A horticulturist is trying to produce a new fertilizer that creates larger rose flowers. In her experiment she treats 10 plants with no fertilizer, 10 plants with a fertilizer already known to increase the size of rose flowers, and 10 plants with the new fertilizer she is testing. The plants with no fertilizer are the _______ group, the plants with the known fertilizer are the _______ group, and the plants treated with the new fertilizer are the _______ group.
A) negative; treatment; positive
B) positive; negative; treatment
C) negative; positive; treatment
D) treatment; negative; positive

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The plants with no fertilizer are the control group because they serve as a baseline comparison against which the other groups can be measured. Therefore, they are the negative group. The plants with the known fertilizer are the treatment group because they are receiving a treatment that is known to affect the size of rose flowers. Therefore, they are the positive group. The plants treated with the new fertilizer are the experimental group because they are receiving the new treatment that is being tested. Therefore, they are the treatment group.

A Horticulturist Is Trying to Produce a New Fertilizer That