What Is a Dependent Variable in Science

A dependent variable is the variable that is tested and measured in a scientific experiment. It is sometimes called the responding variable. The dependent variable gets its name from the fact that it depends  on the independent variable. As the experimenter manipulates the independent variable, a change in the dependent variable is observed and recorded. Dependent Variable Examples Imagine that a scientist is testing the effect of light and dark on the behavior of moths by switching a light on and off. The independent variable is the amount of light, and the dependent variable is the moths reaction. A change in the independent variable (amount of light) directly causes a change in the dependent variable (moth behavior). Another example of a dependent variable is a test score. How well you perform on a test depends on other variables, such as how much you studied, the amount of sleep you had the night before, whether you had breakfast that morning, and so on. The manipulation of these independent variables has an effect on the dependent variable (the test score). In general, if you are studying the effect of a certain factor or the outcome of an experiment, the effect or outcome is the dependent variable. If you measure the effect of temperature on flower color, temperature is the independent variable—the one you manipulate—while the color of the flower is the dependent variable. Graphing a Dependent Variable When independent and dependent variables are plotted on a graph, the independent variable is usually measured along the x-axis and the dependent variable along the y-axis. For example, if you were examining the effect of sleep on test scores, the number of hours participants slept would be plotted along the x-axis, while the test scores they earned would be plotted along the y-axis.