Controlling Variables in Experiments | How to Ensure Accurate Results

Consider the following scenario: According to Sustainable Enterprises, coffee grounds can greatly benefit plants. They allow for a slow release of nitrogen and they can also increase nitrogen balance. Nitrogen helps plants use carbohydrates to gain energy. Nitrogen controls how plants take their form and how they function inside, and nitrogen helps plants make proteins that help them grow strong and healthy. Coffee grounds have been shown to increase the growth of plants because they have been said to release important nutrients used by the plants. According to Grow Joe, coffee grounds also release magnesium and zinc, micronutrients and amino acids. Without enough magnesium, plants may have brown/yellow older leaves. The coffee grounds can also feed earthworms; they loosen the soil; they retain water; and they release caffeine which repels slugs.Based on this information, students hypothesized that adding coffee grounds to the soil would affect the growth of Brassica rapa plants as measured by their leaf mass (size of leaves grown). They tested this by adding different amounts of coffee grounds to pots of soil before transplanting Brassica rapa seedlings into the pots. These amounts included 0, ¼, ½, ¾, and 1 cup of coffee grounds in each pot.Consider the following assumption made by the students: “The Brassica rapa seedlings transplanted into each pot were similar in health.”a. This is an appropriate assumption because the health of the seedling might impact leaf growth.b. None of the answer choices here are correct as written.c. This is not an appropriate assumption because the health of the seedling cannot be estimated.

The correct answer is option b

The correct answer is option b. None of the answer choices here are correct as written.

This assumption is not appropriate because it states that the seedlings transplanted into each pot were similar in health. However, it is not specified how the health of the seedlings was determined or measured. Without this information, it is not possible to make a valid assumption about the health of the seedlings. It is important to ensure that all variables are controlled and measured accurately in an experiment.

More Answers:
Recognizing the Potential Impact of Inaccurate Measurements in a Coffee Grounds Experiment | A Key Assumption to Address in the Lab Report
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