A study finds that towns with higher ice-cream sales also have more drownings. Which conclusion is best supported?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. The two are correlated, and a confounder such as hot weather could explain both
- Step 1: A correlation shows that two variables change together, not that one causes the other.
- Step 2: Hot weather increases both ice-cream buying and swimming, so it is a confounding variable.
Answer
correlated with a confounding factor.
Why not the others: A causal claim needs more evidence; there is no support for the reverse direction; the correlation itself is real.
Practise more Infectious and Non-infectious Disease and Cell Function.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed NSW HSC mock tests.
More Infectious and Non-infectious Disease and Cell Function questions
- Which pathogen is a misfolded protein that has no genetic material?
- Which sequence best describes Koch's postulates for showing that a microbe causes a disease?
- Ross River virus in Australia is spread to people mainly by:
- Phytophthora cinnamomi, which causes dieback in many Australian native plants, is a:
- Which of the following is part of the innate immune response?
- What is the function of a plasma cell?