Question

In an experiment to determine if a new type of fertilizer is better than the current "standard" fertilizer for growing corn, 20 plots of land are randomly assigned one of the two types. At the end of the growing season, the corn yields for each plot are measured. It was found that plots that were located closer to a highway had smaller yields than other plots. In this experiment, distance from the highway is a __________.

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer to the question: In this experiment, distance from the highway is a:___, would be: lurking variable.

Step-by-step explanation:

Lurking variables, also known as confounding variables, are factors, or elements that may be part of a relationship between two variables being measured, but that were not considered within the original design of the study, and which can alter the conclusions and results to which a study can point. In this case, the researchers wished to compare the effectiveness of a fertilizer on the process of corn cultivation. The plots selected were each given one type of fertilizer at random and the results were to be measured by how much corn was produced by the plot of land. Although the two variables originally measured were fertilizer vs. corn production, the design did not consider that there would be an additional factor that could play a role. However, in the end, this new, or lurking, variable, confounded the design because now another factor had to be calculated; that those plots of land closer to the highway experienced higher rates of corn growth than those further away.