Twenty sprint cyclists were randomly selected to be in a study designed to test the effectiveness of 4 weeks of creatine supplementation on performance. Ten cyclists received a creatine supplement for 1month while the other ten received a powdered supplement with the same color and texture that has no physical effect for 1 month. The cyclists did not know which pill they were taking but the researcher did. After 1 month, the researcher switched the creatine and non-creatine groups. The original creatine group became the non-creatine group and visa-versa, while they each went through 1 more month of protocol. This study utilized a placebo.

a. True

b. False

True. This study utilized a placebo.

Explanation:

Firstly, let's define a placebo.

A placebo is something that seems to be a "real" medicine, however, it is not. It could be a pill, a liquid or other presentations of "Non - real" treatments. When using a placebo, we can affirm that they do not have in their composition an active substance that can improve health.

In this case, we have twenty cyclists randomly selected. Half of them received the truth supplement for four weeks, all the rest received a powdered with similar properties but not physical effects. It means: Half of the cyclist received a "placebo", that seems to be "real" medicine, nevertheless the "placebo" medicine will not show effects on health by its self.

Due to the above, we can conclude that this study utilized a placebo for half of the group.