Intro to Variables in Experiments - Short Practice

Match these terms for variables in an experiment

• Controlled variables

• Something you measure or observe

• Independent variable

• The main thing you are testing and the one thing you change

• Dependent variable

• Something you keep the same for all trials

A student plants seeds at varying depths. She measures the growth of the plants over the next few weeks.

What is the independent variable?

• Student

• planting depth

• amount of water

• growth

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

You want to test if the type of paper airplane affects how far the plane goes. What is the independent variable?

• the paper used

• the type of paper airplane

• the distance of each plane's flight

• how hard the plane is thrown

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Research Question: Does the type of gasoline (regular vs premium) put in a car affect how fast the car can drive?

What is the independent variable?

• Type of gasoline (regular or premium)

• which car the gas is put into

• The maximum speed of the car

• how much gas is put into the car

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

Does the type of shoe worn during a 40 meter dash affect the time to run the 40 yard dash? The time to run 40 yards is the ​ (a)   and the type of the shoe is the ​ (b)   .

• dependent variable
• independent variable

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-1

Does changing the brand of dog food affect how much the dog eats? How much the dog eats is the ​ (a)   and the brand is the ​ (b)   .

• dependent variable
• independent variable

You are testing if the amount of sunlight affects how many tulip flowers a plant grows? The ​ (a)   is the independent variable and the amount of tulip flowers is the ​ (b)   .

• amount of sunlight
• dependent variable

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

In an experiment to see which brand of gel pens ink writes the longest, The brand of pens is (a)   while how long each brand lasts is the ​ (b)   .

• independent variable
• dependent variable

Look at the data table to decide the variables here. The amount of fertilizer added to soil is the ​​ (a)   quantity. The change in height of plant is the ​ (b)   quantity.

• independent
• dependent

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

The variable that we purposely change is the...

• independent variable

• dependent variable

• control