Designing Experiments

What is an INDEPENDENT Variable, or IV?

• the ONE thing we change on purpose when designing an investigation
• the results of the change we made with our independent variable; what we MEASURE; can be quantitative and/or qualitative data
  
• these are the ways we change our independent variable
• these are the conditions that stay the same in order to have a “fair” investigation.

What is an DEPENDENT Variable, or DV?

• the ONE thing we change on purpose when designing an investigation
• the results of the change we made with our independent variable; what we MEASURE; can be quantitative and/or qualitative data
  
• these are the ways we change our independent variable
• these are the conditions that stay the same in order to have a “fair” investigation.

What is an CONSTANT or CONTROLLED Variable, or CV?

• the ONE thing we change on purpose when designing an investigation
• the results of the change we made with our independent variable; what we MEASURE; can be quantitative and/or qualitative data
  
• these are the ways we change our independent variable
• these are the conditions that stay the same in order to have a “fair” investigation.

What is a testable question?

• the ONE thing we change on purpose when designing an investigation
• a question that contains variables and it can be TESTED through experimentation; the question is written in the format: “What is the effect of IV on DV?” or “How does IV affect DV?”
  
• these are the ways we change our independent variable
• these are the conditions that stay the same in order to have a “fair” investigation.

What is a level?

• the ONE thing we change on purpose when designing an investigation
• a question that contains variables and it can be TESTED through experimentation; the question is written in the format: “What is the effect of IV on DV?” or “How does IV affect DV?”
  
• these are the ways we change our independent variable
• these are the conditions that stay the same in order to have a “fair” investigation.

What is a repeated trial?

• scientists perform repeated trials in order to make sure the results of their investigations are reliable and accurate.
  
• a question that contains variables and it can be TESTED through experimentation; the question is written in the format: “What is the effect of IV on DV?” or “How does IV affect DV?”
  
• these are the ways we change our independent variable
• these are the conditions that stay the same in order to have a “fair” investigation.