Question
A student investigated the cooling effect of evaporation. She used the equipment (datalogger and probe) shown in Figure 1 to measure how the temperature of a liquid changed as the liquid evaporated. Figure 1 (a) Which type of variable was the temperature in this investigation? Tick (checkmark) one box. control & Tick (checkmark) dependent & independent &
Answer
4.3
(53 Votes)
Irving
Elite · Tutor for 8 years
Answer
The temperature was a dependent variable.
Explanation
In a scientific experiment, there are three types of variables - control variables, dependent variables, and independent variables.Control variables are consistent and unchanging aspects throughout the experiment. Independent variables are those that the researcher manipulates in order to measure its effect on the dependent variables.The dependent variables, on the other hand, are things that the researcher measures to determine the effect of the independent variable.From the given question, the student was studying the temperature changes as a liquid evaporated. Therefore, the researcher was manipulating the rate of evaporative cooling process as it is the cause (the independent variable), and she was measuring the associated changes in the liquid's temperature because it was the effect (the dependent variable). Hence, the temperature in this investigation was what the student was trying to measure after manipulating the experiments conditions, which means the temperature of the evaporating liquid was the effect that the student was studying, so the temperature was the dependent variable.