Can Science Cure the Common Cold?
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Problem 1
Add labels to the figure that follows, which illustrates the characteristics of research participants in control versus experimental groups.
Problem 2
Which of the following is an example of inductive reasoning? a. All cows eat grass; b. My cow eats grass and my neighbor's cow eats grass; therefore, all cows probably eat grass; c. If all cows eat grass, when I examine a random sample of all the cows in Minnesota, I will find that all of them eat grass; d. Cows may or may not eat grass, depending on the type of farm where they liveProblem 3
A scientific hypothesis is . a. an opinion; b. a proposed explanation for an observation; c. a fact; d. easily proved true; e. an idea proposed by a scientistProblem 4
How is a scientific theory different from a scientific hypothesis? a. It is based on weaker evidence; b. It has not been proved true; c. It is not falsifiable; d. It can explain a large number of observations; e. It must be proposed by a professional scientistProblem 4
In science, a theory is a(n) . a. educated guess; b. inference based on a lack of scientific evidence; c. idea with little experimental support; d. body of scientifically acceptable general principles; e. statement of fact
Problem 5
One hypothesis states that eating chicken noodle soup is an effective treatment for colds. Which of the following results does this hypothesis predict? a. People who eat chicken noodle soup have shorter colds than do people who do not eat chicken noodle soup; b. People who do not eat chicken noodle soup experience unusually long and severe colds; c. Cold viruses cannot live in chicken noodle soup; d. People who eat chicken noodle soup feel healthier than do people who do not eat chicken noodle soup; e. Consuming chicken noodle soup causes people to sneezeProblem 6
If I perform a hypothesis test in which I demonstrate that the prediction I made in question 5 is true, I have . a. proved the hypothesis; b. supported the hypothesis; c. not falsified the hypothesis; d. B and C are correct; e. A, B, and C are correct
Problem 7
Control subjects in an experiment . a. should be similar in most ways to the experimental subjects; b. should not know whether they are in the control or experimental group; c. should have essentially the same interactions with the researchers as the experimental subjects; d. help eliminate alternative hypotheses that could explain experimental results; e. all of the aboveProblem 8
An experiment in which neither the participants in the experiment nor the technicians collecting the data know which individuals are in the experimental group and which ones are in the control group is known as . a. controlled; b. biased; c. double-blind; d. falsifiable; e. unpredictableProblem 9
A relationship between two factors, for instance, between outside temperature and the number of people with active colds in a population, is known as a(n) a. a. significant result; b. correlation; c. hypothesis; d. alternative hypothesis; e. experimental testProblem 10
A primary source of scientific results is . a. the news media; b. anecdotes from others; c. articles in peer-reviewed journals; d. the Internet; e. all of the aboveProblem 11
A story on your local news station reports that eating a 1-ounce square of milk chocolate each day reduces the risk of heart disease in rats and that this result is statistically significant. This means that . a. people who eat milk chocolate are healthier than those who do not; b. the difference between chocolate-eating and chocolate-abstaining rats in heart disease rates was greater than expected by chance; c. rats like milk chocolate; d. milk chocolate reduces the risk of heart disease; e. two ounces of milk chocolate per day is likely to be even better for heart health than 1 ounceProblem 12
What features of the story on milk chocolate and heart health described in question 11 should cause you to consider the results less convincing? a. The study was sponsored by a large milk chocolate manufacturer; b. A total of 10 rats were used in the study; c. The only difference between the rats was that human participants of the experimental group received chocolate along with their regular diets, and the human participants of the control group received no additional food; d. The reporter notes that other studies indicate milk chocolate does not have a beneficial effect on heart health; e. all of the above
