A team of scientists has devised a new chemical fertilizer that its members believe will increase crop yields. The team planted three garden plots with corn. The soil was similar in each, and equal amounts of water were applied to each plot. One plot was treated with a common commercial fertilizer, another was treated with the new fertilizer, and the third plot was not given any fertilizer. The experimenters measured yields as bushels of corn from each plot. The plot that did not receive fertilizer was the __________.

Should an experiment test only one variable at a time? Why or why not?

Radon is a radioactive gas that seeps into homes from the soil. It is thought to be a cause of lung cancer. A research team investigates this hypothesis. The members of the team gather large amounts of data on basement radon concentrations and lung cancer rates and conclude that the more radon there is in a home, the more likely are people living in the home to develop lung cancer. After the study is published, other researchers criticize it by asserting that the studied neighborhoods with higher radon concentrations also have a higher percentage of older people and a higher percentage of cigarette smokers than the low-radon neighborhoods. Both advanced age and cigarette smoking increase the risk of lung cancer. This criticism, if correct, shows that the radon study suffered from __________.

A company was testing a new drug it thought would help decrease the risk of transmission of viruses from mother to fetus. In an experiment to test the compound, an investigator gave 400 pregnant female rats a small dose of the experimental drug and inoculated each with a type of virus known to cause disease in rats. At the same time, 400 other pregnant rats were given only the virus. Of the rat pups born to the females that received both the virus and the drug, 197 showed no symptoms of the disease; 205 rat pups born to the virus-only females showed symptoms. From these data, we can best conclude __________.

The best method for determining whether bean plants require sodium is to __________.

Add labels to the figure that follows, which illustrates the characteristics of research participants in control versus experimental groups.

What does it mean to say that experimental conditions are controlled? Select True or False for each statement.T/F The test groups consist of the same individuals.T/F The null hypothesis is correct.T/F There is no difference in outcome between the control and experimental treatment.T/F All physical conditions except for one are identical for all groups tested.

A controlled experiment is one thata. proceeds slowly enough that a scientist can make careful records of the results.b. tests experimental and control groups in parallel.c. is repeated many times to make sure the results are accurate.d. keeps all variables constant.

A controlled experiment is one thata. proceeds slowly enough that a scientist can make careful records of the results.b. keeps all variables constant.c. is repeated many times to make sure the results are accurate.d. tests experimental and control groups in parallel.