Dependent and

Independent
Variables
Worksheets
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 Lesson Plan
Teacher: Subject: Mathematics Lesson: Expressions and
Equations

Title: Dependent and Grade: 6 Date:

Independent Variables

Materials needed: Objectives:

KidsKonnect Dependent and Independent At the end of the lesson, students will be
Variables worksheet pack, printer, paper, able to represent and analyze quantitative
pens, pencils, scissors, glue, crayons, relationships between dependent and
YouTube. independent variables.

Previous knowledge required:

Knowledge of numbers, counting, operations in algebraic thinking

Lesson delivery & discussion:

Warm up: Watch or let students listen to a counting song

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9j_VUMq5yg) to help motivate them to learn about the
topic.
Introduction: Explain numbers and how to count using the KidsKonnect Dependent and
Independent Variables fact file. Discuss as you go along (30 minutes).

Activities & assessment:

Work through selected KidsKonnect Dependent and Independent Variables activities and
go through the answers after each activity (30 minutes).

Enrichment:
Use variables to represent two quantities in
real-world situations, write an equation to
express one quantity, and analyze
relationships between the two variables
using graphs and tables.
Review:
Ask students to recap what they’ve
learned, what they found interesting, what
questions they still have, and what they
found challenging to understand. Address
(5 minutes).

Notes:

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Dependent and Independent
Variables

In this lesson, we will use variables to represent two quantities in a

real-world problem that change in relationship to one another. We
will also learn how to write and analyze an equation in terms of
dependent and independent variables.

VARIABLES

A variable is a quantity that can change or that may take on different

values. This refers to the letter or symbol representing such a quantity
in an expression, equation, inequality, or matrix.
★ A variable can either be dependent or independent. Take a look at this
algebraic equation:

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Dependent and Independent
Variables
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

An independent variable is a variable that represents a quantity that is

being manipulated in an experiment.

★ x is often the variable used to represent the independent variable in an

equation.
You are working a part-time job to earn your allowance. For
each hour, you earn $3. What is the independent variable?

★ The independent variable is the number of hours you perform in your

part-time job, because this is the variable you have control over.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE

A dependent variable represents a quantity whose value depends on

how the independent variable is manipulated.

★ y is often the variable used to represent the dependent variable in an

equation.

You are working a part-time job to earn your allowance. For

each hour, you earn $3. What is the dependent variable?

★ The dependent variable is the amount of money you earn, because it

depends on how many hours you work.
SOLVING WORD PROBLEMS

Example: You are working as a part-time crew member at a

fast food chain to earn your allowance. For each hour, you
earn $3. In the equation, h is the number of hours you perform,
and p is the number of dollars you earn.
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Dependent and Independent
Variables
SOLVING WORD PROBLEMS (continued)
★ The relationship between these two variables can be expressed by the
following equation:

p = 4h
★ The dependent variable is the number that is affected when you change
the independent variable - it depends on the independent variable.
★ You are earning your allowance based on how many hours you work at
your part-time job, so the number of dollars you earn depends on the
number of hours you work. Therefore, the dependent variable is the
number of dollars you earn from working a part-time job, and the number of
hours is the independent variable.

Example: Your grandmother always has a box of brownies on

her counter. One day, while you are visiting, you ate 5
brownies from the box. In the equation below, a is the number
of brownies remaining in the box, and b is the number of
brownies in the box before your visit.

★ The relationship between these two variables can be expressed by the

following equation:

a=b-5
★ The number of brownies remaining in the box depends on the number of
brownies in the box before your visit. Therefore, the number of brownies
remaining in the box is the dependent variable, and the number of
brownies in the box before your visit is the independent variable.

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Dependent and Independent
Variables
TABLES FROM EQUATIONS WITH TWO VARIABLES
★ Complete the table for the given rule:

b=a+8
a b

2 ?

0 ?

4 ?

★ In the equation, a + 8 means 8 is added to a.

★ To find each value of b, we need to take each value of a and add 8.

For example, when a = 2:

b=2+8
b = 10
★ Completing the rest of the table, we get:

a b

2 2 + 8 = 10

0 0+8=8

4 4 + 8 = 12

★ Therefor, the answer is:

a 2 0 4

b 10 8 12
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Dependent and Independent
Variables
TABLES FROM EQUATIONS WITH TWO VARIABLES (continued)
★ Complete the table for the given rule:

c = 3d
c d

15 ?

? 10

45 ?

★ In the equation, 3d means d is multiplied by 3.

★ We can substitute 15 for c:

15 = 3d
★ To find the value of d, divide both sides of the equation by 3.

15 = 3d
3 3
5=d
★ To find the value of d, we need to take each value of c and divide it by 3.
★ To find the value of c, we need to take each value of d and multiply it by 3.

For example, when d = 10:

c = 3 x 10
c = 30
★ Can you complete the rest of the table? Write your solution and answer on
a separate sheet of scratch paper.
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Dependent and Independent
Variables
MATCHING EQUATIONS TO COORDINATES ON A GRAPH
★ Which rule describes the relationship between the x and y coordinates on
the following graph?

Choose your answer:

a. y = 2x
b. y=x+2

★ First, let’s assign an ordered pair to each point shown in the graph.

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Dependent and Independent
Variables
MATCHING EQUATIONS TO COORDINATES ON A GRAPH (continued)
★ Now, we can check all 3 sets of ordered pairs to see if they match each
equation.

Equation: y = 2x Equation: y = 2 + x
0=2x0 0=2+0
4=2x2 4=2+2
8=2x4 8=2+4
★ Therefore, the equation that works for all 3 sets of ordered pairs is y = 2x.
★ Let’s look at another example. Which graph represents pairs (x,y) that
make the equation y = 2x + 1 true?

★ First, let’s assign an ordered pair to each point shown in the graphs. Then,
we can substitute the ordered pairs for each graph into the equation y = 2x
+ 1 to see if the equation represents that graph.

Graph 1: y = 2x + 1 Graph 2: y = 2x + 1 Graph 3: y = 2x + 1

1 = (2 x 4) + 1 3 = (2 x 1) + 1 6 = (2 x 2) + 1
3 = (2 x 8) + 1 7 = (2 x 3) + 1 8 = (2 x 6) + 1
4 = (2 x 10) + 1 9 = (2 x 4) + 1 9 = (2 x 8) + 1
★ Therefore, the coordinate pairs on graph 2 make the equation correct.
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Dependent and Independent
Variables
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN QUANTITIES IN EQUATIONS AND GRAPHS
★ Let’s try solving this problem.

Example: A membership at a yoga studio costs $25 per month.

Write an equation for the cost of the membership, a, that you
pay if you keep your membership for b months.

Equation: a = 25b
★ How much will your membership cost if you keep it for 24 months?
★ You pay $25 for each month of your membership. The total cost depends
on b, the number of months you are a member. To find the total cost, a, we
can use the equation: a = 25b.
★ To find the cost of the yoga membership for 24 months, we can substitute
24 into the equation for b.

a = 25b
a = 25 x 24
a = 600
★ The equation is a = 25b. The yoga membership will cost $600 for 24
months.
★ Here’s another example.

Example: You buy boxes of blueberries at the market. Each

box costs $6. Write an equation for the number of dollars, a,
that you spend on b boxes.

Equation: a = 6b
★ You pay $6 for each box of blueberries. The number of dollars you spend
depends on b, the number of boxes of blueberries you buy.
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Dependent and Independent
Variables
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN QUANTITIES IN EQUATIONS AND GRAPHS
★ To find the number of dollars you spend on blueberries, we can use the
equation: a = 6b.
★ Remember, you want to find the number of dollars you will spend if you buy
2 boxes and 5 boxes.

12 = 6 x 2
30 = 6 x 5
★ Now, we can turn the values for b and a from the equation into ordered
pairs in the form (x,y). The ordered pairs are: (2, 12) and (5, 30).
★ Each x value represents a number on the horizontal axis, and each y value
represents a number on the vertical axis.
★ Therefore, the equation is a = 6b, and the graph is:

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Name: ________________________________

Which Is Which?
Below are some real life situations. Color the box blue if
you think it’s an independent variable, and color it red if
it’s a dependent variable.

Amount of money the charity

Number of episodes you watch
donates

Number of minutes you spend Amount of money you raise for the
watching k-drama fundraiser

Number of liters of orange juice you Number of minutes taken up by the

drink advertisements

Number of times you drink all the Number of minutes you spend watching
orange juice in your bottle the advertisements and the movie

Your school’s distance from home Number of kilometers you run

Number of miles you walk Number of calories you burn

DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES WORKSHEETS KIDSKONNECT.COM

 Which Is Which?
ANSWER KEY

Amount of money the charity

Number of episodes you watch
donates

Number of minutes you spend Amount of money you raise for the
watching k-drama fundraiser

Number of liters of orange juice you Number of minutes taken up by the

drink advertisements

Number of times you drink all the Number of minutes you spend watching
orange juice in your bottle the advertisements and the movie

Your school’s distance from home Number of kilometers you run

Number of miles you walk Number of calories you burn

DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES WORKSHEETS KIDSKONNECT.COM

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