Final answer:
The experiment is a double-blind study where a medication and a placebo are given to participants in different periods to measure the medication's effectiveness and control for bias and the placebo effect.
Step-by-step explanation:
The experiment described is a type of double-blind study where participants receive medication for a period and then a placebo for a comparable period without knowing which they are receiving at any given time.
This type of experiment helps eliminate bias and the potential for the placebo effect to influence the results.
Researchers often use placebo-controlled studies to measure the effectiveness of a new medication or treatment by comparing outcomes with a control group that receives no therapeutic benefit from the placebo.