Question

edmond wanted to grow cucumbers from seeds. he read that using a heating pad to heat up soil could help seeds germinate, or sprout, faster. edmond prepared three potting trays, each made up of ten small pots of soil. he planted one cucumber seed in each small pot. then, he placed one electric heating pad under each tray. he kept one of the heating pads turned off. he turned one of the heating pads up to 78°f and the other heating pad up to 88°f. edmond observed how long it took for the seed in each pot to germinate.
complete the sentence.
in this experiment, the pots on a heating pad set to 88°f were part of ______.

a control group

an experimental group

(image caption: germinating plants in a potting tray)

Explanation:

In an experiment, the control group is the one with the standard or unchanged condition (here, heating pad off), while the experimental group has the manipulated variable (here, heating pad set to 88°F, a specific temperature different from the control). Since the pots at 88°F have a manipulated temperature (the independent variable is changed), they are part of the experimental group.

Answer:

an experimental group