What is a control treatment in an experiment?
A control is something where the test procedure is not subjected to the same conditions or manipulation as the other tests.For instance, let's say we want to test whether talking to a plant makes it grow faster. The first step is to get a bunch of identical plants, in identical soil, and make sure they are housed and watered exactly the same way, at the same temperature, get the same amount of sunlight, etc., but in two identical containers or green houses (you don't want your control group to hear you talking to your test group).Next, you take one group and talk to them every day. As the plants grow you measure both your test group and your control group to see if the ones you talk to grow taller faster.This is called the Scientific Method and drug companies use it all the time. Often they will also test the Placebo effect. They will take three groups of people with a common ailment (high blood pressure, for example). They will then give group A the drug they are testing, they will give group B the placebo, and group C gets nothing (group C is the Control group). They will take blood pressure measurements for the members of all groups. If the drug is effective and does what they want it to, it will reduce the blood pressure for the people in group A by a certain percentage. The people in group B will probably also experience some level of reduction in their blood pressure, while group C (the Control group) will see no difference at all. They can then also measure side effects and compare those to the other two groups.
Independent, dependent variables, control group, experimental group? what?!?
Variable - something that changes independent - something that you control dependent - something that changes based on your control of the ind variable experimental group - group that is subject to your changing variable control group - group that is treated exactly like your experimental group except for the variable you are testing. Example: variable-blood pressure medication independent-dosage dependent-blood pressure experimental group-group given medication control group-group given placebo
Why is blood pressure so variable?
Blood pressure being a dynamic biological value, will vary according what you do, if you're stressed, time of the day (day and night rhythm) etc. etc.Both 115/73 and 127/95 mmHg we consider to be normal.Your concern is rooted in the obsolete idea that an elevated diastolic blood pressure, instead of as we now know an elevated systolic blood pressure, is correlated with future cardiovascular complications like heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, blindness.See Systolic -- Not Diastolic -- Blood-Pressure Reading Should Define Hypertension, New NIH Clinical Advisory StatesFrom HypertensionHowever, when treating high blood pressure we shouldn't lower the diastolic blood pressure to less than 70 mmHg since there are papers that report an elevated risk of dying when the diastolic blood pressure was lowered to <70 mmHg especially in people with coronary heart disease, this latest 2013 paper report a higher all cause mortality in 14,270 US VA patients 45 - 85 yo whose blood pressure had been recorded at least once, so not focused on heart patients:Low Diastolic Blood Pressure as a Risk for All-Cause Mortality in VA PatientsThis 2007 paper Diastolic Blood Pressure and Mortality in the Elderly With Cardiovascular Disease shows a higher all cause (left panel) and cardiovascular (right panel) mortality in 331 French geriatric (age >70 yo) heart patients whose diastolic blood pressure was lower than 70 mmHg, many of which were on anti-hypertensive meds:So maybe a diastolic blood pressure under the 70 mmHg could be considered to low and should be avoided when treating too high a blood pressure.
Homework help. how should experimental group and control group be treated differently in this experiment.?
When a drug manufacturer develops a new drug to treat some form of disease, the drug should be tested to ensure that it does what it is supposed to do. Usually the drug is tested on animals and if the tests are succesful it is tested on humans. A drug called lowervil was developed by a drug company to lower blood pressure. Lowervil has been tested successfully on animals and the drug company is now ready to test it on humans. The drug company claims that one dose of Lowervil per dat will decrease blood pressure in individuals experiencing high blood pressure. A researcher has been hired to determine whether or not Lowervil lowers blood pressure. answer the following questions related to the experimental testing of the new drug Lowervil.