What is the independent variable? Select one option from the list below.
1 is the correct answer help me please .thanks
Sue is setting up an experiment to test whether fly maggots select a dark or a brightly lit environment. She sets up a chamber in which there is a gradient in light intensity from one end (dark) to the other (brightly lit).
The experimental hypothesis was
“There will be a large difference between the number of maggots in a dark environment and the number in a brightly illuminated one.”
What is the independent variable? Select one option from the list below.
1) Light intensity
2) The reaction rate of maggots
3) The average number of maggots in each light condition
4) The total number of maggots
5) The number of maggots in each light condition
6) The distance between the darkest and most brightly lit parts of the choice chamber
7) The time of day
The independent variable in an experiment is the variable that the researcher purposely manipulates or changes. It is the variable that is hypothesized to have an effect on the dependent variable. In this scenario, the independent variable is the variable that Sue is testing for its effect on the number of maggots in different environments.
Looking at the options provided, the independent variable in this experiment is 1) Light intensity. Sue is varying the gradient in light intensity in the chamber from dark to brightly lit. Therefore, light intensity is the independent variable that Sue is manipulating to observe its effect on the number of maggots in each light condition.
The other options listed, such as the reaction rate of maggots, the average number of maggots in each light condition, the total number of maggots, the number of maggots in each light condition, the distance between the darkest and most brightly lit parts of the choice chamber, and the time of day, are not the variables directly manipulated by the researcher in this experiment.