SOL 1: Variables (8th Grade)

Joseph wants to know which brand of fish food will make his goldfish grow the largest. He has 15 goldfish in each of his three 10-gallon tanks. In tank #1 he fed the fish his usual fish food, GrowBig. In the tank #2 he fed the fish Goldfish Goodies fish food. In tank #3 he fed the fish Lets Eat fish food. All three tanks received 10 grams of food per day.

What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

• The length of the fish

• The size of the tanks

• The number of fish

• The type of fish food

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

Charlie wants to win a paper airplane flying contest. He can only use a standard sheet of notebook paper to make his airplane. He tries several different designs to come up with the design he thinks will beat the competition.

The type of paper airplane design is Charlie's ____.

• independent variable

• dependent variable

• constant

• control

Jason investigated the effect of various colored lights on plant growth. He hypothesized that plants will grow taller under a blue light. He grew forty bean plants: ten under green light, ten under red light, ten under blue light, and ten under white light. All plants received the same amount of light and water. All plants were also grown in the same type of soil and same size pot. Jason collected data on his plants each week for six weeks.

What was Jason's independent variable?

• The different colors of light

• The growth of the plant

• Amount of water

• The type of soil

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

Julia designed an experiment to determine the effectiveness of 3 different gasoline additives for improving gas mileage. The car that is used as the experimental control should receive ____.

• gasoline only

• gasoline and additive 1

• gasoline and additives 1 and 2

• gasoline and all additives

Charlie wants to win a paper airplane flying contest. He can only use a standard sheet of notebook paper to make his airplane. He tries several different designs to come up with the design he thinks will beat the competition.

The way the paper airplane flies is the _____.

• independent variable

• dependent variable

• constant

• control

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Charlie wants to win a paper airplane flying contest. He can only use a standard sheet of notebook paper to make his airplane. He tries several different designs to come up with the design he thinks will beat the competition.

The standard piece of notebook paper is a ____.

• independent variable

• dependent variable

• constant

• control

The science class performed an experiment to determine the boiling point of water when different amounts of salt are added. They measured the boiling points of distilled water and three different concentrations of salt water. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

• boiling points of salt water solutions

• boiling point of distilled water

• amount of salt added

• time elapsed

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

The class is conducting an experiment to determine the boiling points of different liquids. What is the independent variable in their investigation?

• type of liquid

• boiling points

• elapsed time

• temperature

Students conducted an investigation to determine if unknown liquids were acids or bases. What was the independent variable in this investigation?

• Sample

• Indicator

• Color change

• Identification

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

In an experiment, a student wants to determine which type of household cleaner works the best to remove soap scum?

What is the independent variable in this experiment?

• the household cleaner

• the student

• the soap scum

• the mildew