While studying the impact of nutrition on intelligence, a researcher gives one group of rats a vitamin-rich diet while the other rat group eats Big Macs.While observing the rats run a complicated maze, the researcher notes that the vitamin-enhanced rats' maze is more brightly lit than the Big Mac rats' maze.What is the difference in lighting in this study?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The difference in lighting is a confound because it is an extraneous variable that could influence the outcome of the experiment (the rats' performance in the maze) in addition to the intended independent variable (the type of diet). This makes it difficult to determine if the diet alone is responsible for any observed differences in intelligence or maze-running ability.

While Studying the Impact of Nutrition on Intelligence, a Researcher