ANOVA stratum 2026-10-07
An ANOVA stratum is an orthogonal response subspace representing one level of experimental variation, such as between blocks or within blocks. In a covariance model scalar on each such subspace, its eigenvalue supplies the common variance scale for its projected coordinates. Treatment and residual sums of squares in ANOVA must be compared within appropriate strata.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 35 1 c iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
The constant subspace has one statistical degree of freedom. Day contrasts have , and the within-block ANOVA stratum has . Because the orthogonal block design puts all four independent dose contrasts in that last ANOVA stratum, the residual has statistical degrees of freedom.
| Stratum | Source | Degrees of freedom |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | Grand mean | 1 |
| Between days | Days | 4 |
| Within days | Dose | 4 |
| Within days | Residual | 41 |
| Uncorrected total | All observations | 50 |
The corrected total has 49 statistical degrees of freedom; dose is tested against the within-day residual. The quantitative dose scale also permits the dose component to be split into linear, quadratic, cubic and quartic orthogonal polynomial contrasts, each with one statistical degree of freedom. This is optional and does not assume the response is linear in dose.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 35 4 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Both factors are assigned at orchard level. Therefore the experimental units are the twelve orchards; the trees are observational units within them. The six combinations form a balanced factorial design, replicated twice. The orchard ANOVA stratum has statistical degrees of freedom. Spray uses , pruning uses , and their interaction term uses , leaving six for error.
Dividing each treatment sum of squares in ANOVA by its statistical degrees of freedom and using as the denominator gives all missing entries:
The unrounded F-test statistics are , and . The within-orchard tree mean square in ANOVA, 180, is not the treatment error denominator: using it would confuse subsampling with independent replication. The tree ANOVA stratum has statistical degrees of freedom; is the uncorrected total, and the corrected total is 359.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 35 4 f iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
This produces a split-plot design: assign spray to whole orchards, with six sprayed and six unsprayed, then independently randomize ten trees to each pruning method inside every orchard. Orchards remain experimental units for spray; individual trees become experimental units for pruning. Pruning contrasts and the spray-by-pruning interaction term now lie in the within-block ANOVA stratum, while spray is tested between orchards.
The between-orchard ANOVA stratum has eleven statistical degrees of freedom, split into one for spray and ten for error. The within-orchard ANOVA stratum has 348, split into two for pruning, two for the interaction term and 344 for error. This pooling of within-orchard error is appropriate under the stated compound-symmetry covariance model; additional orchard-specific pruning variation would need its own variance component rather than this simplified error model.
The shared orchard effect cancels in a pruning difference within an orchard. Its variance is , so averaging across twelve orchards givesThe spray contrast still compares means of six orchards per group, each based on 30 trees, so its estimated variance remains . For a difference of pruning differences between the two spray groups, each group's pruning difference has estimated variance , and the resulting interaction contrast has estimated variance , compared with in the original allocation.
Splitting pruning within orchards improves pruning and interaction precision without extra trees, and gives spray a less sparse error estimate; it does not reduce the spray contrast's variance. This option requires tree-level pruning to be practical without interference between neighboring trees. The numerical gains, like those in the other options, assume the current variance components remain applicable next year.
Split-plot design 2026-10-07
A split-plot design randomizes one factor to whole plots and another to subplots within each whole plot. Whole-plot treatment effects and subplot treatment effects therefore use different error ANOVA strata. Whole plots provide replication for the first factor; their subplots do not supply extra independent whole-plot replication. Within-whole-plot comparisons can remove a shared additive whole-plot variance component.