The researchers in question opted to remove the macerated moss from the control group in order to <u>guarantee that the </u><u>results </u><u>were accurate. </u>
The experiment in question consists of:
Placing volcanic rock samples into two glass containers
Adding to one container the mixture of macerated moss and water
The other container is the control, it receives only water
The goal is to measure the release of minerals from the rocks.
When performing an experiment, the controlgroup is of vital importance. The presence of a control group ensures the <em>accuracy</em> of an experiment.
Given that moss is grown on rocks and will erode the rock over time, the researchers opted to remove it from the controlsample. <u>Minerals present in the rock might mistakenly be measured as </u><u>minerals </u><u>released from the volcanic </u><u>sample</u>, thus making the results of the experiment inaccurate.