Identifying Independent and Dependent Variables

Dilcia wants to know how drinking milk affects how tall a Monica grows. Which is the independent variable?

• Monica's growth

• drinking milk

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

What would the INDEPENDENT variable be in an experiment testing which types of paper airplane goes furthest?

• the paper used

• the type of paper airplane

• the distance of each plane's flight

• how hard the plane is thrown

Marcos wants to know: Does the type of gasoline put in a car effect how fast the car can drive? What is the independent variable?

• Type of gasoline

• which car the gas is put into

• how fast the car can drive

• how much gas is put into the car

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-5

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

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

The more light bulb you add to a room, the brighter it will be. What is the dependent variable?

• Amount of lightbulbs

• How bright the room is

Answer explanation

The brightness of the room is the effect (dep var) of adding light bulbs (ind var).

Nooria wants to know if the sunflowers grow taller if they are exposed to more sunlight. What is the independent variable?

• sunflower height

• amount of sunlight

• type of sunflower

• amount of water

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

Yaara wants to determine if amount of fertilizer impacts grass growth

What is the Dependent Variable?

• amount of fertilizer

• type of fertilizer

• grass growth

• type of grass

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

This variable in an experiment is the one being manipulated or changed by the scientist.

• Dependent variable

• Independent variable

Javier and his twin sister both have the same science exam. Javier sleeps for 9 hours the night before the exam and his sister sleeps for 6 hours. After they take the test, they both compare their test grades. What is the independent variable?

• The number of hours of sleep they had

• The type of test

• The test grades

Which of the following is the label for the independent variable.

• Money Collected

• Raising Money

• Boxes Sold

• None of the above

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS3-1