Examine the fictional experimental study described below:
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) set up a study to determine whether large doses of vitamin C
would shorten the length of time it takes to recover from a cold. 3,000 volunteers were split into two
groups. For two weeks, members of Group A took 3,000 mg of vitamin C daily. Group B received 3,000
of a placebo (a sugar pill with no vitamin C).
At the end of the two-week period, the researchers inserted live cold viruses directly into the noses of
all the volunteers. The volunteers in both Group A and B continued to take their daily pills. All the
volunteers got colds, and there was no significant difference in the length of time that they experienced
cold symptoms.
What may have been a possible hypothesis that this experiment addressed?
Taking vitamin C reduces one's susceptibility to the common cold.
Taking placebo increases one's susceptibility to the common cold compared to taking nothing.
Taking vitamin C reduces the length of time one experiences common cold symptoms upon viral exposure.
What is the effect of taking vitamin C on one's susceptibility to the common cold?
