NAME: _____________

 

Independent and Dependent Variable Assignment

 

1.      In a study to determine whether the amount of time a student sleeps affects test scores,

 

What is the independent variable?

 

What is the dependent variable?

 

 

2.      You want to compare brands of paper towels to see which holds the most liquid.

 

What is the independent variable?

 

What is the dependent variable?

 

 

3.      If you want to know whether caffeine affects your appetite,

 

What is the independent variable?

 

What is the dependent variable?

 

 

4.      You want to determine whether a chemical is essential for rat nutrition, so you design an experiment.

 

What is the independent variable?

 

What is the dependent variable?

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                NAME: ____KEY____

 

Independent and Dependent Variable Assignment

 

5.      In a study to determine whether the amount of time a student sleeps affects test scores, the independent variable is the amount of time spent sleeping while the dependent variable is the test score.

6.       

7.      You want to compare brands of paper towels to see which holds the most liquid. The independent variable in your experiment would be the brand of paper towels. The dependent variable would be the amount of liquid absorbed by the paper towel.

8.       

9.       

10.                  If you want to know whether caffeine affects your appetite, the presence or absence of a given amount of caffeine would be the independent variable. How hungry you are would be the dependent variable.

11.                   

12.                  You want to determine whether a chemical is essential for rat nutrition, so you design an experiment. The presence or absence of the chemical is the independent variable. The health of the rat (whether it lives and can reproduce) is the dependent variable. If you determine the substance is necessary for proper nutrition, a follow-up experiment might determine how much of the chemical is needed. Here, the amount of the chemical would be the independent variable, and the rat's health would be the dependent variable.