A) Provide an Informal Analysis of the Following Passage; or

Essay

A) Provide an informal analysis of the following passage; or
B) in analyzing the passage, do the following:
a. Identify the causal hypothesis at issue.
b. Identify what kind of study it is.
c. Describe the control and experimental groups.
d. State the difference in effect (or cause) between control and experimental groups.
e. Identify any problems in either the study or the report of it, including but not necessarily limited to uncontrolled variables.
f. State the conclusion you think is warranted by the report.
"Exercise can temporarily disrupt a woman's menstrual cycle, according to Boston University research published in the May 23 [1985] New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers monitored the daily hormone levels in 28 college women who did not exercise regularly and had a history of regular menstrual cycles. The women were then sent to summer camp and participated in a rigorous exercise program-an initial 4-mile daily run, working up to 10 miles a day after five weeks, in addition to three and one-half hours daily of moderate sports such as biking or tennis. Only four, three of whom were on a high-calorie weight maintenance diet, had a normal menstrual cycle during that time. The researchers concluded that, regardless of whether the women lost weight, strenuous exercise disrupted their reproductive function. 'If very active women are having trouble getting pregnant, they probably should slow down intense exercise,' says exercise physiologist Gary Skrinar of BU."
-Science News