Question

In the following example, what is the independent variable? Hypothesis: Mice on a restricted low-caloric diet will live longer than mice that can eat as much as they want. Experiment: A large population of genetically identical mice is divided into two groups. Half receive as much food as they care to eat each day. The other half receives 20% less food than a typical mouse eats each day. The day of death (lifespan) is recorded for all mice. All mice live in the same room, in the same type of cage, with access to water. A. amount of food available B. volume of water available C. genetically ideantical mice D. happiness of each mice E. lifespan of each mice

Answer 1

A. amount of food available

Step-by-step explanation:

An experiment consists of two types of variables, independent and dependent. Value of independent variable is decided by the person doing the experiment and is independent of experimental conditions. Value of dependent variable is dependent on the independent variable. It can not be altered by the person doing experiment.

Here, it is given that mice receive variable amount of food each day and their lifespan is recorded. Since the amount of food is decided already it is the independent variable. The lifespan is expected to depend on the amount of food hence it is the dependent variable.