Question

. There is a strong positive relationship between the number of cavities a child has and the level of their reading ability. Does this mean that we should prevent children from brushing their teeth so that they become better readers? Why not? (Identify a potential confounding variable.)

Answer 1

Here' the answer to the question. please write back in case you've doubts.

Reason: No, a relationship should not be interpreted as a causality. i.e. even though we know the fact that strong positive relationship between the number of cavities a child and the level of their reading abilities exists, we can't imply that one causes the other. So, you can't conclude that  preventing children from brushing their teeth makes them better readers.

Potential confounding variable: Time spent by a child on reading . This can be confounding variable in this way: Higher time spent on reading leads to lower time spent on oral care. The bad oral care leads to higher number of cavities.