Name ______________________________
Identify the Controls and Variables
Smithers thinks that a special juice will increase the Identify the -
productivity of workers. He creates two groups of 50 1. Control Group
workers and assigns each group the same task (in this case,
they’re supposed to staple a set of papers). Group A is
given the special juice to drink while they work. Group B is 2. Manipulated (Independent) Variable
not given the special juice. After an hour, Smithers counts
how many stacks of papers each group has made. Group A 3. Responding (Dependent) Variable
made 1,587 stacks. Group B made 2,113 stacks.
4. What should Smithers' conclusion be?
5. How could this experiment be improved upon?
Homer notices that his shower is covered in a strange green 6. What was the initial observation?
slime. His friend Barney tells him that coconut juice will get
rid of the green slime. Homer decides to test this out by
spraying half of the shower with coconut juice. He sprays the Identify the -
other half of the shower with water. After 3 days of
"treatment" there is no change in the appearance of the
green slime on either side of the shower. 7. Control Group
8. Manipulated (Independent) Variable
9. Responding (Dependent) Variable
10. What should Homer's conclusion be?
Bart believes that mice exposed to microwaves will become 11. What was Bart's hypothesis?
extra strong (maybe he's been reading too much
RadioactiveMan.) He decides to perform this experiment by
placing 10 mice near a radio for 5 hours. He compared Identify the
these 10 mice to another 10 mice that had not been
exposed. His test consisted of a heavy block of wood that 12. Control Group
blocked the mouse's food. He found that 8 out of 10 of the
radiowaved mice were able to push the block away. 7 out of
10 of the other mice were able to do the same. 13. Manipulated (Independent) Variable
14. Responding (Dependent) Variable
15. How could Bart’s experiment be improved?
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Krusty was told that a certain itching powder was the newest Identify the-
best thing on the market; it even claims to cause 50 %
longer lasting itches. Interested in this product, he buys the 16. Control Group
itching powder and compares it to his usual produce. One
test subject (A) is sprinkled with the original itching powder,
and another test subject (B) is sprinkled with the 17. Manipulated (Independent) Variable
Experimental itching power. Subject A reported having
itches for 30 minutes, Subject B reported to have itches for
10 hours. 18. Responding (Dependent) Variable
19. What should Krusty's conclusion be?
Lisa is working on a science project. Her task is to answer 20. Describe how Lisa would perform this
the question: “Does Rogooti (which is a commercial hair experiment. Identify the control group, and the
product) affect the speed of hair growth?” Her family is manipulated and responding variables in your
willing to volunteer for the experiment. description.
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