What are the variables being controlled in this experiment?
The dependent variable “depends” on the variation in your experiment. In this case you are varying the food dyes, and the thing that changes is the retention factor. The retention factor is the dependent variable. The Independent variables are things that effect your dependent variable. In this case the types of food dyes are the thing in your experiment that will cause changes in your dependent variable. The types of food dyes are your independent variable. The control variables are other things in the experiment that that aren’t your independent variables but could cause changes in your dependent variable if you didn’t control for them. In this setting your control variables are the list of things that could cause the retention factor to change: solvent, temperature, pH, and type of paper.
