dr. gibson has created a new energy drink which he hopes will also make a person smarter when testing his new drink what is the independent variable and what is the dependent variable?
An independent variable is the potential stimulus or cause, usually directly manipulated by the experimenter, so it could also be called a manipulative variable.
A dependent variable is the response or measure of results.
To determine the independent and dependent variables, let's first understand what these terms mean in a scientific context.
The independent variable is the factor that is intentionally manipulated or changed by the researcher in an experiment. Its purpose is to test its impact on the dependent variable. The dependent variable, on the other hand, is the factor or outcome that is being measured or observed and is expected to change in response to the independent variable.
In the case of Dr. Gibson's experiment with the new energy drink:
The independent variable would likely be the consumption of the energy drink. Dr. Gibson is intentionally manipulating this variable, assuming he has test subjects who either consume the drink or a placebo.
The dependent variable in this case would be the intelligence or cognitive performance of the participants. The researcher is interested in observing any changes in the participants' mental abilities after consuming the energy drink.
Therefore, the independent variable is the consumption of the energy drink, while the dependent variable is the intelligence or cognitive performance of the participants.