Bart believes that mice exposed to microwaves will become extra strong (maybe he's reading too much Radioactive Man). He decides to perform this experiment by placing 10 mice in a microwave for 10 seconds. He composed these 10 mice to another 10 mice that had not been exposed. His test consisted of a heavy block of wood that blocked the mouse food. He found that 8 out of the 10 of microwaved mice were able to push the block away. 7 out of 10 of the non-microwaved mice were able to do same. Identify the Control Group?

Independent Variable? Dependent Variable? What should Bart's conclusion be? How could Bart's experiment be improved?

1 answer

control group: unradiated mice
independent variable: 10 sec exposure
dependent variable: ability to get to food

Statistics plays an important part here. With only ten mice, the standard deviation is huge. The difference between 7 and 8 is insignificant, and no conclusion can be made.