Independent vs Dependent Variables

Warm Up

Turn to page 9 in your INB.

Label that page “Variables.”

Complete the following exercise on page 9 of your INB.

Name this section “Warm Up.”

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Warm Up

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Write questions that would correspond to the following hypotheses.

I hypothesize that...

if I replace the battery in my car, then my car will get better gas mileage.

if I eat more vegetables, then I will lose weight faster.

if I add fertilizer to my garden, then my plants will grow faster.

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Scientific Variables

Keywords:

• Independent Variable
• Dependent Variable
• Controlled Variable (Control)

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Variables

Does the size of paper affect the distance a paper airplane will fly?

On page 8, create a T-chart. Label 1 side independent and the other side dependent.

I will read two options to you and you will write them in on the appropriate side of the chart.

1. A study was done to find if different tire treads affect the braking distance of a car.
2. The time it takes to run a mile depends on the person’s running speed.
3. The height of bean plants depends on the amount of water they receive.
4. The higher the temperature of th air in the oven, the faster the cake will bake.

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1. Lemon trees receiving the most water produced the most lemons.
2. An investigation found that more bushels of potatoes were produced when the soil was fertilized more.
3. Students measured the temperature of the water at different depths in Lake Skywalker and found that the temperature varied.
4. The amount of pollution produced by cars was measured for cars using gasoline containing different amounts of lead.

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Let’s practice with a partner!

Use the worksheet that was handed out to you to practice identifying variables, drawing conclusions, and evaluating experiments.