Independent Variable
The growth of grass plants will be faster if fertilizer is used.
What would the independent variable in this experiment be?
The independent variable is the use of fertilizer.
Does the height you drop a ball from affect the height it will bounce?
What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
The height the ball bounces after being dropped
Does adding salt to water change the rate at which it boils?
In the experiment listed above, the amount of salt used would be an example of which type of variable?
Independent Variable
What is a hypothesis?
An educated guess
The higher the temperature of water, the faster an egg will cook.
What is the independent variable in this experiment?
The temperature of water
Does the type of shoes a person wears affects how fast they can run?
What is the dependent variable?
The dependent variable is how fast the person runs.
Does colored water evaporate faster than clear water?
In the experiment above, which type of variable would the time it takes the water to evaporate be?
Dependent variable
What words must be included in your hypothesis?
IF and THEN
The time it takes to run a mile, depends on the time of day it is run.
What is the independent variable in this experiment?
The independent variable is the time of day it is run.
Does wearing a dark color shirt increase your body temperature more than wearing a light color shirt?
What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
Body temperature
Does the color of light affect the growth of grass plants?
Name a constant variable.
Grass plants
Soil
Water
Give the independent and dependent variable from the following hypothesis.
If the temperature of the classroom increases then the students’ performance on a test will decrease.
Independent variable - temperature of the classroom
Dependent variable - student performance on a test
Citrus plants that receive more water will have more juice in the fruit.
What is the independent variable?
The independent variable is the amount of water given to the plants.
Does a skateboard travel further on grass, the sidewalk, or on the paved road?
What is the dependent variable?
How far the skateboard travels.
Does a skateboard travel further on grass, the sidewalk, or on the paved road?
What is the independent variable?
Types of surfaces
Use the provided independent and dependent variables to create a hypothesis.
Independent variable: type of paper towels
Dependent variable: ability to absorb liquid
Example - If given two different types of paper towels then the paper towel that is thicker will absorb more liquid.
A student wanted to see if their score on spelling tests would improve if they spent more minutes studying the spelling words.
What would the independent variable in this experiment be?
The independent variable is the amount of time spent on studying for spelling.
Do all clear liquids freeze at the same temperature?
What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
The temperature the liquids freeze is the dependent variable.
Does crushed salt or rock salt dissolve faster in water?
In the experiment above, the water would be which type of variable?
Constant Variable
How will batting practice affect a baseball player’s batting average?
Create a hypothesis from this question.
Example - If a baseball player increases the amount of time at batting practice then their batting average will increase.