VARIABLES

Scientific Method
 What could you do or change to
make the car go faster?

 These ideas all make up something

we call:

VARIABLES
 VARIABLES
 The factors that change
during the experiment
 THREE MAIN KINDS OF VARIABLES

 The INDEPENDENT
variable
 The DEPENDENT variable
 The CONTROL variable
 INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
 There can only be ONE
independent variable in any
experiment.
 The variable that the
experimenter changes on
purpose.
 May also be called “manipulated
In the experiment on the
next slide, identify the
independent variable –
What is the one thing the
experimenter changed
with plant 1, 2 and 3?
Yes, the experimenter
changed the amount of
water that the plant
receives each day.
 DEPENDENT VARIABLE
 What is measured or observed by
the experimenter to see if the
independent variable caused a
different result
 How this variable respond
depends on the independent
variable
 DEPENDENT VARIABLE
 Sometimes called “responding
variables”
Let’s look again at the experiment
where the amount of water each
plant received was changed.

What could the experimenter

observe or measure to see if the
amount of water made a difference
to the health of the plants?
 POSSIBLE DEPENDENT VARIABLES

The experimenter could

have, for example, counted
the number of green leaves
on each plant or he could
have measured the height of
the plants after 14 days.
 What might the independent
variable be in this experiment on
water evaporating?

 What could be the dependent

variable in this experiment?
Remember you should measure.
 What might the independent
variable be in this experiment on
keeping the water hot?

 What could be the dependent

variable in this experiment?
Remember you should measure.
To use the scientific method to answer
questions, we set up an experiment
that changes just one thing and then
we measure how that one change
affects what we are interested in.

The question is always “What is the

effect of independent variable on
dependent variable”?
For example, in the case of our
watering plants experiment, the
question might be:

How does the amount of water you

give a plant (independent variable)
affect how tall the plant grows
(dependent variable)?
But there is more. In
every experiment there is
a third kind of variable
called the control variable.
 CONTROL VARIABLE
 Controlvariables are
all those things in an
experiment that you
DO NOT let change.
 A control variable is any other
variable (other than the dependent
variable) that might affect the
outcome of the experiment.
 There may be many control
variables in any experiment.
 Control variables must be kept
constant between trials.
Think back to our experiment
asking the question: “How does the
amount of water affect how tall the
plant grows in 14 days?”

What variables, other than the

amount of water, could affect how
tall the plant grows?
Things that might affect how tall
the plant grows could include:

1. The amount of light

2. The temperature of the air
3. The kind of soil
What would be the problem if we
changed both the amount of water
and the type of soil in the plant it’s
growing in at the same time?

Sure, you wouldn’t know if the

growth was due to the water or the
type of soil.
Suppose the plant in the potting
soil that was given 40ml of water
daily grew the tallest after 14 days,

Could we know whether the 40ml

of water or planting the plant in
potting soil had cause the result?
What can we possibly do
in order to come up with
correct conclusions when
doing the experiment?
 Have only one constant
independent variable; and
 Control all other variables

that might affect the results

—keep them constant
though out the experiment.
 How can we control the
control variable in order
to come up with the right
conclusion?
 We could plant all plants in
the same potting soil, use the
same kind of pot, expose all
plants to the same amount of
light and keep the air
temperature the same.
What is the effect of the
independent variable on
the dependent variable?
General Layout for an Experimental
Design Diagram

TITLE
The Effect of ______(Independent) on ____
(Dependent)

HYPOTHESIS
If ___(planned change in independent variable),
then ___ (predicted change in dependent variables)
REVIEW