Question

A study is being done to test the effects of habitat space on the size of fish populations. aquariums of various sizes are set up with six goldfish in each one. over a period of six months, the fish are fed the same type and amount of food. the aquariums are equally maintained and cleaned throughout the experiment. the temperature of the water is kept constant. at the end of the experiment the number of surviving fish are surveyed. what is the independent variable?

Answer 1

The independent variable is the size of the aquarium and the dependent variable is the size of the fish population. All other variables in this scenario are held constant. Dependent variables are aspects that the researcher deliberately changes to see what will result from the change. If the food, water temperature and cleanliness are the same and the size of the aquariums is different, that makes aquarium size the independent variable.