Data Collection: Pinky’s science fair project in junior high focused on an observation that the crickets outside her window chirped less frequently when the temperature was colder. Fun Fact: There are free “cricket chirp calculators” online you can explore, which didn’t exist freely online when Pinky was in junior high. Consider if data was collected consisting of the average number of cricket chirps at different temperatures in her backyard. 10. Which variable would be an independent variable?

The independent variable is a variable whose value is not affected by another variable during research. It is a variable that directly affects the actual variable that is measured - the dependent variable. The independent variable is usually varied in order to see the kind of effect it will produce on the dependent variable.

In the case of Pinky, the different temperature at the backyard affects the number of cricket chirps. Hence, the temperature is considered the independent variable while the number of cricket chirp is considered the dependent variable.