Graphing and Interpreting Variables

An observation is...

• an educated guess that answers a testable question.
• a logical, reasonable conclusion to an experiment.
• information collected by your 5 senses.
• an explanation of what you learned at the end of an experiment.

Which of the following is a quantitative observation?

• The bird is very colorful.
• The bird has 4 different colors on him.
• The bird has many, many feathers.
• It is a bird. 

A graph is...

• An analysis of an observation.
• A visual representation of data.
• short for graphite.
• used to conduct an experiment.

What is the factor in an experiment that is changed by the person conducting the experiment. 

• dependent variable
• independent variable
• controlled variable
• responding variable

What is the Responding (Dependent) Variable in this graph?

• Plant Growth
• Growth (cm)
• Hours
• 15

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

How many more people have purple for a favorite color than red?

• 3
• 5
• 7
• 9

The summary at the end of an experiment that discusses the results and explains what you learned by conducting the experiment. 

• conclusion
• procedures
• materials
• responding variable

Which of the following is an example of qualitative data?

• the color of the fur of an animal
• the mating behavior of an animal
• the average number of offspring that an organism has
• the description of an odor that a chemical produces

A student wants to test the effects of exercise on heart rate.  What is the dependent variable?

• heart rate
• type of exercise
• amount of exercise
• time of day exercise occurs