Question

You are a scientist studying the effects of different fertilizers on plant growth. You conduct the following experiment: Group 1: You plant one lima bean in a tall plastic cup that contains one cup of fertilizer A. You spray the cup of fertilizer with three squirts of tap water each day. The cup sits in a room that is 72° F and gets four hours of sunlight each day. Every three days the height of the plant is measured in millimeters. Group 2: You plant one lima bean in a tall plastic cup that contains one cup of fertilizer B. You spray the cup of fertilizer with three squirts of tap water each day. The cup sits in a room that is 72° F and gets four hours of sunlight each day. Every three days the height of the plant is measured in millimeters. Group 3: You plant one lima bean in a tall plastic cup that contains one cup of soil with no fertilizer. You spray the cup of soil with three squirts of tap water each day. The cup sits in a room that is 72° F and gets four hours of sunlight each day. Every three days the height of the plant is measured in millimeters. Group 4: You plant one lima bean in a tall plastic cup that contains one cup of fertilizer C. You spray the cup of fertilizer with three squirts of tap water each day. The cup sits in a room that is 72° F and gets four hours of sunlight each day. Every three days the height of the plant is measured in millimeters.

Question 1 Which group(s) is/are included in the Experimental group(s)? group 1, group 2, group 3, group 4, group 5

Question 2 Which group(s) is/are included in the Control group? group 1, group 2, group 3, group 4, group 5

Answer 1

The experiment that is being conducted is to check the effect of fertilizer on the growth of the lima bean plant and hence the groups with fertilizer present in them will be called as experimental systems and the group in which no fertilizer is present will be considered as the control. Hence:

1. The groups 1,2 and 4 are included in the experimental groups as they have fertilizer A, B and C respectively in them.

2. The control group is group 3 as it doesn't have any fertilizer in it.

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