Whenever Maya went near a rose plant, she began to sneeze. Maya concluded that she was allergic to rose plants. Which of the following statements will prove that there is a correlation and not causation between going near a rose plant and getting allergies?

A.The pesticides used on rose plants cause allergies.

B.Rose plants can cause allergies only in very sensitive people.

C.There are symptoms other than sneezing for allergies.

D.The allergies are cured when Maya takes medicine.

Respuesta :

D.The allergies are cured when Maya takes medicine. If it were just the rose plant itself that maya is allergic to, when she takes allergy medicine she would be able to go near the plant without sneezing. This would prove that there is a correlation between the rose plant and maya's allergies.

Answer:

Option A: The pesticides used on rose plants cause allergies.

Step-by-step explanation:

"Correlation" stands for 2 or more "things" having a connection or relation between them while "causation" stands for "something" resulting or causing "something" else.

  • Option B: Rose plants can cause allergies in only very sensitive people. This statement has nothing whatsoever to do with proving whether going near a rose plant and getting allergies is a correlation and not causation. If anything, It is more about causation than correlation.  
  • Option C: There are symptoms other than sneezing for allergies. Again this does not prove whether going near a rose plant and getting allergies is a correlation and not causation. This statement is just referring to the allergies and not the plants. We are trying to prove the "correlation" between allergies AND plants.
  • Option D: The allergies are cured when Maya takes medicine. This statement is more about causation than it is correlation. It does not say or prove whether going near a rose plant and getting allergies is a correlation and not causation.

Conclusion:  

  • Option A: The pesticides used on rose plants cause allergies. This statement says that yes, going near a rose plant relates and correlates with getting allergies but it may or may not cause it. The pesticides on the plants "relate" to the allergies but that doesn't mean they cause everyone to have allergies. They each relate to each other but may or may not be the cause of each other.

(To help confirm, I also took a quiz with this question and this was the correct one.)