Question

What is the independent and dependent variable in this:

"Sandy heard that plants compete for space. She decided to test this idea. She bought a mixture of flower seeds and some potting soil. Into each of 4 plastic cups, she put the same amount of soil. In the first cup she planted 2 seeds, in the second cup she planted 4 seeds, in the third cup 8 seeds, and in the fourth cup 16 seeds. After 25 days she checked to see how many plants had grown and their height."

Answer 1

The independent variable is the part of an experiment that the scientist manipulates, so in this case the independent variable would be the amount of seeds in one cup.

Answer 2

The correct answer will be- the number of seeds in cups.

Step-by-step explanation:

The scientific experiments involve the parameters which directly controls and help determine the hypothesis. These parameters are known as the variables which could be changed or kept constant.

The variables which could be changed or manipulated by the researcher or can get a change on its own like time are known as the independent variables. The variables which depend on the independent variables and are to be studied are known as the dependent variable.

In the given question, sandy studied the growth pattern and height of the plant which are considered dependent variables but they changed the number of seeds in the cups and thus they will be considered as the independent variables.

Thus, the number of seeds in the experiment represents the independent variables.