Platinum Billiards, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a retailer of billiard supplies. It stands out among billiard suppliers because of the research it does to assure its products are top notch. One experiment was conducted to measure the speed attained by a cue ball struck by various weighted pool cues. The conjecture is that a light cue generates faster speeds while breaking the balls at the beginning of a game of pool. Anecdotal experience has indicated that a billiard cue weighing less than 19 ounces generates faster speeds. Platinum used a robotic arm to investigate this claim. The research generated the data given in the file titled
Breakcue.
a. Calculate the sample standard deviation and mean speed produced by cues in the two weight categories: (1) under 19 ounces and (2) at or above 19 ounces.
b. Calculate a 95% confidence interval for the difference in the average speed of a cue ball generated by each of the weight categories.
c. Is the anecdotal evidence correct? Support your assertion.
d. What assumptions are required so that your results in part b would be valid?