Final answer:
In a study involving temperature and the number of chirps, temperature would be the independent variable and the number of chirps would be the dependent variable. This is because you're altering the temperature and observing changes in the number of chirps.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the case of temperature and number of chirps, the independent variable would be the temperature. This is because it's the variable we change or manipulate which affects the dependent variable. The dependent variable is the number of chirps, which is the variable we measure or observe for change in response to the changes we make to the independent variable. It's called 'dependent' because its value 'depends' on the changes we make to the independent variable. To illustrate, you might be studying whether temperature affects the frequency of cricket chirps. If you raise or lower the temperature (independent variable), you would then observe whether the number of cricket chirps (dependent variable) increases or decreases in response.
Learn more about Independent and Dependent Variables