Mr. Ray created a secret ingredient for a breath mint that he thinks will "cure" the bad breath sea
organisms get from eating kelp patties. He asked 100
customers with a history of bad breath to try his new breath mint. He had fifty customers (Group
A) eat a breath mint after they finished eating a kelp patty. The other fifty (Group B), also,
received a breath mint after they finished the sandwich, however, it was just a regular breath
mint and did not have the secret ingredient. Both groups were told that they were getting the
breath mint that would cure their bad breath. Two hours after eating the kelp patties, thirty
customers in Group A and ten customers in Group B reported having better breath than they
normally had after eating kelp patties.
a. Which people are in the control group?
b. What is the independent variable?
C. What is the dependent variable?
d. What should Mr. Ray's conclusion be?
e. Why do you think 10 people in group B reported fresher breath?