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Explanatory vs Response Variables

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Explanatory vs Response Variables

An explanatory variable may help explain changes in another variable. The response variable is the outcome being observed. Read each situation carefully, then identify the variables.

Recognise the relationship

The explanatory variable is the factor that may influence or help explain an outcome. The response variable is the outcome that is measured.

1.A student investigates whether the time spent practising a musical instrument is linked to performance scores. Which option correctly identifies the variables?

Practice time is explanatory; performance score is response.
Performance score is explanatory; practice time is response.
Both variables are explanatory.
Both variables are response.

2.A café records the outdoor temperature and the number of cold drinks sold each day. Which variable is explanatory?

Number of cold drinks sold
Outdoor temperature
The café
The day of the week

3.Select every pairing that suggests a reasonable explanatory-to-response relationship.

Hours of sunlight → growth of a garden plant
Distance walked → energy used
Hat colour → reading ability
Rainfall → water level in a stream

Identify both variables

For each investigation, name the explanatory variable and the response variable.

4.A horticulture group tests whether the amount of water given to seedlings affects their height. Identify the explanatory and response variables.

5.A school explores whether the number of students in a study group is related to the time each student takes to finish a task. Name both variables.

6.A delivery company investigates whether a van’s travel speed is related to the amount of fuel it uses over a set route. Identify the explanatory and response variables.

7.In your own words, explain a useful way to tell an explanatory variable from a response variable.

Apply the idea

8.A researcher compares the number of minutes a person cycles with the distance they travel. In this investigation, name the explanatory variable and the response variable.

9.For the cycling investigation, explain why cycling time could be expected to influence the distance travelled.