6
QuizMultiple Choice

Experimental Designs

Question 6 • NC-Math 4 CR

A biology student wants to determine if using a fertilizer would help promote the growth of new babies in spider plants. The student has access to 90 baby spider plants of three varieties: green, variegated, and curly. There are 30 plants of each variety. They all are potted in the same amount and type of soil, given the same amount of water, and exposed to the same amount of light. The numbers 1–30 are written on slips of paper, placed in a hat, and mixed thoroughly. A plant is selected and a slip of paper is drawn. If the slip has the numbers 1–15, then the plant will receive fertilizer. If the slip has the numbers 16–30, the plant will not receive fertilizer. A green spider plant is selected and a slip of paper is drawn. This plant is placed in the treatment group indicated by the number, and the slip is not put back in the bag. The slips are mixed again, the next green spider plant is selected, and a slip is drawn. The plant is placed in the treatment group indicated by the number. This procedure is repeated until all 30 green spider plants are assigned to treatments. The numbered slips are placed back in the bag and this procedure is repeated for the remaining types of spider plants. After one year, the shoots will be counted for each plant.

Answer
A
observational study
B
matched pairs design
C
randomized block design
D
completely randomized design

Explanation

The student divides the plants into blocks based on variety: green, variegated, and curly. Within each variety, plants are randomly assigned to receive fertilizer or not, so the treatment comparison is made within each block. This is a randomized block design, rather than a completely randomized design, because variety is deliberately accounted for before assigning treatments.

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