Question

engineers are designing a new car. they test the car on a track and find that it uses the least amount of fuel when it travels at a constant speed of 90 km/h. why is it important for the results of the investigation to be replicable? a to confirm that the results are valid and reliable b to make sure that the car design stays confidential c to discourage collaboration with other car design research teams d to make sure that other research groups measure speed the same way

Explanation:

Replicability in scientific investigations (like testing the car's fuel - efficiency at a certain speed) is crucial. If results can be replicated, it means that the findings are not due to random errors, unique circumstances of a single test, or flaws in the experimental setup. When multiple independent attempts to repeat the experiment (in this case, testing the car's fuel - usage at 90 km/h) yield the same result (least fuel used at that speed), it gives confidence that the result is a true reflection of the phenomenon (the car's fuel - efficiency characteristics at that speed). Option B about confidentiality is not related to the scientific merit of replicability. Option C, discouraging collaboration, is against the spirit of scientific progress and has no connection to why replicability is important. Option D is too narrow as it focuses only on the measurement of speed (which is likely standardized anyway) rather than the overall validity of the result (fuel - efficiency at that speed).

Answer:

A. to confirm that the results are valid and reliable