Question

Robin read somewhere that adding salt to water while heating it will raise the temperature of

the water causing it to boil faster. To test this claim, she filled 30 identical pots with one quart

of water. She randomly selected 15 of the pots and added 1 teaspoon of salt. She then placed

each pot on identical burners set to the highest setting. She measured the water temperature

In each pot after 5 minutes.

Is Robin's research method an example of an observational study experiment, or

simulation?

b

If Robin does find that there is a difference between the water temperatures in the pots

with salt compared to those without can she conclude that the salt caused the

difference in temperature?

Answer 1

a. An experiment

b. No

Explanation:

a. Robin's research method can be concluded to be an experiment because she has a testable group (pots of water with salt) and a control group (pots of water without salt).

2. Based on this alone, she cannot conclude that the salt caused the

difference in temperature because she has not set some appropriate conditions which are to be met for this test.