Question

Jim really likes to chew gum but sometimes his mouth breaks out inside with sores within 2 hours afterwards. His wife suggests that he might be allergic to something in the gum in some of the brands. Jim decides that he will try different brands to find one that won't break out his mouth. His wife bought three different brands of spearmint gum. He chewed each brand seperately for 10 minutes and waited for three days before chewing the next brand. Brand 1 broke out his mouth within one hour. Brand 2 did not break out his mouth but brand 3 broke out his mouth within 30 minutes.

What was the independent variable?

a
the time he chewed each piece of gum
b
the time he waited after chewing
c
the brand of gum
d
the flavor of gum

Answer 1

C. The Brand of the Gum

Why? Because Jim is trying different Brands of gum. If the question was asking for the Dependent Variable, then the Answer would be the affect according to which Brand of gum he chews.