Variables

Question 1

What are variables?

Answer 1

Variables are what make your investigation fair, make your results comparable to other peoples’, make your results valid and help you to think of all the things you are going to do in your practical. There are independent, dependent and controlled variables.

Question 2

Controls?

Answer 2

The controls are all the variables that you are keeping the same. They do not change in a practical or investigation so that it is a fair test.

Question 3

Independent variables?

Answer 3

The independent variable is what you are changing. It is what you are actually testing - the point of the investigation. It can also be called an input variable.

Question 4

Dependent variables?

Answer 4

The dependent variable is what you are measuring. It is the variable that changes as a result of the independent variable. It can also be called the output variable.