• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

What are the dependent and independent variables? (1 Viewer)

Ethan Costello

New Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
16
Location
NSW
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
Hey Guys,

Not sure what the dependent and independent variables of my assessment.

1. Coles Paper Towel
2. Woolworths Paper Towel
3. ‘Handee Ultra’ Paper Towel
4. Measuring Jug
5. Bowl
6. Water
7. Coca-Cola
8. Milk
9. Oil


What are the variables in this experiment?
As well as a 'Control' must be identified in order to validate your investigations results.

Thanks Again,

Ethan
 

Galapagos

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
302
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
You need to give more info than that, seriously. What is the aim?

Remember: controls are variables you keep the same, independent is the variable(s) you change, and dependent (i.e. dependent in relation to the independent variable) variable is what you measure.

But usually you have only one dependent and one independent in a single experiment.

So for example, one might wish to test the absorbency of different brands of paper towel. You might do this by taking a sheet of paper towel i.e. same area/size from each brand of paper, weighing the dry mass of each, and placing each one on top of spilled water on a bench top. Then you might time each to 10 seconds, then weigh them again to see how much water they absorbed.

In this experiment the controlled variables would include type and amount of water, size of paper towel, time allowed etc. - essentially everything that you kept the same. The independent variable would be the brand of paper towel (this is what has been changed), and the dependent would be the volume of water absorbed (because the amount of water absorbed is dependent on the brand and make of paper towel).

That's a pretty crap example but I hope you get the idea.
 
Last edited:

aeleria

New Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Messages
14
Location
City of Rapture
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2014
To begin with, it seems as if you don't actually understand what an independent, dependent and controlled variable is.
The independent variable is typically the variable being manipulated or changed. The dependant variable is the observed result of the independent variable being manipulated (EG:time). A controlled variable is the variable that is kept constant or as it is to prevent their influence on the effect of the independent variable on the dependent.
I don't want to do your assessment, since it will not benefit you at all, just attempt to understand the meaning of each variable and then you can pretty much categorise everything yourself. :)
 

Indoz

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
89
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
Independant variable - what you are changing
dependant variable - what you are measuring
controlled variable - what is kept the same to make the experiment fair.
experiment control - designed to show that the factor being tested is actually responsible for the effect observed
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top