In an experiment, what is measured and affected by the independent variable?

The dependent variable is the component in an experiment that is measured and is expected to change in response to manipulations made to the independent variable. When researchers conduct experiments, they manipulate the independent variable to observe how it affects the dependent variable. For instance, if a scientist is testing the effect of different amounts of sunlight on plant growth, the growth of the plants would be the dependent variable, as it is what is measured and evaluated based on the varying amounts of sunlight.

The independent variable is what the experimenter changes or controls, the control variable refers to factors that remain constant to ensure that the test conditions are uniform, and extraneous variables are outside influences that could affect the outcome but are not of primary interest. These concepts are significant in experimental design, but only the dependent variable directly reflects the data collected during the experiment as a result of changes made to the independent variable.