🔬 Part 1: Understanding Variables

Remember:

• Independent variable = what you CHANGE

• Dependent variable = what you MEASURE

• Controlled variables = what you keep the SAME

1. Sarah wants to test how different amounts of water affect how tall her bean plants grow. What is the independent variable?

The height of the plants

The amount of water

The type of bean

2. In Sarah's experiment, what is the dependent variable (what she measures)?

The amount of water

The height of the plants

The size of the pot

3. Which things should Sarah keep the same to make it a fair test? (Tick all that apply)

Type of bean seeds

Size of pots

Amount of sunlight

Amount of water (this changes!)

🧪 Part 2: Plan Your Own Experiment

4. Your group's experiment idea:

5. Complete the table for your experiment:

Independent Variable (what we will change):

Dependent Variable (what we will measure):

Controlled Variables (what we will keep the same):

6. Draw or describe what you predict will happen:

7. Why is it important to keep some things the same (controlled variables) in an experiment?

8. What happened in your experiment? Was your prediction correct?

9. If you did this experiment again, what would you change to make it even better?