Question

A biology student wanted to determine if using fertilizer would promote plant growth. one hundred plants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one that used the fertilizer, and one that did not use a fertilizer. each plant was planted in the same amount of soil and given the same amount of water and light. which of the following describes the benefit of using control in this experiment?

Answer 1

The benefit of using a control group in this experiment is to compare the effects of using fertilizer to not using fertilizer. The control group would be the plants that did not use the fertilizer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The benefit of using a control group in this experiment is to compare the effects of using fertilizer to not using fertilizer. In this case, the control group would be the plants that did not use the fertilizer. By having a control group that is treated the same way as the experimental group, except for the independent variable (fertilizer), the researcher can determine if any observed differences in plant growth are due to the fertilizer or other factors.

Answer 2

The control in this biology experiment is the group of corn plants without fertilizer. This group allows comparison with the fertilized group to isolate the effect of the fertilizer, ensuring other factors like sunlight and water are consistent.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the described biology experiment, a control group is used to provide a baseline measurement against which the effects of the fertilizer can be compared. The control group consists of plants that did not receive the fertilizer. This allows the scientist to isolate the effect of the fertilizer on plant growth by ensuring that all other conditions, such as the amount of soil, water, and light, are consistent across both groups.

Therefore, the control in this experiment would be (a) Corn without fertilizer. This group helps in determining the effectiveness of the fertilizer as it represents the growth of plants under normal conditions without any additional treatment.

When you have a control group in your experiment, there should be only one key difference between the control group and the test group (which receives the treatment or alteration being investigated). The use of a single variable change helps ensure that the results observed are due to the treatment and not confounded by other factors. In case of multiple uncontrolled differences, it would be difficult to attribute the observed effects to the independent variable under study, potentially compromising the experiment's validity.