Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My topic for this year's science fair is "The Effect of Different Distractions on Brain Concentration." I conducted the experiment by making 40 simple math questions including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. There are 4 tests. The 1st test was done in silence. The 2nd test was done with loud music. The 3rd test was done using cellphones. The 4th test was done in an environment with loud sounds and distractions. I measured brain concentration by seeing the number of mistakes and the time 10 volunteers took.
Now do I have 2 dependent variables?? Is that okay??? Now, I do not know how to graph my results. How do I graph these?

Thank you,
Celine Kim

Hi,

I recommend you read the Science Buddies Project Guide on Variables:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... bles.shtml

I assume the same test problems were used in all four environments- if not you have a big problem as your results are probably meaningless. If the same test was used in all four environments then
I think you only have one independent variable, the distracting environment. The dependent vaiable is the number of mistakes made on each test. You could present results in a bar chart, showing the number of mistakes made on each test type, with a bar for each environment.

Good luck at the fair, and remembeer to have fun!!!

Best regards,

Barrett L Tomlinson