control experiment

American  

noun

1. an experiment in which the variables are controlled so that the effects of varying one factor at a time may be observed.

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control experiment British  

noun

1. an experiment designed to check or correct the results of another experiment by removing the variable or variables operating in that other experiment. The comparison obtained is an indication or measurement of the effect of the variables concerned

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Etymology

Origin of control experiment

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

In a control experiment, it was investigated whether similar sensations could also be perceived without visual contact with virtual objects purely due to experimental situation demands.

From Science Daily • Nov. 14, 2023

“It was an incredibly powerful control experiment for something that wasn’t really on many people’s radar at the time,” he says.

From Scientific American • Oct. 18, 2023

Despite their best efforts though, Delta and Reese were only 62.5% successful when they were exposed to very high noise pollution compared to 85% during the control experiment with ambient background noise.

From BBC • Jan. 12, 2023

Instead, researchers proved the connection through a randomized control experiment, with the judges of Ireland their unwitting test subjects.

From Washington Post • Aug. 5, 2022

As a control experiment, the same transparent skin, left unpainted, was folded round the upper halves of 12 hypocotyls; and these all became greatly curved to the light, excepting one, which was only moderately curved.

From The Power of Movement in Plants by Darwin, Charles