Spongebob washed one pair of pants with Clean-O and one pair in his normal soap. The Clean-O plants did not appear cleaner. What is the Independent variable?
The independent variable in this scenario is the type of detergent Spongebob used (A), because it is being manipulated or changed by Spongebob himself in order to determine its effect on the cleanliness of the pants. The other options - the pants themselves (B), the number of washes (C), and the cleanliness of the pants (D) - are not being deliberately changed by Spongebob and are more likely to be considered dependent variables.
The Independent variable refers to the factor that is deliberately manipulated or changed by the experimenter. In this experiment, the independent variable is A) the type of detergent.
