Question

The cost of a meal might affect how customers evaluate and appreciate food. To investigate,

researchers worked with an Italian all-you-can-eat buffet to perform an experiment. A total of
139 subjects were randomly assigned to pay either $4 or $8 for the buffet and then asked to
rate the quality of the pizza on a 9-point scale. Subjects who paid $8 rated the pizza 11% higher
than those who paid only $4. Identify the explanatory and response variables, the experimental
units, and the treatments.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The explanatory variable is the cost of the meal, which is the factor that the researchers manipulated to see its effect on the outcome. The cost of the meal has two levels: $4 or $8.

The response variable is the rating of the pizza quality, which is the outcome that the researchers measured to see how it was influenced by the explanatory variable. The rating of the pizza quality is a numerical variable that ranges from 1 to 9, with higher values indicating higher quality.

The experimental units are the subjects who participated in the experiment, which are the individuals or objects that are randomly assigned to receive one of the treatments. In this case, there are 139 subjects who are customers of the buffet.

The treatments are the combinations of levels of the explanatory variable that are applied to the experimental units. In this case, there are two treatments: paying $4 for the buffet or paying $8 for the buffet.