ME 14251/14252: Design and Analysis of Experiments

Assignment 1

1. How system/process is represented in general? Describe it.

2. What is the difference between mechanistic and empirical models of system and
process?
3. What are the strategies of experimentation? Describe each.
4. Discuss the disadvantages of best guess approach.
5. What is the disadvantage of one factor-at-a-time approach.
6. What is factorial experimental design? Explain with the help of example.
7. What is a fractional factorial experimental design. Under what condition one can use
this design. Give example.
8. Write the typical applications of experimental design.
9. List the guidelines for designing experiments. Explain each point.
10. Select an experiment of interest to you. Complete steps 1-3 of the guidelines for
designing experiments.
11. What are the basic principles of experimental design? Describe each.
12. What is replication? Why do we need replication in an experiment? Present an
example that illustrates the difference between replication and repeated measurements.
13. Why is randomization important in an experiment?
14. What are the potential risks of a single large, comprehensive experiment in contrast to
a sequential approach?