21. to 28. In each of the following indicate which parts of the scientific method are present. Mark only those parts of the scientific method that are explicit in the problem description.
Parts of the Scientific Method
22. The Post Office hires EDS, Inc. to improve their methods for electronic sorting of mail. The post office currently has a written plan, stating how electronic sorting and routing should occur. EDS employees read this plan, and then send observers to randomly chosen post offices. These observers record how the Post Office is actually sorting mail at present, and compare their findings to the plan. Based on this analysis, EDS proposes changes in the Post Office plan. The Post Office implements these changes.
23. You are owner and manager of the Super-Sub Shop. To ensure that your business is adequately staffed, you post a work schedule each week. This schedule shows when each employee is scheduled to work. You make changes in the work schedule from one week to the next, towards the goal of improving the staffing schedule. However, you gather no information showing whether each week's schedule is working as planned. Thus, the changes in the work schedule are made completely at your whim, and are not based on any assessment of how the current schedule is working.
24. Over the last several years, Kmart has experienced declining earnings per share of their common stock. To improve the situation, the management of Kmart developed a plan to close unprofitable stores and sell various pieces of real estate. Because the time required to assess profitability has not elapsed, we do not know if Kmart's plan is viable.
25. The Austin Police Department wants all of their police officers to know when they should, and should not, use their handguns. To accomplish this, every officer is required to complete a handgun course. This course presents the officers with various hypothetical situations in which they might have to use their gun, and the officers are told which situations warrant use of a gun. The hope is that officers who have taken the course will make better decisions about whether the use of a gun is warranted.
26. You wish to invest $10,000 in a stock mutual fund. Before investing, you go to the library and read the latest review of mutual funds published by Forbes. Although these ratings are based on past performance, you use them as a guide to how various mutual funds will perform after you purchase them. Based on the Forbes ratings, you decide to invest in XYZ Fund. Several years after your initial investment, you compare the performance of XYZ Fund to that of other mutual funds, and are dismayed to find that the performance of XYZ Fund is considerably worse than average. After doing some additional reading, you realize that XYZ Fund is currently very large and hence can only invest in very large companies. The outstanding performance that XYZ Fund obtained in the past evidently occurred when they were much smaller, and were thus able to invest in smaller companies. Based on this information, you liquidate your investment in XYZ Fund, and purchase shares in a smaller mutual fund with the proceeds.
27. You must file an accurate 1994 income tax return. You complete your tax return, and send it to the IRS on 14 April 1995. Alas, several weeks later your mortgage company sends you some papers that indicate that the tax return you just filed overstated your mortgage interest deduction. You correct the problem by filing an amended tax return.
28. The library at U.T. contains millions of books and periodicals. This wealth of information is readily available to any U.T. student. Students can use this data to solve diverse problems.
29 to 31. [Parkinson's disease (A)] is a debilitating, progressive disease of the [central nervous system (B)]. Victims shake uncontrollably, and lose much of the fine control of their muscles . The disease is tragic because a victim's condition declines gradually over a period of many years. [To find a treatment for Parkinson's disease (C)], [scientists (D)] have [transplanted fetal brain tissue (E)] into the brains of [several patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (F)]. [In some cases, the scientists found a dramatic improvement. (G)].
29. Which passage describes the goal of this study?
30. Of the possible answers, which constitutes the best model of all humans with Parkinson's disease?
31. Which model of the cause of Parkinson's disease did these transplantation experiments refute?
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