Lesson 1: Explore Relationships Between Two Variables6.AT.11
Stuck? Start here. Read the steps, try the problem, then check your answer.
I can…
I can recognize when two quantities change together, and identify which one is the independent variable and which is the dependent variable.
Key words
independent variable — The input quantity in a model, chosen or observed.
dependent variable — The quantity that changes in response to the independent variable.
depends on — One quantity depends on another when changing the first causes the second to change.
quantity — Something that can be counted or measured.
relationship — How two quantities change together.
Table of values — A list of matched input and output pairs.
Input — The independent value you put in; it fills the first column of a table.
Output — The dependent value that comes out; it fills the second column of a table.
Steps
The two quantities are hours of sunlight per day and average plant height after 3 weeks.
Akela CHOSE where to put each tray, so she chose the sunlight. Sunlight is subject to choice — that makes it the independent variable.
She did not choose how tall the plants got. Height responded. That makes height the dependent variable.
Say it as a sentence: plant height depends on sunlight.
Try it
A bakery sells muffins for the same price each. Which sentence is correct?
Check your answer
The total cost depends on the number of muffins bought, so the number of muffins is the independent variable.
The buyer chooses how many muffins to buy; the total cost responds to that choice. The number of muffins is subject to choice, so it is independent and the total cost is dependent.
Sentence starter
I know ___ because ___.
Goal: I can explain which quantity depends on the other using the words independent variable, dependent variable, and depends on.