A farmer that has been well-trained in the scientific method divides his acreage into several plots and plants the same variety of hay in each. He varies the amount of fertilizer applied to each plot and carefully records the yield, in bales per acre, for each of the plots. Which of these tools would be the best to help him analyze the effect of fertilizer application on hay yield?
A) cause and effect diagram
B) scatter diagram
C) Pareto chart
D) flow chart

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A scatter diagram is the best tool to analyze the relationship between two variables, in this case fertilizer application and hay yield. The farmer can plot the amount of fertilizer applied on the x-axis and the yield in bales per acre on the y-axis for each plot to see if there is a correlation between the two. This will help him determine the optimal amount of fertilizer to use for maximum yield. Cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and flow charts are more appropriate for analyzing processes and systems rather than the relationship between two variables.

A Farmer That Has Been Well-Trained in the Scientific Method