Question

Design your own scenario related to Bacteria or Viruses. Identify the independent and dependent variables.

Answer 1

Answer:

An experiment where an antibiotic is tested against bacteria. The antibiotic can vary in its concentration for example, different amounts are applied to a sample of bacteria to see if it is affected by the action of the antibiotic and if so, in what concentration. So, the independent variable is the concentration of antibiotic while the dependent variable is the survival (or not) of the bacteria.

Explanation:

An independent variable is a variable that represents a quantity that the scientist modifies in an experiment. A dependent variable represents a quantity whose value depends on how the independent variable is modified. This is the variable being studied and measured.

So, an example of this applied to bacteria or viruses could be:

An experiment where an antibiotic is tested against bacteria. The antibiotic can vary in its concentration, different amounts are applied to a sample of bacteria to see if it is affected by the action of the antibiotic and if so, in what concentration. So, the independent variable is the concentration of antibiotic while the dependent variable is the survival (or not) of the bacteria.

To complete the experiment, an antibiotic whose effect is already known can be used as a positive control. That is, it is already known to kill the bacteria. And as a negative control you can simply use water, which has no effect and is known not to kill the bacteria. In this way, we validate the results and make sure that there is not something else that is affecting the bacteria and that only the antibiotic being studied has an influence.