Question

JT Designs, a copper furniture manufacturer, increased the price on its copper tabletops by 20 percent for three months to see what the effect would be on its sales. The price increase is the _____ in this three-month experiment.

a) Hypothesis
b) Dependent variable
c) Independent variable
d) Constraint
e) Control

Answer 1

The 20% price increase by JT Designs is the independent variable in the experiment, as it is the factor being manipulated to observe its effect on sales, the dependent variable.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of the JT Designs copper tabletop pricing experiment, the increase in price by 20 percent is the independent variable. An independent variable is the factor that is changed or manipulated during an experiment to observe what effect it has on the dependent variable.

In this case, the researchers are effectively controlling the price to measure how it affects sales, which is the dependent variable. Sales would be recorded to see how they vary with the price change, allowing researchers to understand the cause-and-effect relationship between price and consumer purchasing behaviour.