A student hypothesized that lettuce seeds would not germinate (begin to grow) unless they were covered with soil. The student planted 10 lettuce seeds under a layer of soil and scattered 10
lettuce seeds on top of the soil. The data collected are shown in the accompanying table.
Data Table
Seed Treatment
Number of Seeds
Germinated
Planted under soil
9
Scattered on top of soil
8
To improve the reliability of these results, the student should