Question

Woodworkers Alex and Brandon make precision pieces for toys. Each toy requires four 9-inch long sticks. Alex cuts four sticks one at a time, and their lengths are independent. Alex’s sticks have mean length 9 inches with a standard deviation 0.17 inches. Brandon clamps four sticks together and cuts them all at once, so that they all have the same length. Brandon’s sticks also have a mean length of 9 inches with a standard deviation of 0.17 inches. Four sticks, two from Alex and two from Brandon, are laid end-to-end. What is the mean of the total length? What is the standard deviation of the total length? The mean of the total length is inches. The standard deviation of the total length is inches.

Answer 1