An environmentalist wants to compare the ph levels in lakes near the west coast of the united states to lakes near the east coast of the united states. they sample water from 5 randomly selected lakes from each population of lakes. are these samples dependent or independent?

select the correct answer below:

a. these samples are independent because the samples are randomly selected and are from populations that are not related to each other.
b. these samples are dependent because the populations are related to each other.
c. these samples are dependent because the lakes were not randomly selected.
d. not enough information is provided to determine independence.