Alma wants to prove to her parents that listening to music while she studies for her tests will help her get better grades. She decides to ask 15 of her friends if they listen to music while they study for tests and what their grades are. She finds that her friends who have high grades also listen to music while they study for tests. She tells her parents that she has proven that listening to music while studying for tests will cause her grades to improve. What mistake has Alma made?

Question

anonymous · Answer

She did not separate her friends into different groups, and she didn't apply a treatment.
 She did not separate her friends into different groups, and she used a survey to collect data.
 She did not use a random sample, and she tried to show cause and effect with an experiment.
 She did not use a random sample, and she tried to show cause and effect with an observational study.

anonymous · Answer

@Hero

anonymous · Answer

I crossed out C because this wasn't an experiment

jamierox4ev3r · Answer

Here's a hint: it wasn't a random sample because she simply picked her friends, whom she probably knew got high grades.

anonymous · Answer

Didn't think it was a random sample

anonymous · Answer

I think it's A because she didn't do anything as far as a treatment

jamierox4ev3r · Answer

I don't think separating into different groups would have much of an impact to be honest.

I also think that she didn't have enough real statistics for cause and effect  since she used data that she already knew would give her positive results

anonymous · Answer

Do you agree with A then? For B, I don't really see that she collected data besides seeing that people with high grades listen to music. Not really sure between those 2 but leaning on A

anonymous · Answer

@Jamierox4ev3r

jamierox4ev3r · Answer

I actually think that i would agree with D.

Think about it: if she used random data and made cause and effect with hard data instead of observation, her experiment would have been valid.

I don't exactly see how A. would have corrected Alma's mistakes

anonymous · Answer

It isn't asking what would correct her mistake, it's asking what mistake she made. unless im confused and that's still the same answer @Jamierox4ev3r