Experimental Design

In an experiment, the part that is changed or altered is called the...

• independent variable

• dependent variable

• control

• constant

A group of teachers are investigating the effect listening to music on headphones while reading has on students. The teachers had 10 students read for five minutes and recorded the number of words each student read. Then they had the students put in headphones and read for five minutes. Again they recorded the number of words each student read. In this experiment, what is the control group?

• Students reading without headphones on.

• Students reading with headphones on.

• The amount of words read by each student.

• The type of music the students listened to.

Consider again the experiment in question two. One group of students reads with music and one group reads without. The students measure the number of words read for each group. What is the dependent variable?

• The length of the passage being read.

• The students not listening to music

• The students listening to music

• The number of words read

If you were to conduct an experiment to determine the effect fertilizer had on a plant, which of the following should be constants? (3 correct answers)

• The amount of soil in each pot

• The amount of water given to each plant

• The amount of fertilizer given to each plant

• The amount of light each plant receives

In this experiment, what is the independent variable?

• the type of liquid being used to water the plant

• the height of the plant

• Plant C

• The size of the pot

In this experiment, what is the dependent variable?

• the type of liquid used to water the plants

• the height of the plants

• Groups A and C

• The amount of liquid used to water the plant

In this experiment, what is the the control group(s)?

• Group A and B

• Group B

• Group A

• Group C

In this experiment, what would be a constants? (3 correct answers)

• Size of the pot

• Amount of soil used

• Amount of liquid used to water the plants

• The type of liquid used to water the plants