Reference no: EM131737719

Inorganic phosphorous is a naturally occurring element in all plants and animals, with concentrations increasing progressively up the food chain (fruit < vegetables < cereals < nuts < corpse). Geochemical surveys take soil samples to determine phosphorous content (in ppm, parts per million). A high phosphorous content may or may not indicate an ancient burial site, food storage site, or even a garbage dump. The Hill of Tara is a very important archaeological site in Ireland. It is by legend the seat of Ireland's ancient high kings†. Independent random samples from two regions in Tara gave the following phosphorous measurements (ppm). Assume the population distributions of phosphorous are mound-shaped and symmetric for these two regions.

Region I: x₁; n₁ = 12 540 810 790 790 340 800 890 860 820 640 970 720

Region II: x₂; n₂ = 16 750 870 700 810 965 350 895 850 635 955 710 890 520 650 280 993

Let μ₁ be the population mean for x₁ and let μ₂ be the population mean for x₂.

Find a 99% confidence interval for μ₁ - μ₂. (Round your answers to one decimal place.)