What are Independent and Dependent Variables?
Question: What’s a variable? Answer: A variable is an object, event, idea, feeling, time period, or any other type of category you are trying to measure. There are two types of variables-independent and dependent. Question: What’s an independent variable? Answer: An independent variable is exactly what it sounds like. It is a variable that stands alone and isn’t changed by the other variables you are trying to measure. For example, someone’s age might be an independent variable. Other factors (such as what they eat, how much they go to school, how much television they watch) aren’t going to change a person’s age. In fact, when you are looking for some kind of relationship between variables you are trying to see if the independent variable causes some kind of change in the other variables, or dependent variables. Question: What’s a dependent variable? Answer: Just like an independent variable, a dependent variable is exactly what it sounds like. It is something that depends on other fac
