Final answer:
In the given health study, the independent variable is walking 10,000 steps a day, the dependent variable is blood pressure, the experimental group includes participants who walk the steps, and the control group consists of those who do not alter their activity levels.
Step-by-step explanation:
Identifying Variables and Groups in a Blood Pressure Study
When examining the claim that walking 10,000 steps a day will lower blood pressure, we identify the following elements within the scientific study:
Independent variable: This is the variable that is manipulated to observe if it causes an effect. In this case, it's the act of walking 10,000 steps a day.
Dependent variable: This variable changes as a result of manipulating the independent variable. Here, it's the blood pressure of the participants.
Experimental group: The group of participants who will walk the 10,000 steps daily.
Control group: A possible control group could be a set of participants who do not change their daily step count, maintaining whatever their normal activity level was prior to the study.
These elements are crucial for conducting an experiment to evaluate the hypothesis that walking a certain number of steps can affect blood pressure levels. Setting up these variables and groups properly allows for a fair test and accurate data analysis.