Many residents in a small town have developed a bacterial infection. Two students hypothesize that the bacteria are coming from the town's drinking water. They look for the bacteria in water samples from the lake that supplies 80 percent of the town's drinking water. When they find no bacteria, the students conclude that the town's residents are not getting the bacteria from their drinking water. Which is a source of error in the students' experimental design?

Question

Malachi Tanner

Biology

13 July, 17:08

Many residents in a small town have developed a bacterial infection. Two students hypothesize that the bacteria are coming from the town's drinking water. They look for the bacteria in water samples from the lake that supplies 80 percent of the town's drinking water. When they find no bacteria, the students conclude that the town's residents are not getting the bacteria from their drinking water. Which is a source of error in the students' experimental design?

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Misael Huff · Answer 1

The students only tested the drinking water supplied by the lake. This 80% may not contain the bacterial infection, but the other 20% from unknown sources (which they didn't account for in their conclusion) may.