Final answer:
To study the relationship between cell phone use and homework grades, Professor Smith can design an experiment using the independent variable of cell phone use and the dependent variable of homework grades.
Step-by-step explanation:
To study the relationship between cell phone use and homework grades, Professor Smith can design an experiment using the following components:
- Hypothesis: Increased cell phone use during homework will result in lower grades.
- Independent Variable: Cell phone use (measured by the amount of time spent on the phone during homework).
- Dependent Variable: Homework grades.
- Operational definitions: Cell phone use can be defined as the total amount of time (in minutes) spent on the phone during homework. Homework grades can be defined as the average score obtained on homework assignments.
- Random Assignment: Participants should be randomly assigned to either a control group (limited or no cell phone use) or an experimental group (regular or high cell phone use).
- Potential Confounding Variable: Prior academic performance or study habits of the participants could be potential confounding variables, as they may influence both cell phone use and homework grades.