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GCSE Physics · key term
The variable deliberately changed during an investigation.
Used by AQA and OCR
Specification 4.1.2.1 · Paper 1
Revise: Required Practical: Investigating Thermal InsulationHere, the type of insulating material is the independent variable. Temperature is measured as the water cools; the temperature decrease or cooling rate is then used as the dependent outcome.
Paper 1, Paper 2
The factor deliberately changed in an investigation to test its effect.
Revise: Controlling Variables and SamplingLength is the independent variable: you deliberately change it. The time for a swing is the dependent variable: you measure it to look for an effect. If several other things change at once, you cannot tell which change produced the result.
The variable whose values are changed or selected in an investigation.
Name the independent, dependent and control variables for the particular investigation described. Do not list material and thickness as independent variables if only one is being changed.
Distinguish testing more values of the independent variable from repeating a measurement at the same value.
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