A student set up an experiment to test if plants give off water vapor. Fifty pea plants, growing in pots, were covered with individual glass containers and left overnight. The next morning, the inside of each lid was covered in droplets of water. The lab student concluded that plants generally give off water vapor. What critique would you make of the experimental design?

Question

Biology

Aylin Zavala

15 August, 17:56

A student set up an experiment to test if plants give off water vapor. Fifty pea plants, growing in pots, were covered with individual glass containers and left overnight. The next morning, the inside of each lid was covered in droplets of water. The lab student concluded that plants generally give off water vapor. What critique would you make of the experimental design?

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Answers (1)

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Brooke Barnes · Answer 1

The student should have set up a control group.

Explanation:

It does not necessarily mean that the droplets of water observed by the student exclusively belong to the plant. Some of the droplets could have been as a result of evaporation from the soil in the pot on which the roots of the plants are anchored or from another source entirely.

The student should have set up a control group so as to serve as basis for comparison.