Question

Natalie conducted a study on the effects of triclosan on three algae populations. She collected an algae sample from three different ponds, counted the number of algae cells present in the sample, and then exposed them to a 5 ppm aqueous solution of triclosan and re-counted the number of algae cells in each sample. Using a paired t-test, she obtained a p-value of 0.083 when comparing the original algae population sizes to the population sizes after exposure to triclosan. Natalie concluded that triclosan is toxic to algae because her data for the three samples showed a trend toward a reduction

Answer 1

Natalie conducted a study on the effects of triclosan on three algae populations. She collected an algae sample from three different ponds, counted the number of algae cells present in the sample, and then exposed them to a 5 ppm aqueous solution of triclosan and re-counted the number of algae cells in each sample. Using a paired t-test, she obtained a p-value of 0.083 when comparing the original algae population sizes to the population sizes after exposure to triclosan. Natalie concluded that triclosan is toxic to algae because her data for the three samples showed a trend toward a reduction in population size. What could Natalie do to show a statistically significant effect of triclosan on algae population size?