A Certain Manufacturer Is Interested in Evaluating Two Alternative Manufacturing

Multiple Choice

A certain manufacturer is interested in evaluating two alternative manufacturing plans consisting of different machine layouts. Because of union rules, hours of operation vary greatly for this particular manufacturer from one day to the next. Twenty-eight random working days were selected and each plan was monitored and the number of items produced each day was recorded. Some of the collected data is shown below: $$\begin{array} { c | c | c } \text { DAY } & \text { PLAN 1 OUTPUT } & \text { PLAN 2 OUTPUT } \\\hline 1 & 1234 \text { units } & 1311 \text { units } \\2 & 1355 \text { units } & 1366 \text { units } \\3 & 1300 \text { units } & 1289 \text { units }\end{array}$$ What type of analysis will best allow the manufacturer to determine which plan is more effective?

A) A paired difference comparison of population means.
B) An independent samples comparison of population proportions.
C) A test of a single population proportion.
D) An independent samples comparison of population means.