Question

Mr. Krabs created a secret ingredient for a breath mint that he thinks will "cure" the bad breath people get from eating crabby patties at the Krusty Krab. He asked 100 customers with a history of bad breath to try his new breath mint. He had fifty customers (Group A) eat a breath mint after they finished eating a crabby patty. The other fifty (Group B) also received a breath mint after they finished the crabby patty, however, it was just a regular breath mint and did not have the secret ingredient. Both groups were told that they were getting the breath mint that would cure their bad breath. Two hours after eating the crabby patties, thirty customers in Group A and ten customers in Group B reported having better breath than they normally had after eating crabby patties. What is the independent variable?

Answer 1

Type of breath mint

Step-by-step explanation:

The independent variable, in this case, would be the type of breath mint given to each study group.

An independent variable refers to a variable whose variation does not depend on another variable or factor. In research, the independent variable stands alone and the researcher can control or manipulate it in order to measure its effect on some other variables.

In the case of Mr. Krabs, the two types of breath mints administered to the two study groups represent the independent variable. Any differences in the experience of the two study groups can be attributed to the difference in the breath mint taken.