
8	8	6	2
9	14	18	-4
10	34	14	20
11	2	23	-21
12	10	15	-5

Using a standard table of Wilcoxon signed-rank critical values, determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in the number of Punnett square errors between students exposed to the intervention versus those in the control group. Use a two-tailed test and an alpha = 0.05. Write your brief conclusion for an educated lay person.

Answer 1