Question

You decide to clean your bedroom. You notice that your floor is covered with clothes. You decide to try to get rid of the clothes by throwing them into the air. You throw clothes from a third of the room into the closet and a third of the room straight up into the air. After 30 minutes of "cleaning," the floor of the room is now visible.

What is the independent variable?
a. Type of clothes
b. Time spent cleaning
c. Method of throwing clothes
d. Visibility of the floor

Answer 1

The independent variable in the scenario described is 'Time spent cleaning'.

Step-by-step explanation:

The independent variable in the scenario described is b. Time spent cleaning. The independent variable is the variable that is intentionally changed or manipulated in an experiment or study, and its effects on the dependent variable are observed and measured. In this case, the student is trying to determine how the time spent cleaning affects the visibility of the floor By throwing the clothes into the air, the student is testing different methods of cleaning, but the variable being measured and observed is the visibility of the floor, which is the dependent variable. The type of clothes being thrown and the method of throwing are not being intentionally changed or manipulated by the student in this scenario, so they are not the independent variable. The decision to throw clothes into the air is likely a constant action, and the variable being intentionally changed or controlled is the time spent cleaning. Therefore, time spent cleaning is the independent variable in this context.