Smithers
thinks that a special juice will increase the productivity of workers. He creates
two groups of 50 workers each and assigns each group the same task (in this case,
they're supposed to staple a set of papers). Group A is given the special juice
to drink while they work. Group B is not given the special juice. After an hour,
Smithers counts how many stacks of papers each group has made. Group A made 1,587
stacks, Group B made 2,113 stacks.
Identify the:
1. Control Group -- Group B
2. Independent Variable -- Special Juice
3. Dependent Variable -- Number of stacks
4. What should Smithers' conclusion be? It doesnt' work
5. How could this experiment be improved? ANswers vary
Homer
notices that his shower is covered in a strange green slime. His friend Barney
tells him that coconut juice will get rid of the green slime. Homer decides to
check this this out by spraying half of the shower with coconut juice. He sprays
the other half of the shower with water. After 3 days of "treatment"
there is no change in the appearance of the green slime on either side of the
shower.
6. What was the iniitial observation? Slime on the shower
Identify the-
7. Control Group - Side sprayed with water
8. Independent Variable - Coco Juice
9. Dependent Variable - Appearance of Slime
10. What should Homer's conclusion be? It doesn't work
he's
been reading too much Radioactive Man). He decides to perform this experiment
by placing 10 mice in a microwave for 10 seconds. He compared 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 10 of the microwaved
mice were able to push the block away. 7 out of 10 of the non-microwaved mice
were able to do the same. 
Krusty
was told that a certain itching powder was the newest best thing on the market,
it even claims to cause 50% longer lasting itches. Interested in this product,
he buys the itching powder and compares it to his usual product. One test subject
(A) is sprinkled with the original itching powder, and another test subject (B)
was sprinkled with the Experimental itching powder. Subject A reported having
itches for 30 minutes. Subject B reported to have itches for 45 minutes. 