Biology Adaptive quiz 1

In the study conducted by scientists at the National Toxicology Program, control rats did not live as long as experimental rats, which made the results hard to interpret.

true

Most of the general public relies on media reports for their scientific information.

true

A group of friends are watching the nightly news and see a segment on a study evaluating deaths in people taking a new cholesterol-lowering drug. The study reports that 60% of all people taking this drug experience serious side effects, such as liver damage, stroke, or death. What question is NOT important to ask about this study to determine its impact?

Did the affected people recover from the liver damage and/or strokes they experienced?

Sometimes called the manipulated variable. The part of the experiment that is manipulated or changed by scientists or persons performing the experiment.

Independent variable

This is an illustration demonstrating the influence of different sample sizes. Is the smallest sample size an accurate depiction of the results?

No, the smallest sample size produced inconsistent results.

A team of journalists has decided to take a survey asking a group of 100 people whether herbal supplements help to alleviate symptoms of depression. The survey asks participants about their own personal experiences with herbal supplements. Would the results of the journalists' survey be considered "reliable" and prove that herbal supplements either alleviate or have no effect on symptoms of depression?

No. The survey carried out by these journalists relies on anecdotal evidence, and as such would not be considered "reliable" when evaluating hypotheses regarding herbal supplements and depression.

In the illustration below, which of these are LEAST likely to cause DNA damage?

computer

Which statement about small sample sizes is true?

Small sample size experiments can be inaccurate due to chance.

A person's friend is reading a newspaper article, which notes that, in rats, a positive significant relationship exists between sugar consumption and obesity. The more sugar a rat consumes, the higher its overall body mass. This person's friend asks what it means that the results of this experiment were statistically significant. How should this person answer the question?

The fact that rats that consume more sugar have higher body masses is not due to chance.

Which statement is a major reason that science is often misreported in the news?

The results are difficult to convey in a media sound bite.

The nightly news anchor reports that a scientific paper from a high-impact journal claims that a drug used for the treatment of diabetes increases the likelihood of death from COVID-19. What would someone ask the news anchor about the rigor of the study if only one question was allowed to be asked?

Was the study conducted on human subjects, and was is a randomized clinical trial?

Which experiment would BEST test the hypothesis that exposure to cell phone radiation increases the incidence of brain cancer?

a large sample size experiment consisting of two groups of mice: one group treated with cell phone radiation and an untreated group

A researcher wants to develop a randomized clinical trial that will determine the relationship between an aspirin regimen and heart health. To this end, he decides he will have two groups of patients―one that receives a baby aspirin daily, and one that receives a placebo daily. In this scenario, the group of individuals that receives the placebo is the _____ group, and the group that receives the baby aspirin is the _____ group.

control; experimental

Which type of study would be BEST to evaluate the impact of cell phone use?

a randomized clinical trial with a control group and an experimental group

If cell phones cause brain cancer, one would expect:

an increase in the incidence of brain cancer in the population over time.

Radiation that falls at the high energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum has:

been shown to cause cancer.

When considering the risk of cell phone use, it is useful to compare the collective data from a confirmed cause of cancer, such as:

cigarette smoke.

Which of these may be used as a placebo in an experiment designed to test whether caffeinated coffee improves memory?

decaffeinated coffee

In the study conducted by scientists at the National Toxicology Program, the control group was comprised of animals that:

did not receive radiation, but were treated the same as the experimental group.

A scientific theory is closest to a ____ that has never been disproved.

fact

A study showed a correlation between a high-fat diet and an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes. A news reporter states, "A low-fat diet can reverse and prevent type 2 diabetes." This is an example of:

hyped language.

The headline "Cellphone-Cancer Link Found in Government Study," published in the Wall Street Journal, is an example of:

hyped language.

The headline shown in "Today's News" is an example of: " The right side shows a woman looking worriedly at her computer with a thought bubble that reads, What?!? Cell phones cause cancer? How am I going to live without my phone?!?">

hyped language.

Radiation that falls at the high energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum is referred to as:

ionizing.

A researcher is setting up a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effect of acetaminophen on liver function, and designates a control group of subjects and an experimental group of subjects. What could interfere with the results or completion of this study?

members of the experimental group failing to take acetaminophen according to the experimental regimen

A magazine has published three different graphs depicting the relationship between diet and heart disease. All three graphs demonstrate a positive correlation between the amount of fat and salt in an individual's diet, and the likelihood that that individual will develop heart disease. However, each graph represents a different study with a different sample size. The first graph depicts a study with a sample size of 10, the second graph depicts a sample size of 100, and the third graph depicts a sample size of 1,000. Which of these three studies would likely demonstrate the MOST statistically significant data?

the study evaluating the relationship between diet and heart disease in a sample size of 1,000

A researcher examines several studies on the effect of a new drug to treat diabetes. Which study(ies) would give the researcher the MOST confidence in the results?

three studies done the same way, each with 1,000 people