Lab 3: Testing Medicines: A Clinical Trial

Warm Up: What is a clinical trial? What types of things are clinical trials used for?

Vocabulary:
1. clinical trial – products such as medicines are tested by volunteers before they are made available to the public.
2. control – the object that does not get changed in an experiment
3. evidence – pieces of information gathered in an experiment
4. placebo – a control that simulates a medicine but does not have the active ingredient in it
5. sample size – the size of people that a medicine is tested on
6. simulate/simulation – is an experience that is meant to mimic, or be like, another experience
7. trade-offs - is something given up in selecting one alternative over another

Sample Group Number _______

Table 1

Bar Graph: Analysis of Clinical Trial

Analysis Questions:
1. What evidence do you have that the medicine does or does not work to improve headaches?

2.a. What is a placebo?

2.b. Why is a placebo group included in clinical trials?

3. In this activity, if a person finds that the drink tastes worse, the headache is gone, but there are side effects.

3.a. Assume that the side effects are mild, such as a slight stomachache. Explain why this medicine should or should not be sold to people suffering from a headache. Are there any trade-offs involved in your decision?

3.b. What if the side effects were serious, such as nausea and vomiting? Explain why this medicine should or should not be sold to people suffering from a headache. Are there any trade-offs involved in your decision?