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High school statistics

Course: High school statistics > Unit 5

Lesson 5: Inference and experiments

Finding errors in study conclusions

AP.STATS: DAT‑2 (EU), DAT‑2.B (LO), DAT‑2.B.3 (EK), VAR‑3 (EU), VAR‑3.E (LO), VAR‑3.E.1 (EK), VAR‑3.E.2 (EK), VAR‑3.E.3 (EK), VAR‑3.E.4 (EK) CCSS.Math: HSS.IC.B.3, HSS.IC.B

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A company tested their new golf ball by having 20 professional golfers each hit 100 shots with the company's new ball and 100 shots with the golfer's current ball (in a random order). The labels were removed, so the golfers didn't know which balls were which. The golfers, on average, hit their shots significantly farther with the new ball.

The company cites this study in an advertisement claiming that this new ball will help all golfers hit farther shots.

Why is the company's claim not appropriate?

(Choice A)
The study was an experiment, but it only included professional golfers.
(Choice B)
The study was an experiment, but it didn't group the golfers into blocks based on their abilities.
(Choice C)
The study wasn't a census, which is the best way to establish causation.
(Choice D)
The study was observational, so they shouldn't make a causal conclusion.
(Choice E)
The study was observational, so the sample size isn't large enough to support their claim.

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High school statistics

Course: High school statistics > Unit 5

Problem