Battery companies make impressive claims about how long their batteries will last. A student decided to test the running time of different batteries to determine which battery lasts the longest. The student tested 6 different batteries, 4 brand name and 2 generic, using flashlights. The results show that the battery referred to as Name Brand A lasted the longest, with 101 hours of runtime: It could be argued that this experiment was not set up using proper experimental protocol. What would need to change in the experiment for the results to be valid?

Question

TestUstad · Accepted Answer

The same flashlight should have been used to test each battery. The same flashlight should have been used to test each battery: This is the correct answer. By using the same flashlight to test each battery, the variable of flashlight performance is eliminated. This allows for a fair comparison of the batteries' performance, isolating the variable of interest and ensuring more valid results.To summarize, while options A, B, and C might contribute to experimental control and consistency, they do not address the key issue of comparing different batteries accurately. Option D, using the same flashlight to test each battery, is the change necessary to ensure valid results.

TestUstad · Answer

The batteries should have all been either name brand or generic

TestUstad · Answer

Only two groups should have been tested at a time

TestUstad · Answer

The same battery should have been used in each flashlight

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