Researchers collected seeds from a certain wild plant, and planted them in group

Question

Researchers collected seeds from a certain wild plant, and planted them in groups of "kin" (seeds of the same mother plant) or nonkin (seeds from different plants). Each group of four seeds was planted either together in one pot, or in a cluster of four pots that contained the same volume of soil. After 8 weeks, the researchers measured the amount of roots each plant had produced. They found that when related plants are grown together in one pot, they produced smaller root systems so as not to compete with one another. Plants grown in separate containers so their roots could not touch, and nonrelated plants grown in a single container, had 15% more roots. Was this a sample survey, an observational study, or an experiment? What is the response variable?

Explanation / Answer

Researchers collected seeds from a certain wild plant, and planted them in groups of "kin" (seeds of the same mother plant) or nonkin (seeds from different plants). Each group of four seeds was planted either together in one pot, or in a cluster of four pots that contained the same volume of soil. After 8 weeks, the researchers measured the amount of roots each plant had produced. They found that when related plants are grown together in one pot, they produced smaller root systems so as not to compete with one another. Plants grown in separate containers so their roots could not touch, and nonrelated plants grown in a single container, had 15% more roots.

Was this a sample survey, an observational study, or an experiment?

This is an observational study. There is no intervention in the study.

What is the response variable?

The response variable is the amount of roots produced.

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