Question

The passage indicates that the volunteers followed the same diet during each two-week period of the study. Why was this important? A. Had the volunteers varied their diets throughout the study, the differences in urine production may have been attributable to differences in solid food consumption, rather than in liquid consumption. B. Had the volunteers varied their diets throughout the study, they may have craved different amounts of liquid each week. C. By eating the same foods each week, the volunteers ensured that they did not suffer from any nutritional imbalances throughout the study. D. By feeding the volunteers the same foods each week, the scientist ensured that the volunteers produced that same amount of urine as each other per day.

Short answer

A. Had the volunteers varied their diets throughout the study, the differences in urine production may have been attributable to differences in solid food consumption, rather than in liquid consumption.

Step-by-step solution

Read and Understand Problem Statement

Read the problem carefully to understand what it is asking. In this case, we have to find out the importance of keeping the same diet for the volunteers during a study.

Analyze the Options

We need to assess each of the four given options (A, B, C, and D) to evaluate their validity concerning the importance of maintaining the same diet.

Option A

It suggests that if the diets had been varied, it would be challenging to attribute the differences in urine production solely to differences in liquid consumption. This option is logical because varying diets would introduce an additional variable, making it more difficult to evaluate the effect of liquid consumption.

Option B

It states that if the diets had been different, the volunteers may have craved different amounts of liquid each week. While this might be true, it does not address the importance of maintaining the same diet.

Option C

This option suggests that by eating the same foods, the volunteers ensured that they did not suffer from any nutritional imbalances throughout the study. Even though this also might be true, it does not directly address the importance of maintaining the same diet.

Option D

The last option, D, states that by feeding the volunteers the same foods, the scientist ensured that the volunteers produced the same amount of urine as each other per day. This option essentially restates the problem without actually explaining why it is crucial to maintain the same diet.

Choose the Correct Answer

Based on the analysis, option A seems to be the most reasonable option because it explains the importance of maintaining the same diet throughout the study to avoid attribution of urine production differences to diet variations rather than liquid consumption. Therefore, the correct answer is: A. Had the volunteers varied their diets throughout the study, the differences in urine production may have been attributable to differences in solid food consumption, rather than in liquid consumption.