Identifying Independent/Dependent Variables

Dilcia wants to know how drinking milk affects how tall a Monica grows. Which is the independent variable?

• Monica's growth
• drinking milk

Ramone wants to know: does the distance a person kicks a soccer ball effect how well they will do on their math test.  What is the dependent variable?

• How far they kick the soccer ball
• who the person is
• how well they do on the math test
• Type of soccer ball.

What would the INDEPENDENT variable be in an experiment testing which types of paper airplane goes furthest?

• the paper used
• the type of paper airplane
• the distance of each plane's flight
• how hard the plane is thrown

Marcos wants to know: Does the type of gasoline put in a car effect how fast the car can drive? What is the independent variable?

• Type of gasoline
• which car the gas is put into
• how fast the car can drive
• how much gas is put into the car

An experiment is performed on plants to see how different liquids affect plant growth. Each plant in the experiment is given a different liquid; water, apple juice, or milk. Each plant has the same amount of soil, sunlight, and listens to the same music. In this investigation, the independent variable is ...

• The type of plant
• The amount of sunlight
• The type of music
• The type of liquid

Angelina set up an experiment to see how the mass of a ball affects the distance it rolls off a ramp. Identify the independent variable.

• Distance traveled by the ball
• Height of the ramp
• Mass of the ball
• Who set up the experiment (Ms. S, etc)

Kreedence wants to know if birds prefer to eat in one place over another. She makes three feeders out of 2-liter bottles and paints all of them red. She fills each of the feeders with the same amount of mixed birdseed, and plans to keep the feeders out for 10 days before measuring how much seed is eaten from each feeder. She puts each of the feeders in her back yard: one feeder in a large dead tree, another feeder she sits on the dog house, and the last she sits in a small bushy tree.
What is the dependent variable?

• Length of the birdfeeders
• Amount of time feeders are outside
• Amount of seed eaten
• Location the feeders are put in.

Does the flavor of ice cream effect how fast the ice cream melts?

• independent
• dependent

Does the type of shoe worn during a 30 meter dash affect the speed of the runner?

• independent
• dependent

How does increasing the slope of a ramp affect how far a marble travels?

• independent
• dependent

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