Question

Jimmy and Jenny have designed an experiment to test how termites react to the chemicals in ink pens. They use one termite in their experiment. Jenny draws four circles, using four different brands of black ink. Jimmy places the termite on each circle of ink and they watch the termite's behavior as it is placed on each circle, one try per circle. In all four cases, the termite veers off the ink circle. Jimmy and Jenny conclude that termites are not attracted to ink at all. What suggestion would you give Jimmy and Jenny concerning their experimental design?

Answer 1

They need to test more termites and each termite needs to be tested several times

Answer 2

In the given experimental design, Jimmy and Jenny should use more than one termite and should run many trials as possible before coming to the conclusion. In order to be able to confirm their theory, they would have to experiment, the same trial on various termites to find whether the termites exhibit any kind of attraction towards the ink or not.

Only one termite, which has been used in the experiment might be the one that is not getting attracted to the ink.