Variables in a gel electrophoresis project

[deleted-269946]

Hi, a couple of week ago, I decided to do an Gel Electrophoresis chamber for my science fair project, the only problem is that I don't know which variables to use in an experiment with color dyes. Can anyone give me some recommendations in how to choose or find good and clear dependent and independent variables for this type of experiment? Here is the link to my project. https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p028.shtml

P.S: I've already checked the "how to make an independent/dependent variable" section in Science Buddies but I'm still confused!

Thanks

[deleted-249560]

The thing that changes based on how you do the experiment is the dependent variable. That might be pretty clear to you - what will change? What are you measuring?

The independent variable is what you're manipulating. Are you changing the makeup of the gel? The shape of the container? Or are you changing the dye? The procedure calls for putting different colors in each of the wells. Is the color what you're changing?

[deleted-132180]

Hi there,

If you've already taken a look at the Variables page in Science Buddies, then you should recall that the independent variable is the thing that you're varying within the experiment while everything is kept constant. For example, let's say you had a question along the lines of "How does temperature affect plant growth?", and you plan on testing this question by growing individual plants under pretty much the same conditions (same amount of soil, same amount of sunlight, same amount of watering everyday, etc.) EXCEPT the temperature. By keeping your other factors constant while only altering the temperature, this will allow you to observe what effects temperature specifically has on growth. Recall that the dependent variable is the observation/measurement you make as a result of the change in the independent variable. In this case, it would be some measure of plant growth (for example, the height of the plant grown under each temperature).

Now, if we take a look at your project, what are you measuring? That would be your dependent variable. What factor are you changing to observe/measure your dependent variable? That would be your independent variable. A good clue would be to take a look at the table provided under Step 13 in the experimental procedures.

Hope this makes sense. Let us know if you have anymore questions!

Connie