An insecticide company exposes 10,000 cockroaches to its newest product, and exposes another 10,000 to their previous formula. The researchers use videotape to count how many cockroaches are still alive, and how many appear to be in distress, at 10 second intervals. When the test is completed, the researchers determine the mean elapsed time before a cockroach was killed by each product.

Question

An insecticide company exposes 10,000 cockroaches to its newest product, and exposes another 10,000 to their previous formula. The researchers use videotape to count how many cockroaches are still alive, and how many appear to be in distress, at 10 second intervals. When the test is completed, the researchers determine the mean elapsed time before a cockroach was killed by each product.

I. What is the population?
II. What is the sample?
III. Is the study observational or experimental? Justify your answer.
IV. What are the independent and dependent variables?
V. For each of those variables, what level of measurement was used to obtain data from these variables?
VI. Classify those variables as either attribute or numerical.

Answer 1

I. The population in this scenario refers to the entire group of cockroaches that the insecticide company is targeting with their products.

II. The sample is a subset of the population, specifically the 10,000 cockroaches that were exposed to each of the two formulas: the newest product and the previous formula.

III. The study can be classified as experimental because the researchers intentionally exposed the cockroaches to different products and observed their responses. They controlled the variables by using two different products and tracking the effects on the cockroaches.

IV. The independent variable is the type of product being used (newest formula or previous formula), as this is manipulated by the researchers. The dependent variables are the mean elapsed time before a cockroach was killed for each product and the number of cockroaches in distress. These variables depend on the type of product used and the response of the cockroaches.

V. For the independent variable, the level of measurement would be categorical/nominal as it represents different categories of insecticide products. For the dependent variables, mean elapsed time and number of cockroaches in distress, the level of measurement would be continuous/interval as they represent measurements on a continuous scale (time and count).

VI. The independent variable (type of product) is an attribute variable, as it represents different categories or attributes of insecticide products. The dependent variables (mean elapsed time and number of cockroaches in distress) are numerical variables, as they involve quantitative measurements.