A group of biology students tests the growth of bacteria under different conditions. The students apply the same amount of bacteria to identical Petri dishes enriched with nutrients, then place each plate at a different temperature. The bacteria are allowed to grow for three days, after which the number of bacterial colonies on each plate is counted. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
Answers
Answer:
The dependent variable in the given experiment is growth of the bacteria which is usually checked by counting the number of colonies in a petri dish.
Independent variable in an experiment is the variable which is being changed or kept controlled by the scientists in order to check its effects on the other factors.
In contrast, dependent variables those variables the values of which depend upon the independent variable. In simple terms, these are the variables being measured or tested in an experiment.
Hence, independent variable is the temperature, dependent variable is the number of colonies, and constant variables are three days, amount of bacteria inserted and nutrients.
Growth of bacteria is the dependant variable.
A factor or phenomenon that is changed by the effect of an associated factor or phenomenon called the independent variable.
For example, consumption is a dependent variable because it is caused and influenced by another variable: income. In a mathematical equation or model, the dependent variable is the variable whose value is to be determined by that equation or model. In an experiment, it is the variable whose behavior under controlled conditions (that are allowed to change in an organized manner) is studied.