Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-year-2-of-the-earth-sciences-geology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2022/paper-1/9/solution

Test homogeneity of the four category probabilities among the three samples. The null hypothesis is for every category ; the alternative allows at least one difference. This is a Pearson chi-squared test of homogeneity, assuming independently sampled grains with consistent classification.
The row totals are , the sample totals and the grand total . Under the null hypothesis, , giving the expected value table
For example, , so that cell contributes . The complete cell contributions are
so . There are statistical degrees of freedom. The supplied critical value is , and , so do not reject homogeneity at . The approximate upper-tail p-value is .
One of twelve expected cells is below five, with none below one; the asymptotic approximation is broadly defensible by a common expected-count guideline but is not exact. An exact/conditional simulation could check it, especially if grain counts are clustered. Do not pool categories solely to obtain a desired result. The conclusion is that these counts do not demonstrate different category proportions; they do not prove that the rocks share one geological formation. Different formations can share such proportions, and real grains within one rock can fail the independent-sampling assumption.

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