Question

does adding fertilizer affect the productivity of tomato plants? to answer this question, a gardener plants 24 similar tomato plants in identical pots in his greenhouse. he will add fertilizer to the soil in half of the pots. at the end of three months he will record the total weight of tomatoes produced on each plant. identify the explanatory and response variables, experimental units, and treatments. choose the appropriate term for each item below. - dropdown tomato plants - dropdown use of fertilizer, no use of fertilizer - dropdown total weight of tomatoes - dropdown fertilizer

Explanation:

1. Experimental Units: Experimental units are the entities to which treatments are applied. Here, the tomato plants are the entities being studied (having fertilizer applied or not) and measured, so "tomato plants" are the experimental units.
2. Treatments: Treatments are the different conditions or interventions applied to experimental units. The gardener is applying two conditions: using fertilizer and not using fertilizer, so "use of fertilizer, no use of fertilizer" are the treatments.
3. Response Variable: The response variable is the outcome being measured to see the effect of the explanatory variable. The total weight of tomatoes is what's being recorded to see the effect of fertilizer, so "total weight of tomatoes" is the response variable.
4. Explanatory Variable: The explanatory variable is the factor being manipulated to see its effect on the response variable. Fertilizer is the factor being changed (applied or not) to see its effect on tomato productivity (measured by weight), so "fertilizer" is the explanatory variable.

Answer:

• tomato plants: Experimental Units
• use of fertilizer, no use of fertilizer: Treatments
• total weight of tomatoes: Response Variable
• fertilizer: Explanatory Variable