Question

the common cold is caused by a virus that enters the human body and causes mild, flu - like symptoms. some people believe that the common cold can be treated by taking echinacea. the following table shows results from a study conducted to explore the effects of echinacea on children with colds.
type of treatment number of children taking pills average length of cold infection (days) children having more than one cold during the study children developing a skin rash
echinacea study a pill containing echinacea 337 10 52% 7.1%
same type of pill without echinacea 370 10 64% 2.7%
data in the table show that the use of echinacea can _. increase the percent of children with skin rash from 2.7% to 7.1% reduce the length of cold infection from 10 to 7 days increase the incidence of colds in children from 52% to 64% reduce the number of children having colds from 370 to 337 cases

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the data for skin - rash percentage

For children taking echinacea pills, the percentage of children developing a skin rash is 7.1%, and for those taking a placebo (same - type of pill without echinacea), it is 2.7%. So, the use of echinacea increases the percent of children with skin rash from 2.7% to 7.1%.

Step2: Analyze the data for cold incidence

For children taking echinacea pills, the incidence of colds is 52%, and for those taking a placebo, it is 64%. So, the use of echinacea reduces the incidence of colds in children from 64% to 52%.

Step3: Analyze the data for cold - infection length

The average length of cold infection is 10 days for both groups, so echinacea does not change the length of cold infection.

Step4: Analyze the number of cold cases

The number of children having colds in the echinacea group is 337 and in the placebo group is 370. So, echinacea reduces the number of children having colds from 370 to 337.

Answer:

The use of Echinacea can increase the percent of children with skin rash from 2.7% to 7.1%, reduce the incidence of colds in children from 64% to 52%, and reduce the number of children having colds from 370 to 337, while not changing the length of cold infection.