Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am currently in the experimental stage of my project. I will test sponges in three ways: One: Water from the counter, Two: Water from the floor, Three: Float Test. My question is: what would be my dependent and independent variables? THANK YOU!!!!

Hello and welcome to the forums:

Please read Science Buddies information about variables here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... bles.shtml

The independent variable is the one that is changed by the scientist. To ensure a fair test, a good experiment has only one independent variable. As the scientist changes the independent variable, he or she observes what happens.
The scientist focuses his or her observations on the dependent variable to see how it responds to the change made to the independent variable. The new value of the dependent variable is caused by and depends on the value of the independent variable.

It sounds like the scientist (you) have more than 1 independent variable, sponges and water source. For an easier to execute and to understand experiment you might want to only have 1 as mentioned above.

Best,
Keith

From the description, the water source is the variable. As long as the experimenter uses the same kind of sponge for each test, it should be ok, and also the sponge must be in identical state (completely dry, used in exactly the same way to soak up the water).

The sponge and how you have it interact with the water is the dependent variable
The water itself is another dependent variable (use the same kind of water for all experiments)
The water location is your independent variable