Understanding the Dependent Variable
A Grade 5 science worksheet to help students understand and identify dependent variables in scientific experiments.
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Understanding the Dependent Variable
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Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. This worksheet will help you understand the dependent variable in science experiments.
In a science experiment, we are always trying to find out what happens when we change something. The 'dependent variable' is the part of the experiment that changes because of what we did. It's what we measure or observe. Think of it as the 'effect' in a cause-and-effect relationship.
1. The dependent variable is the part of an experiment that is .
2. In an experiment, the dependent variable is what you or observe.
3. If you change the amount of water a plant gets, the plant's growth is the variable.
4. A scientist wants to see if different types of music affect how fast a student can solve a puzzle. What is the dependent variable?
The type of music
How fast the student solves the puzzle
The student
The type of puzzle
5. A plant scientist wants to know if a new fertilizer will make plants grow taller. They give one group of plants the new fertilizer and another group no fertilizer. What is the dependent variable?
The new fertilizer
The amount of water given to plants
The height of the plants
The type of plant
6. A student wants to find out if the color of light affects how much sugar a plant produces. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
7. A scientist is testing if adding salt to water changes its boiling point. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?
8. The dependent variable is the thing you change on purpose in an experiment.
True
False
9. In an experiment, the dependent variable is what you measure to see if your change had an effect.
True
False