Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My topic question is 'Do younger students like school more than older students'. I think age is the independent variable but am not sure. Also, I'm having trouble writing my hypothesis the "If...then" way. Any help would be great

Right! Age would be your independent variable because that is what you are changing (by finding participants of different ages) to see how it affects your dependent variable (how much the students like school school).
This is a really cool project, though one where it's tricky to word your hypothesis. Based on your question, the best way to phrase it would be something along the lines of "If students are younger, then they will like school more than students who are older".
Good luck with your project and let me know if you have any more questions!
Katie

Hi there,

Katie had already given you some excellent advice. Here is a Science Buddies webpage on how to identify variables in your project, and this may be helpful to you as you try to start planning experiments or for future reference: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... evariables.

Just out of curiosity, how are you going to go about collecting your data? Are you going to ask groups of younger students vs. older students how much they like school? How will you gauge the scale at which they like school? Perhaps you can also divide school up into different aspects: For example, what aspect of school do they like or dislike (i.e. reading time, lessons, recess, etc.). These are some questions to keep in mind as you start planning how to gather your data.

Let us know if you have any more questions!

Connie