Reference no: EM132501470

There have been many studies recently concerning coffee drinking and cholesterol level. While it is known that several coffee-bean components can elevate blood cholesterol level, it is thought that a new type of paper coffee filter may reduce the presence of some of these components in coffee.

The effect of the new filter on cholesterol level will be studied over a 10-week period using 300 nonsmokers who each drink 4 cups of caffeinated coffee per day. Each of these 300 participants will be assigned to one of two groups: the experimental group, who will only drink coffee that has been made with the new filter, or the control group, who will only drink coffee that has been made with the standard filter. Each participant's cholesterol level will be measured at the beginning and at the end of the study.

-Describe an appropriate method for assigning the subjects to the two groups so that each group will have an equal number of subjects.

-In this study, the researchers chose to include a group who only drank coffee that was made with the standard filter. Why is it important to include a control group in this study even though cholesterol levels will be measured at the beginning and at the end of the study?

-Which test would you conduct to determine whether the change in cholesterol level would be greater if people used the new filter rather than using the standard filter?

-Why would the researchers choose to use only nonsmokers in the study?