The question is about the ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) procedure, which is a statistical method used to compare the means of multiple groups.

ANOVA is specifically used to determine whether there are any statistically significant differences between the means of more than two groups or populations. Therefore, the correct option here is:

• "the means of more than two populations are equal"

This is because ANOVA tests whether the group means are equal, which is essentially asking if there is no significant difference between them.

Would you like more details about how ANOVA works or an example problem?

Here are 5 related questions you might want to consider:

1. How does ANOVA differ from a t-test?
2. What are the assumptions of ANOVA?
3. What types of ANOVA tests exist (e.g., one-way, two-way)?
4. How do you calculate the F-statistic in ANOVA?
5. How is post-hoc testing used after ANOVA?

Tip: Always check the assumptions of ANOVA before applying it, such as homogeneity of variances and normally distributed populations.