Robin and Katherine are examining data that shows kids who live in houses with air conditioners are less likely to have asthma. They each propose an explanation:

- Robin: "Air conditioners have filters that probably clean the air. The particles in the air might cause asthma, so having cleaner air from air conditioners might lead to less asthma."

- Katherine: "Air conditioners are used to cool the air, so people who live in colder places don't have them. Maybe cold causes asthma, so people in hotter places have less asthma and also use air conditioners."

The data they are analyzing comes from an observational study. What does that imply?

An observational study is research that observes outcomes without influencing them. In this case, the study observed lower asthma rates in homes with air conditioners. Both Robin and Katherine have plausible theories about why this might be, but without further experimentation, we can't say for sure.

Explanation:

An observational study is a type of research where scientists observe effects without directly influencing those effects. For instance, in this scenario, the scientists observed that children living in homes with air conditioners are less likely to have asthma, but they didn't modify the conditions to test this outcome (for example, by turning the air conditioners off).

Robin's hypothesis focuses on the filtering capabilities of air conditioners, conjecturing that cleaner air leads to less asthma. On the other hand, Katherine’s theory is more about the climate, proposing that hotter climes, where air conditioners are more common, may be less conducive to asthma development.

Both hypotheses are plausible and could be tested in future experiments. However, it is important to note that correlation does not necessarily mean causation. While the data shows a relationship between the use of air conditioners and lower rates of asthma, it doesn't prove that one causes the other.

Learn more about Observational Study here:

https://brainly.com/question/33317407

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