Set up an experiment to test the effects of male mouse aggression related to the

Question

Set up an experiment to test the effects of male mouse aggression related to the number of mice housed together.

Question to be answered: Is there differences in aggressive behavior if male mice are housed two to a cage, 3 to a cage, 4 to a cage, all the way up to 15 mice per cage.

State your hypothesis using the format of a syllogism

How might you measure aggression in mice? What would you look for that constitutes aggressive behavior?

What experimental groups will you need to set up?

How many groups and how many animals will you need in this experiment?

What are the experimental conditions you will be testing?

What are you control groups?

Why do you need to use controls?

What are some possible confounding variables?

There is no parameter given. This is the exact problem given

Explanation / Answer

Hypothesis of the above study would be "Whether clustering affects aggression behavior in male mice'.

The aggression of the male mice can be assessed by bringing another male mice in front of the experimental mice and observing for signs of aggression such as biting, upright posture, and its orientations. Also the behaviors of mice with other mice in the cage should be assessed. Since the mice are housed in different numbers per cage, and if clustering is affecting mice behaviors, then the mice should become more and more aggressive with increase in crowding. If this trend of increasing aggressiveness is not followed, this will suggest that any environmental factor is responsible for it.

One mice in one cage (control), 14 groups with 2 mice per cage, 3 mice per cage, 4 mice per cage till 15 mice per cage and a positive control group with drug induced aggression, giving a total of 16 groups.

A total of 16 groups and 122 mice in total are required for the experiment.

Control group will include mice kept singly in one cage only and provided with apt food and water. These mice should be compared with the mice(experimental) kept in clustered conditions, for the signs of aggression. Mice treated with any drug, that induces aggressive behavior in mice, this would serve as a positive control for the experiment.

Controls are used to minimize the effects of variables other than the independent variable. It increases the reliability of the results and forma a crucial part of a scientific experiment.

Confounding factors may include temperature, as dominant mice tolerate other mice during conditions of low temperature and the mice benefit each other from huddling, hence a constant cage temperature should be maintained throughout the experiment. Age of mice used can also affect the experiment as younger mice or more aggressive as compared to older mice.

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