A Nutrition Study Measured How Many Helpings of Vegetables Each

question 35

Multiple Choice

A nutrition study measured how many helpings of vegetables each of 125 grade school children were served each week during a school year and their body mass index (BMI) scores. Which variable would one put on the horizontal axis of a scatterplot of the data?

• A) One would put the BMI score because it is the response variable.
• B) One would put the BMI score because it is the explanatory variable.
• C) One would put helpings of vegetables because it is the response variable.
• D) One would put helpings of vegetables because it is the explanatory variable.
• E) It makes no difference because there is no explanatory-response distinction in this study.

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Definitions:

Mental Module

A hypothesized structure in the brain theorized to be responsible for specific cognitive functions, as part of the modular view of mental processes.

Natural Selection

The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring, driving the evolution of species.

Mutations

Changes in the DNA sequence of a cell's genome, which can lead to variations in physical traits or affect the way an organism develops or functions.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid, a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms.