A scientist tests a new cough medicine by giving it to a group who have colds. The scientist gives another group with colds a liquid and tells them it is cough medicine. The people in both group are women between the age of 20 and 30 who normally are in good health

Answer 1

The purpose of this experiment is to compare the effectiveness of the new cough medicine against a placebo (the liquid) in treating cold symptoms in a specific group of women.

The scientist randomly divides the participants into two groups: Group A and Group B. Both groups consist of women between the ages of 20 and 30 who are normally in good health and currently have colds.

Group A is given the new cough medicine, while Group B is given the liquid and told it is cough medicine. It is important to note that neither the participants nor the scientist administering the treatments know which group received the actual cough medicine.

Over a specific period of time, the scientist monitors and records the symptoms experienced by each group. This includes assessing the severity and duration of their cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, and any other relevant cold symptoms.

After collecting the data, the scientist analyzes it to determine if there is any significant difference in symptom improvement between the two groups. If the group receiving the actual cough medicine shows statistically significant improvement compared to the group receiving the placebo, this would suggest that the new cough medicine is indeed effective in alleviating cold symptoms.

The results obtained from this experiment will help the scientist determine whether the new cough medicine is suitable for wider use and can be considered for further testing or potential distribution to the general population.