A student is doing an experiment to test the research question: "How does the amount of fertilizer affect the rate of growth of
soybeans?" When her experiment has been completed, she collects the data and constructs a line graph. What variable should be placed on the y-axis? A) growth period B) amount of fertilizer C) rate of soybean growth D) number of soybeans in the experiment
A independent variable is the one which can be altered in an experiment the effect of such alteration can be observed on the dependent variable.
In a particular comparative analysis, the independent variable is present on the x-axis and the dependent variable on the y-axis of the graph.
In the graph, the rate of soybean growth will be placed on the y-axis as it is a dependent variable. The amount of fertilizers should be on the x-axis as it is the independent variable.
In the Cartesian plane, the variable that is placed on the x axis is the independent variable. The independent variable is one that does not need any factor for its existence and determines the changes in the dependent variable. In this case, the independent variable is the amount of fertilizer used in the experiment.
In the same Cartesian plane, the y axis must be occupied by the dependent variable. The dependent variable is the one that depends and is influenced by the independent variable. In the experiment shown in the question above, the amount of fertilizing influences the soybean growth rate, so the soybean growth rate is the dependent variable.
