Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A gardener measures the height of seedlings in two plots, in centimetres. Plot P has seedlings with a mean of and a standard deviation of . Plot Q has seedlings with a mean of and a standard deviation of . She wants the mean and the standard deviation of all seedlings together.
and , where . To correct a reading, change and .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The combined mean. .
Step 2. The distances. and .
Step 3. The variance. .
Step 4. The standard deviation. .
Answer: mean , variance and standard deviation about .
Check. The combined standard deviation is larger than the standard deviation of either plot, because the plots have different means.
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