5
QuizMultiple Choice

Experimental Designs

Question 5 • NC-Math 4 CR

A tire company wants to determine if tires made with a new type of tread will last longer than tires made with the original type of tread. The company decides to put tires with the new tread on 10 different vehicles and tires with the original tread on 10 different vehicles. "New” is written on one slip of paper and "Original” is written on another slip of paper. The two slips are placed in a bag and thoroughly mixed. A vehicle is selected and a slip is drawn. The corresponding tread of tires is assigned to the vehicle. The slip is put back into the bag and mixed. The next vehicle is selected and a slip is drawn. The corresponding tread is assigned to the vehicle. This procedure continues until all 20 vehicles have been assigned tires of the new or original types of tread.

Answer
A
Yes, the tires are randomly assigned to each vehicle.
B
Yes, there are two treatments, new and original treads.
C
No, even though randomness is used, the procedure does not ensure that an equal number of vehicles are in both groups.
D
No, the company did not use 20 of the same type of vehicle to receive both treatments, the new and original treads.

Explanation

The slips are replaced after each draw, so each vehicle has a random chance of receiving either tread. But this does not guarantee that exactly 10 vehicles will receive the new tread and 10 the original tread; one group could end up larger than the other. Therefore, the procedure does not ensure equal-sized treatment groups, as choice C states.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

Previous
Next