What is a dependent and an independent variable?

Question

I don't really get what these terms mean, could any1 explain it to me please? Thanks!!!! :)

Answer 1

independent- you can change it

dependent- changes because of the independent variable

Answer 2

oohoooh we just did this in science! Here's what my notes say:

Independent variable- What was changed in an experiment

Dependent- What happened because of the change (in the Independent variable)  

Answer 3

Independent- What You Change In A Experiment

Dependent- What Happen Because Of The Change that Independent Did

Answer 4

Independent is what you control and dependent is what you observe.  Like if you want to see how big a balloon gets when you heat it, temperature would be the independent variable and volume would be the dependent.

Answer 5

A dependent variable is a variable on which the effect is measured. For example if you want to measure the effect of alcohol on response time then the response time will be the dependent variable.

An independent variable is a variable which can be manipulated. In the above example the independent variable is the alcohol because you will change the amount of alcohol