Question

A biology student wants to conduct a study of how the amount of sunlight affects the length of sleep for mice. she sets up for cages with a mouse in each cage. what are the constants? what is the independent variable? what is the dependent variable? what data do you need to collect during this experiment?

Answer 1

The independent variable is the variable that is being changed in an experiment. It is also called the manipulated variable. In this case, it would be the amount of sunlight. The dependent variable would be the variable that is being studied. In this case it would be the length of sleep of the mice. The constants would be the variable that are supposed to have an effect on the dependent variable however it is held constant so as to clearly see the effect of the independent variable.