In a study, a group of 10-year-old boys are fed doughnuts every morning for a week and then weighed to see how much weight they gained. Which factor is the dependent variable?

 Options:

a. The doughnuts b. The boys c. The duration of a week d. The weight gained

The Correct Answer Is:

d. The weight gained

Correct Answer Explanation: d. The weight gained

In this study, the dependent variable is the weight gained by the 10-year-old boys after being fed doughnuts every morning for a week. The dependent variable is the factor that is being measured or observed in an experiment and is expected to change as a result of the independent variable.

Here, the independent variable would be the doughnuts fed to the boys, as it is the factor that is being manipulated or changed by the researchers.

The correct answer is “d. The weight gained” because it represents the outcome or result that the researchers are measuring after the boys consume doughnuts for a week. The weight gained is what the researchers expect to vary based on the consumption of doughnuts, making it the dependent variable.

Let’s break down why the other options are not the dependent variable in this particular study:

a. The doughnuts:

The doughnuts are the independent variable because they are deliberately manipulated by the researchers. They serve as the input or the factor that is changed deliberately to observe its effect on another variable—in this case, the weight gained by the boys.

Dependent variables are the outcomes or results that are measured as a response to changes in the independent variable. In this study, the researchers are interested in observing how the consumption of doughnuts influences the weight gained by the boys. Therefore, the weight gained is the dependent variable.

b. The boys:

The boys are the participants or subjects in the experiment. They are not the factor being manipulated nor the outcome being measured. Instead, they are the ones on whom the study is conducted.

In scientific experiments, the dependent variable is what’s being observed or measured as a result of changes in the independent variable. Here, the boys’ weight gain is what the researchers are measuring to understand the impact of consuming doughnuts daily for a week.

c. The duration of a week:

The duration of a week is an aspect of the experimental design and serves as a controlled variable. It remains constant throughout the study to ensure consistency in the experimental conditions.

While the duration of a week plays a role in establishing the timeframe for the experiment, it is not the factor that is being measured or expected to change. The focus of the study is to observe how the consumption of doughnuts within this fixed duration affects the weight gained by the boys.

In summary, the dependent variable is the weight gained by the 10-year-old boys, as it is the outcome that is expected to vary based on the manipulation of the independent variable, which is the consumption of doughnuts.

The other options—doughnuts, boys, and the duration of a week—serve different roles in the experiment but do not represent the measured outcome that changes in response to the experiment’s manipulation, making them unsuitable as the dependent variable.

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