A Mining Company Made Some Changes to Their Mining Process

question 32

Essay

A mining company made some changes to their mining process in an attempt to save fuel. Before the changes were made, it took an average of 20 gallons of diesel fuel to mine 1,000 pounds of copper. Suppose the standard deviation of fuel used per 1,000 pounds of copper mined is 6 gallons. After the changes were made, the company only used an average of 18 gallons of diesel for the next 30,000 pounds of copper mined.
A) How unusual would it be to get a sample average of 18 gallons or less for 30,000 pounds of copper mined if the changes to the mining process had no effect?
B) Do you think the changes in the mining process actually lowered the fuel used? Explain.

• A) How unusual would it be to get a sample average of 18 gallons or less for 30,000 pounds of copper mined if the changes to the mining process had no effect?
• B) Do you think the changes in the mining process actually lowered the fuel used? Explain.

---

Definitions:

Anaerobic Conditions

Environments that lack oxygen, under which certain biological processes occur, such as the fermentation in yeasts.

ATP Production

The process by which cells generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a molecule that provides energy for many cellular processes.

Aerobic Cellular Respiration

The process in which cells use oxygen to break down glucose and generate ATP, water, and carbon dioxide as byproducts.

Glycolysis

The metabolic pathway that breaks down glucose into pyruvate, producing ATP and NADH, happening in the cell's cytoplasm.