Dr. Hansen is interested in the positive effects of sleep and nutrition on exam performance for college-aged men and women. Now he needs to design an experiment. Identify the dependent variable.
A gender
B sleep
C nutrition
D exam performance
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is D. exam performance.
Explanation:
In an experiment, the dependent variable is the outcome that the researcher measures or observes to see if it changes due to manipulations of other variables. It depends on other factors and reflects the effect or response caused by those factors.
In Dr. Hansen’s study, he wants to investigate how sleep and nutrition affect exam performance. This means exam performance is what he is trying to measure or assess as the result of varying amounts or quality of sleep and nutrition. Exam performance is the dependent variable because it depends on or changes in response to changes in sleep and nutrition.
The other options are independent variables or participant characteristics:
- Gender (Option A) is a characteristic of the participants and may be considered a grouping or control variable but not the dependent variable.
- Sleep (Option B) is one of the factors that Dr. Hansen wants to manipulate or observe in relation to exam performance.
- Nutrition (Option C) is another factor that Dr. Hansen will control or vary to see how it affects exam performance.
Therefore, sleep and nutrition are independent variables because they are the factors believed to influence or cause changes in exam performance.
In summary, the dependent variable is the effect or outcome that is measured in the experiment. Since Dr. Hansen is studying the effect of sleep and nutrition on exam scores, exam performance is the dependent variable. It is the key result that will reveal if different levels of sleep and nutrition have a positive impact on how well college-aged men and women perform on exams.