Two students in a physics laboratory (named Bill and Sue) are trying to determin
ID: 1837699 • Letter: T
Question
Two students in a physics laboratory (named Bill and Sue) are trying to determine
which of them has the most radioactive test source. Each measured the activity of their source in
events per minute. Bill counted 255 events in a 5-minute interval, while Sue counted 432 events in a
10-minute interval. (They each used the same experimental setup with the same distance and
position of the source relative to the detector.)
Based on these measurements, Bill claims, “My source is stronger than yours!” But, Sue replies,
“The two sources could have the same strength, and the difference between our two measurements
is just due to statistical fluctuations!” Who is most likely to be correct? (Use a 90% confidence
interval for your assessment. Show your reasoning.)
Explanation / Answer
ans: Since the two sources have nearly equal srength,as Bill counts 51 counts per minut and sue counts 43 count per minut .the defference may due to statistical fluctuations.these are random processes.therefore sue may be correct.
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