Question 1 • Academy - Algebra, Functions, and Data Analysis
A researcher wants to know if eating a mint affects whether people can distinguish between two popular orange juice brands. To conduct an experiment, the researcher places 50 participants in two groups. The treatment group will eat a mint before drinking a juice, while the control group will not eat a mint before drinking. Then the participants will guess the juice brand. To select the groups, the researcher labels each participant with a number and selects slips of paper labeled 1–50 from a bowl at random. The first 25 participants whose numbers are selected will be the treatment group, while the other 25 will be the control group.
Answer
A
should be roughly equivalent because both groups will have 25 participants.
B
should be roughly equivalent because the participants were labeled and then randomly selected for the groups.
C
might not be roughly equivalent because one group may contain people that drink more juice than the other group.
D
might not be roughly equivalent because one group may contain more people that prefer a particular juice brand.
Explanation
The slips are selected at random, so each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to either group. This random assignment should make the groups roughly equivalent in characteristics that could affect the results, such as juice-drinking habits or brand preferences. Having 25 participants in each group alone would not ensure that balance.
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