Math
In the equation y=mx+b, x is this type of variable.
Independent
In Of Mice and Men, Curly uses this substance in his gloves to keep his hands soft.
Vaseline
In chemistry, stoichiometry is based on the the law of conservation of this.
Matter
This type of painting - which was used for the Sistine Chapel - refers to painting directly on wet plaster.
Fresco
This popular manga features a notebook that allows its user to cause the death of a person by writing their name in it.
Death Note
A matrix with four columns represents a system with this many variables.
Three
"It's raining cats and dogs" and "I saw the light" are examples of this type of phrase.
Idioms
Both plants and animals have these small tubes that deliver things such as blood (or water, in the case of plants).
Don't leave your chicken medium rare; instead bring it up to this internal temperature.
165 F
Watch out for this date on the calendar if you're triskaidekaphobic.
The 13th
A circumscribed polygon is a polygon inside one of these shapes.
Circle
This man's final words on the battlefield are "My kingdom for a horse!" in this Shakespearean historical drama.
Richard III
According to laws of entropy, over time all closed systems increase their degree of this.
Disorder
Many accused Nazis attempted to use this phrase, later called "the Nuremburg defense".
"I was just following orders."
This band is sometimes confused with The Who; they weren't as prolific but had a huge hit with "American Woman".
The Guess Who
Adding two pairs of complementary angles to each other will add up to this angle measure.
180
You can use this reduplicated word to describe what you pick up after your dog relieves itself.
Doo-doo
If you ingest dihydrogen monoxide, you have just had a drink of this substance.
Water
When a study is altered - knowingly or unknowingly - to give a certain outcome, it suffers from this four letter term.
Bias
This Spongebob character is a sentient computer married to Plankton.
Karen
The square root of a number returns a value that can be multiplied by itself twice to get the original number; a quintic root returns a value that would be multiplied by itself this many times.
Five
Known for works such as "A Light in the Attic," this children's author also wrote songs for the band Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.
Shel Silverstein
Dendrochronology
Trees and other plants can help reduce the effects of this process on river banks.
This is why you should never marry a tennis player.
Because love means nothing to them.